First of all, Elisa, welcome to this wonderful and supportive board.  I, too, am 39.  Regarding the long term effects of taking cortisone, it really depends on the balance of your entire adrenal system.  In other words, if the medical cortisone you’re taking remains equal or less than what your body "should" be producing, the effects should be nominal.  I have non-salt losing CAH, but have been on 60 mg. hydrocortisone daily for 10 years.  Many here have noted what an unusually high dose of cortisone that is, but my blood tests for 17 OHP and others indicate that my CAH still remains under-controlled even at this dose.  It may have to do with my high activity level (sports, etc), but who knows?  Since my overall health remains good, I have not opted to up my dose, unless otherwise sick.  So the bottom line is, each of our situations is different.  We all react to the medicines differently.  Get your bone density and other concerns tested regularly, but just because you’ve been on meds for CAH all your life does NOT necessarily mean you’ll suffer unwanted side effects.