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The comedian Amy Schumer has announced that she has been diagnosed with a rare hormonal disorder called Cushing\u2019s syndrome, after she was swarmed with comments on social media about a change in her physical appearance.<\/p>\n
Schumer, 42, revealed her diagnosis in an interview for the News Not Noise newsletter<\/a> on Friday. People commented on her \u201cpuffier\u201d face<\/a> after she appeared this month on \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.\u201d She said that the condition did not pose any serious threats to her health.<\/p>\n The online buzz around her appearance, a mix of concern and negativity, was how she \u201crealized something was wrong,\u201d Schumer told the newsletter.<\/p>\n Cushing\u2019s syndrome is caused by excessive levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, and can cause a range of symptoms<\/a> including a round face, weight gain and weak muscles, according to the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOver time, the excess cortisol causing these symptoms can lead to progressive deleterious health effects like high blood pressure, diabetes, bone loss,\u201d said Dr. Lilah Morris-Wiseman, the chief of Johns Hopkins Medicine\u2019s division of endocrine surgery.<\/p>\n In the newsletter interview, Schumer said she had been undergoing medical tests while also doing a round of interviews to promote the new season of her Hulu show, \u201cLife and Beth.\u201d<\/p>\n She told the newsletter that she was \u201cin M.R.I. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I\u2019m healthy was the greatest news imaginable,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Cushing\u2019s syndrome is sometimes the result of a tumor in the adrenal gland or elsewhere in the brain, requiring surgery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But in Schumer\u2019s case, the excess cortisol that led to her diagnosis was brought on by \u201cgetting steroid injections in high doses,\u201d according to the newsletter.<\/p>\n The comic has been open about having endometriosis,<\/a> a disease that affects the uterus and can be treated with steroids<\/a>, though it was unclear if that was why Schumer was getting injections.<\/p>\n When steroids are the cause of Cushing\u2019s syndrome, reducing their use can help reverse the symptoms of the disorder, Dr. Morris-Wiseman said.<\/p>\n Schumer highlighted the shaming that women face when their bodies change. Many comments on social media after her appearance on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d were derisive and misogynistic.<\/p>\n After that appearance, Schumer wrote in an Instagram post that a woman \u201cdoesn\u2019t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation,\u201d but that she wanted to \u201ctake the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n She is the latest celebrity to disclose a medical diagnosis after facing public scrutiny over her health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Last week, representatives for Wendy Williams, the former talk show host, announced that she had been diagnosed<\/a> with \u201cfrontotemporal dementia and aphasia<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n