vol2 - Page 82

 clear. I continued to put on weight at an extraordinary
 pace° Prior to starting ACTH therapy I weighed 175 pounds.
 Within several weeks after starting the second round of ACTH
 ...... therapyw my weight ballooned to more than 300 pounds_ It
 became increasingly difficult for me to breath as fluids
 pressed against my lungs. My feet and legs became terribly
 ...... swollen. None of my clothes fit.
 26. In addition to these physical effects, the
 steroid therapy began to affect my mind. I suffered from
 severe_ intense depression marked by abrupt mood shifts, i
 would become profoundlyupset for no reason and would have
 violent thoughts, i began to lose control over my emotions and
 I would suddenly start to cry.
 27° After the sixth month of ACTH therapy_ I felt
 that I had lost all control over my life. I was bedridden. On
 rare, very good days I could shuffle across my bedroom by lean=
 ing against the wall and on my wife while using a walker or
 cane. Even with all this support I could not maintain my
 balance or support my own weight. I often fell_
 28. At the end of the sixth month on ACTH, I saw my
 doctor. Again, he was clearly disappointed by my lack of
 improvement° I told him the ACTH therapy was having terrible
 mental effects and said I did not think that it was helping in
 any way. My spasms continued and my limbs were out of control°
 I told him that i thought my condition _as actually getting
 worse.