WE all love a long sleep from time-to-time.
But when Shannon Mosier started snoozing for over 12-hours-a-day, her family branded her ‘lazy’.
The 25-year-old didn’t know why she was always tired, but put it down to being stressed at work.
However, the dental nurse was forced to quit her job after medics discovered a tumour in her brain.
She was then diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, which had been caused by a growth in her pituitary gland.
The NHS says it’s an uncommon illness and can be caused by having too much of a hormone called cortisol in your body.
Read more on hormones
Shannon, who lives in the US, said she had always been healthy and fit, but noticed she had put on weight.
From June 2021 to March 2022 she had gained 50lb, despite not having changed her diet or lifestyle.
“I also gained a lot of really dark stretch marks which was so hard for me. To see my body change and not recognise myself made me spiral even more.
“I didn’t feel like myself and didn’t look like myself made me not want to go out even more, but I just didn’t think anything was wrong and needed change,” she said.
Due to the severe fatigue, she was having naps on her lunch break and was forced to quit her job.
Her family and friends would hint at her that she was being lazy and would tell her she needed to change her diet and lifestyle.
Shannon explained: “I would sleep over 12 hours a day and was still extremely exhausted. When I would wake up I would try and go about my day and eventually I would have to go back to bed as I was so tired. I would take a long nap and then could still sleep at night too.
“I was literally like sleeping beauty.
“I would need to take a nap during my lunch break at work and then I would come home at the end of day with no energy to exercise or to even make a meal, I would go to bed early and then I would sleep in at weekends.
“It got so bad that I didn’t want to see my friends as I had no physical, mental or emotional energy so I couldn’t be myself as that required too much energy.”
Guidance from the NHS states that Cushing's syndrome can start suddenly or gradually.
If left untreated, the symptoms can get worse, they said.
One of the main signs is weight and fat gain – with specific areas being affected, such as:
You may also experience:
You should see your GP if you have any of these symptomms.
In the event of an emergency, always call 999.
This was frustrating for Shannon as she didn’t want people to think she wasn’t pulling her weight.
She recalled her mum telling her she needed to change what she was doing – something she now says she feels bad about.
“The Cushing’s symptoms presents like you could be lazy and there was a part of me that thought I was just being lazy too.
“People would say to me ‘why don’t you try this diet I’ve been’ on or ask me if I wanted to go for a run. It was hurtful and frustrating. I know people meant well and I just tried to focus on that, but I was trying to tell everyone that something doesn’t feel right.”
Now, Shannon is telling her story as she wants to raise awareness of the condition and for people to understand that illnesses don’t always display the way you think they will.
“It’s important to know that it may not look like or seem like someone is ill, it may not be physical and not look like it but you never know.
Read More on The Sun
“Biggest thing I’m doing is trying to be gracious to myself and understand I can’t do as much as I want to, I’m 25 years old living with my parents not working and my social life has plummeted so feel like I’m behind in my life, but I can’t help what’s going on, and if need to take extra nap I have to listen to what my body needs.
“I am waiting to have the tumour removed so until then I will look after myself and try to recover,” she added.
