I’m 43 years old.  I have the non-salt-wasting type of cah.  Apparently it isn’t as severe as the kind that alot of people have.  I was born with an enlarged clitoris and had surgery to "repair" it when I was 4.  I’ve never had surgery to enlarge my small vaginal opening.  I’ve taken cortisone (although not high dosages) since I was 2. 

I take Dexamethasone, calcium supplement, birth control pills (to cause me to menstruate more frequently), prozac, and until recently, Potassium. 

I gained about 100 pouns since high school (I blame the cortisone) and I’ve only lost about 25 of it within the past year after my endocrinologist changed my cortisone prescription from Predisone to a smaller dose of Dexamethasone.  I have problems with acne and men don’t seem to find me attractive.  I haven’t dated since high school and e-harmony isn’t even helping!

I don’t like my life very much and in the past I’ve prayed that God will give me a life-threatening disease.  I don’t want to commit suicide because I want it to be God’s decision about when I die, but recently I decided that I was being a hypocrite and that maybe God wants me to die but I’m keeping myself alive with the cortisone.

Does anyone know if not taking cortisone even with a "milder" version of CAH would be fatal?  I asked my endocrinologist about it and she said that I would probably get Addison’s disease.  Is Addison’s disease fatal or would it just screw up my life even worse?

The last time I went to my endocrinologist I felt like she didn’t really care about my treatment.  She didn’t even test the 17-OH progesterone level that she usually checks.  She also didn’t renew my prescription for potassium and when I asked her about it she said that I don’t need to take it anymore. 

I apologize for the length of this post.  Thanks for taking the time to read it.

Roberta