Amy Schumer has, in a roundabout way, thanked the internet for their trolling about her appearance.
Last year, the Trainwreck actress was faced with a barrage of comments about her ‘puffier face’.
Responding to the remarks at the time, Schumer argued that ‘a woman doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation’.
She did note, however, that she was ‘puffier than normal right now’.
But Schumer was later diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome — something that might not have happened if people hadn’t expressed concerns about her face.
What is Cushing Syndrome?
As per Mayo Clinic, Cushing Syndrome ‘happens when the body has too much of the hormone cortisol for a long time’.
The website goes on: “This can result from the body making too much cortisol, or from taking medicines called glucocorticoids, which affect the body the same way as cortisol.”
Symptoms include slow wound healing; acne; weight gain in the face (sometimes referred to as ‘moon face’); weight gain around the trunk of the body; and skin that bruises easily.
The illness affects approximately 13 per million people annually, and typically occurs in people aged 25 to 40, as per the National Organization of Rare Diseases (NORD).
What caused Schumer to get the condition?
Some have linked steroid injections to people developing Cushing Syndrome, something which Schumer revealed she’d been having.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Schumer said of people’s remarks: “At first, I was like, ‘F**k off’.”
But then she realized that some comments were from doctors.
She said: “I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m getting trolled by doctors?'”
She realised comments about steroid injections and Cushing Syndrome could be relevant to her as she’d been getting the treatment to help with her breast reduction and C-section scars.
Schumer went on to share: “So I got these was getting these steroid injections and so it gave me this thing called Cushing syndrome — which I wouldn’t have known if the internet hadn’t come for me so hard.”
Does Amy Schumer still have Cushing Syndrome?
Schumer said that she’s ‘got rid’ of the condition, adding that ‘it just has to work itself out’.
While it seems as if the Life of Beth star didn’t need any treatment for her Cushing Syndrome, there are several available options.
Mayo Clinic says that people can treat the health issue by reducing glucocorticoid use; having a tumor removed if that’s the cause; having radiation therapy; or by taking medications that control cortisol production.
