Amy Schumer was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome.
The condition occurs when there is too much cortisol (the primary stress hormone) in the body for an extended period of time, according to the Mayo Clinic. Possible symptoms include weight gain, high blood pressure and bone loss. Treatment may include medication, radiation therapy, or surgery.
Schumer, 42, revealed her diagnosis in Friday’s edition of Jessica Yellin’s “News Not Noise” newsletter, days after fans began questioning why she had a “puffier” face during her promotional tour for the second season Life and Beth.
Amy Schumer responds to speculation about her ‘bloated’ face, shares health news
The actress said she found out about her condition while promoting her series and feels “reborn” after being diagnosed.
“While I was doing on-camera press for my Hulu show, I was also in MRI machines for four hours straight, my veins were closed from the amount of blood drawn, and I was thinking that I might not be around to see my son grow up. So it’s knowing that I had the type of Cushing’s that would resolve itself and that I was healthy was the biggest news you can imagine,” Schumer said.
The comedian said that having the internet pick up on her appearance helped her realize that something was wrong.
Amy Schumer and Michael Cera in the second season of the series “Life and Beth”.
Courtesy of Hulu
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“It was a crazy couple [of] weeks for me and my family,” she said. “Besides the fears for my health, I also had to be in front of the cameras because the internet came out. But thank God for that. Because that’s how I realized something was wrong.”
When asked why she was willing to share her “personal medical information,” Schumer said she wanted to “advocate for women’s health.”
“Shaming and criticizing our ever-changing bodies is something I’ve dealt with and witnessed for a long time,” Schumer said. “I so want women to love themselves and be relentless in fighting for their own health in a system that usually doesn’t trust them.”
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Amy Schumer appears on the “Today” show in June 2023.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
She expressed that her diagnosis is “a good example of the fact that we never know what happens to someone.”
– Everyone struggles with something – she added. “Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and to ourselves.”
Schumer first said she had “some medical and hormonal issues” while addressing her critics in an Instagram post on February 15.
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“You’re right, it’s more swollen than usual right now. I have endometriosis, an autoimmune disease every woman should read about,” Schumer wrote. “There’s some medical and hormonal stuff going on in my world right now, but I’m fine.”
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Source: HIS Education