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E24.4: Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing syndrome

You have too much of the messenger substance (hormone) cortisol in your body.

The messenger substance cortisol affects many processes in the body. For example, cortisol is released with stress. Cortisol also affects the sugar level in the blood and the blood pressure. The messenger substance cortisol is created in the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are located on the kidneys. The work of the adrenal glands is influenced by a regulating messenger substance from the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is a gland in the brain.

You drink a lot of alcohol. Alcohol affects various body functions. In your case, too much cortisol is being created as a result. If you no longer drink alcohol, that will also stop the creation of too much cortisol.

If you have too much cortisol in your body, various symptoms may develop. For example, fat may be stored in your body or face. On the other hand, the muscles in your arms and legs may become thinner. You may thus be weaker than normal. The skin may thin and stretch marks of some kind may form. The messenger substances also increase the sugar level in the blood. This may result in diabetes. In addition, the blood pressure may rise. If the disease lasts a very long time, the bones may no longer be as hard.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).