Miriam Reyes: “I suffer from Cushing's disease but I am not a monster”

Finalist of Miss Spain in 1991, model and presenter, Miriam Reyes He lived his most television stage in the same way he endures today a disease for which there is hardly any cure: with dignity and optimism. The beautiful 40-year-old from Tenerife has been suffering from Cushing's diseasea disease that his body swells and is full of sores and scars that anatomy that, along with her friendliness, gave her so much success in the 1990s. The disease presented to Miriam in the shape of brain tumor in 2005 and led to this rare syndrome that made him gain more than 20 kilos in a few months. The weight gain wasn't the worst.

“It is a complicated disease when everything starts to go wrong for you,” he says. “I push forward because I'm not dying“sums up Miriam Reyes, to whom the “hard treatment” that follows and the continuous check-ups have not diminished that energy and good vibes that dazzled the viewers of Telecinco and Antenna 3 during the 1990s.

His problems began with a brain tumor. He was running in 2005 and knew how to overcome this attack. However, the consequences resulted in a rare disease that in his case “is even stranger.” In his words, the symptoms are multiplied by four in his case “but thanks to the treatment they are not becoming exaggerated.” But she clarifies: “I'm not a monster and I can lead my normal life.”

Cushing's syndrome transforms the physique of people who suffer from it, explains Jesús Pérez, a doctor at the Endocrinology Service at the Canary Islands University Hospital (HUC), who cites, in addition to the body swellingother signs such as the appearance of wounds or muscle atrophy, especially in the legs.

All of them are suffered by Miriam Reyes, who also says that beyond the visible symptoms, the one that affects her the most is tachycardia: “Suddenly you get the feeling that your heart is racing and you are going to have a heart attack.” The HUC doctor confirms that diseases such as diabetes wave hypertension They are associated with Cushing's disease.

However, the Tenerife model insists that she is coping better with this relapse. Eight years ago she gained weight “to the point of having the belly of an eight-month pregnant woman” and she lost so much muscle strength that “sometimes there was no way to even get up.” Now the swelling has given her a break and she loses her strength “sometimes to the point of not being able to open a bottle.”

Her optimism stems from not denying her condition as a sick person: “Everyone has their own burden, many have financial problems and I have had to deal with my health.” And this despite the fact that You should have regular tests every three monthsfor those who travel to Madrid and in which the doctors not only monitor the follow-up of Cushing's but also look for “if there is another small tumor that is causing it.”

According to the HUC endocrinologist, the appearance of a tumor is one of the most common causes of the syndrome suffered by the model and presenter. Called an adenoma, it is a generally benign tumor that appears in the brain and causes the body to generate an excess of the hormone called cortisol.

“Human beings need this substance to, among other things, regulate sugar levels, but when there is too much of it, the symptoms of Cushing's appear,” says Dr. Pérez.

From Miss to presenter

Miriam Reyes was born on August 7, 1972 in Puerto de la Cruz. She rose to fame after being first bridesmaid in Miss Spain 1991that won Sofia Mazagatos. He also obtained the bands of Miss Photogenia and Miss Telecinco, the network that broadcasts the beauty pageant. However, it was Antena 3 that gave her popularity by turning her into an announcer.

She was a stewardess Jesus Hermida and later he presented his first program: 'The usual tourist'. She did not put aside her role as a model and she continued walking on catwalks and posing for various advertising campaigns, among which the contract that made her the face of Don Algodón stands out. In 2005 she retired from it to fight against her illness.