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Amy Schumer: Actress reveals she has Cushing's Syndrome
9 hours agoBy Helen BushbyCulture reporter
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Amy Schumer: "It has been a crazy couple weeks for me and my family"
Actress and director Amy Schumer has revealed she has Cushing's Syndrome, caused by having steroid injections in high doses.
She revealed the condition after being swarmed by comments about her face, with fans saying it looked "puffier" during recent TV interviews.
In her initial response, Schumer attributed the change in her appearance to endometriosis.
The subsequent Cushing's diagnosis left her feeling "reborn", she said.
"There are a few types of Cushing. Some that can be fatal, require brain surgery or removal of adrenal glands," the actress told the News Not Noise newsletter.
"I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I'm healthy [which] was the greatest news imaginable," she added.
Cushing's syndrome occurs when a person has elevated levels of cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone, inside the body for a long time. It mostly affects people on steroids.
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Schumer replied that she had sought medical advice after reading the comments.
"I was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn and thinking I may not be around to see my son grow up," she told Yellin.
"Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the internet chime in.
"But thank God for that. Because that's how I realised something was wrong."
Amy Schumer said she felt "strong and beautiful and so proud of this TV show I created"
Schumer had appeared on US TV earlier this month to talk about season two of the sitcom Life And Beth, which she writes, directs and stars in.
During the promotional tour, the actress, who has also starred in the sketch show Inside Amy Schumer, the 2015 film Trainwreck and 2018's I Feel Pretty, visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The View.
Afterwards she faced a barrage of jokes mocking her face, as well as medical speculation and supportive comments.
"I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance," she said.
Adopting a semi-serious tone, the actress added on Instagram that she had endured such speculation "for almost 20 years [...] as all women do".
What is Cushing's Syndrome?
The NHS website says the syndrome can be serious if not treated, and is uncommon.It is often a result of people taking steroid medicine, especially tablets, for a long time, which contain a synthetic version of cortisol.
Very rarely, the syndrome can be caused by the body producing too much cortisol, caused by a tumour in the pituitary gland in the brain or in one of the adrenal glands above the kidneys.
Cortisol is known as your "fight or flight" hormone. When it sends out alarm signals to the brain in response to stress, it can influence almost every system in the body, from the immune system to digestion and sleep.
The syndrome is usually benign [non-cancerous] and most common in young women.
Symptoms tend to get slowly worse if not treated, and the website said one of the main signs is weight gain and more body fat. Symptoms can include:
- Increased fat on your chest and stomach, but slim arms and legs.
- A build-up of fat on the back of your neck and shoulders, known as a "buffalo hump".
- A red, puffy, rounded face.
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