Bette Dowdell

I've dealt with a whacked-out pituitary gland for most of my life. A drunk driver hit my parents' car as we drove down the highway to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas, a month before my first birthday. My infant skull torpedoed into the door panel with enough force to remove the skin from my forehead--and cause a concussion.

Even minor concussions can damage the pituitary.

After a childhood of going to doctors because, according to my mother, "something wasn't right," symptoms exploded when I hit puberty. Doctors didn't know what my symptoms meant, and as far as I could tell, they didn't care, either. I was "fine."

As time went by, my health slipped away. Finally, I found an excellent doctor, the late Robert Hamburg in Detroit. Based on a mountain of tests, he finally put a name to my symptoms, panhypopituitarism.

Shortly after the diagnosis, we moved, and I had to find another doctor--only to realize I was back in the land of "You're fine" doctors. They didn't know what to do about pituitary problems so they didn't go looking. One doctor said my symptoms came from wanting to get married. Another, that they were emotionally based because my dad was a minister. Nobody seemd to think I might be telling the truth.

And I realized it was up to me. So I got my Oh, Yeah! attitude in gear and started to study. Thanks to Dr. Hamburg's diagnosis, I had a name. I had no idea what it really meant or how things worked; I just knew I needed to find some answers if I expected to have any kind of life.

It took me 30+ years, but I made it. My brain works again. My energy and my hair came back. Life is good.

Nowadays, doctors tell me the diagnosis must have been wrong because I doing too well. People with pituitary problems don't do this well. But I remember where I was and what I went through. And my research confirmed Dr. Hamburg's diagnosis.

Things haven't changed much for people with pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, immune system, etc. problems. Most patients don't do well. Without help from somewhere, they're doomed to live a kind of half-life.

So now I'm sharing my research. Explaining the endocrine system--what it is, what it does and how to get it back on track--and the impact it has on everything else in our bodies. The endocrine system may be unknown to most of us, but it's in charge of our health whether we understand it or not.

Understanding your endocrine system puts you at the head of the class--and ready to rumble against poor health. Sickness and disease don't have to be part of life if you give your body the support it needs. So that's what I write about.

Join me in my adventure.