An American woman could not sleep for 19 months. The doctors made her diagnosis at the beginning, then it was found that she had a tumor in the pituitary gland.
“I have not slept for a full night 19 months ago. Even if I am physically stressful, I cannot sleep. I wake up more than 10 times a night and I am completely aware. I only get two hours to 4 hours of intermittent sleep,” Alexa Diaz told New Zoik.
The 30 -year -old from Austin, Texas, shared her experience on Tik Talk and achieved 94,000 views. During the video, she indicated that she did not “collapsed” even once, and asked how her body continues to work.
Diaz says that her thinner began in January 2024, and is associated with a benign tumor in its pituitary – a small gland that produces hormones at the base of the brain – known as the pituitary tumor.
According to the American Association of brain tumors (ABTA), about 13,770 tumors are diagnosed in the pituitary gland annually in the United States, which represents about 17% of all primary tumors in the central nervous system.
The pituitary tumors and bags usually arise for one of the two main causes, the pressure on the gland and the surrounding structures, or excessive production of hormones. The severity and type of symptoms depend on the size of the specific tumor and hormones concerned.
symptoms
(ABTA) indicates that when the tumor presses the pituitary gland or adjacent structures, this may lead to:
Headache, visual loss, hair loss, decreased sexual desire, weight fluctuations, as well as skin changes, fatigue or low energy, and symptoms of increased hormone production.
About 70% of the “secreted” pituitary tumors, that is, they release excess hormones. This includes:
- Growth hormone: Excessive production can cause a topical growth (enlargement of the ends) in adults, and a giant in children.
- Prolactin: It leads to changes in the menstrual cycle and abnormal milk production.
- Sexual hormones: They can cause menstrual disorders and sexually.
- Thyroid hormones: Hyper thyroid activity can cause symptoms such as weight loss, heart rhythm changes, anxiety, intestinal changes, fatigue, skin thinning, and sleep problems.
- Adissotty hormones: Excessive production can lead to Kushing’s disease, which is characterized by a moon -shaped face, excess hair in the body, ease of bruising, menstrual disorders, and high blood pressure.
Diaz told Newsweek that she had suffered from many of these symptoms, starting with severe hair loss only at the age of eighteen.
“I started to feel annoyed, and suddenly I started to lose my hair,” she recalls. “More than 300 hair was falling daily, as soon as my hair was combed or my fingers were passed.”
Initially, doctors diagnosed her with PCOS syndrome. “I did not suffer from any other symptoms, but I thought the reason was what they told me,” Diaz said.
By the age of twenty -two, the hair was severe and continuous. She said, “It did not stop. I went to a dermatologist and conducted a magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, then they discovered a 5 -millimeter tumor in the pituitary gland.”
Almost at the same time, Diaz began to gain weight that did not retreat despite a diet and exercise regularly.
She said: “I was depressed, and my face was always swollen and a bite. Hair loss caused me a lot of self -esteem problems.”
Over the years, symptoms of Diaz -dry skin, dry eyes, decreased sexual desire, anxiety, shivering legs, and hip pain have multiplied after exercise. You can consult about 40 doctors and spent 500-600 hours searching for her condition.
Metformin
In 2018, she officially diagnosed a tumor in the pituitary gland, describing her metformin to reduce hormone levels. She said, “They told me to wait and see.” When her thinner exacerbated, Diaz suspected that the tumor caused many hormone -related conditions, but doctors did not confirm this.
By January 2024, new symptoms noticed: vaginal dryness, hip pain, and sleep deterioration. Examination revealed that the estrogen hormone level has an abnormally low for its age.
She said, “I have a medicine for that now, in addition to progesterone.” After years of trying everything – dermatologists, supplements, and expensive hair treatments – she finally noticed her hair growth again.
The ABTA indicates that doctors often recommend monitoring small tumors, as they usually grow slowly and do not cause any symptoms. But Diaz, whose size is 5 millimeters, does not agree to it.
She said: “Doctors believe that because the tumor is less than 1 cm, it is unlikely that it will cause sufficient symptoms to risk surgery. The main risk is to have another hormonal deficiency after the operation.”
However, the surgeons who perform this surgery say it is routine, not very dangerous, so it is confusing the patient.
Cases such as my condition are often ignored from the mild pitfall insufficiency, which leads to a slow development of hormone deficiency, the same thing that poses a threat to surgery.
When Diaz was twenty -nine years old, she began taking alternative hormone therapy (HRT), a treatment that replaces female hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone, whose levels decrease during menopause.
“Doctors do not understand the cause of menopause. We do not know the risks of long -term hormonal hormonal therapy. Medicines make me feel better, but they are not safe as a long -term solution,” she told Newsweek.
In addition to her physical symptoms, Diaz was severely depressed and felt that she was “literally draining my energy.”
She said, “I feel like I just hope in the future when I can sleep well at night.” “I don’t want to see anyone or mix with others. I haven’t gone out for 6 months. This affected my job, and I almost separated in March.”
“I have become forgetful, missing meetings and tasks, and sometimes I do not remember what I did yesterday. It seems as if I had hyperactivity disorder and extreme lack of attention, but it is not.”
An invitation to change the treatment
After it is exhausted by material and moral conditions, Diaz is afraid of what may happen if it continues to be deprived of more tests or surgical treatment.
She said: “I am afraid that I will happen.
Diaz believes that her suffering is not unique. She says, “From the moment the symptoms appear to the moment the disease is diagnosed, it may take 10 years.”
And she confirms that “many women expressed their feeling that they were not seriously taken, and this is my experience. A young age represents a great obstacle. I now have 6 medicines to regulate my hormones. I have lost my weight and my hair began to grow again, so doctors believe that I am fine. They do not see the truth of what is happening.”