Chris, you had once wondered if there could be familial pituitary problems, which contributed to Andrew's ACTH deficiency. My initial reaction was that I didn't know of any, BUT recently, I had a thought and decided to research my *own* medical records.

Here's the brief history - my husband and I had trouble conceiving, but the reproductive endocrinologist could find absolutely no reason for it. All my hormone tests at various points in the month came back normal. They did however, manage to discover that for whatever reason I did not ovulate. The official "diagnosis" in my record is that I had a "sluggish" hypothalamus. Eventually, with some medical intervention, I did conceive twins (Andrew is one of them!)

Interestingly, after that pregnancy, my body (or my "sluggish hypothalamus") managed to kick into gear on its own, I began having predictable cycles and I was able to conceive easily the next time.

What do you think? Any relation to what's going on with Andrew? I wish there was something as "simple" as a pregnancy that would kick his hypothalamus into gear!

Jill

Yes, he had an MRI after initial diagnosis. HIs pituitary looked normal, BUT there was what was called a "normal variation" in his hypothalamus (I want to say it was called "cava septum verdi" or something like that). His first endo. thought it "possible" that that "normal variation" could be the cause for the ACTH deficiency, but his current endo. is skeptical.

Jill