How Reddit saved this man's life
(CBS News) - If you ever get yelled at for trolling the Internet too much, here's one reason to throw back in your accuser's face: It may save your life.
Bear Silber, a self-professed Redditor, was ill for five years. An active athlete who ran San Francisco's Bay to Breakers marathon in an hour, he started getting strange symptoms including rapid weight gain and high blood pressure. A doctor couldn't diagnose what was going on.
Despondent, he went on Reddit one fateful Saturday night and saw a picture of a man who looked like he had similar symptoms. After reading through the comments, he saw one by a user who suggested the man might have Cushing's syndrome, a disease caused by a tumor that produces high levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone or cortisol, a natural hormone created by the pituitary gland. Immediately, Silber looked up the symptoms of the disease, which include weak muscles, bone pain, and upper body obesity, and found out he had every single one listed.
We'll let Silber tell you the story himself.
The National Institutes of Health has more on Cushing's syndrome.
