My Diagnosis: Day 1
What is Addison's Disease?
It is an auto-immune condition that affects the adrenal cortex layer of the adrenal glands. It prevents the production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as a related hormone aldosterone which regulates blood pressure through controlling salt and water content. A lack of these hormones lead to a wide range of symptoms ranging from bone pains to fainting. If the condition is undiagnosed for too long, the patient will enter an adrenal crisis in which their body is under severe danger and the symptoms become too strong. If not treated, the patient can lose their life. However, if diagnosed early and treated, the patient can effectively control the condition through life-sustaining steroid medication - namely hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone. While Addison's is a serious condition, it can be taken care of well through proper care and people can enjoy healthy lives!
17.01.18
On the morning of 17th January 2018, under severe distress from a flu my body reached it's breaking point. I had decided to take a shower to alleviate some of the stress but it didn't go as planned. As I left to grab my towel, my body froze. Without warning, I had fainted and hit my head on the toilet. In what I can only attribute to a strong motherly instinct, my mum who was leaving for work reacted to the thud (which could have been anything) and immediately knew it was me. I was out-cold for 5 minutes straight. It felt like seconds to me, but I could hear the muffles of my mum's screaming in the background asking "what happened?". I couldn't reply even though I wanted to say something. My body didn't let me. Eventually, I managed to shuffle my way towards the door but before I got there I apparently fainted again. My memory was so blurry at this point that I physically cannot remember it happening. However, my fall had broken things on the opposite sides of the room so I guess that's the proof. Another 5 minutes of torture for my mum and another fall closer to a coma for myself. After this fall, she knew I wasn't okay and called the ambulance still desperately banging on the door.
I'm not even sure how because I was so weak at this point, but I managed to get up a second time and open the door. I collapsed again into my mother's arms and she took me to rest on the sofa. At this point, the ambulance arrived and we found out that my standing/sitting blood pressures were differing by a large amounts and that my pulse was low. These three symptoms, low BP, low pulse and especially syncope (fainting) are very big signs of an Addisonian Crisis with the latter requiring an emergency injection of hydrocortisone to prevent coma or worse. Obviously, they are very generic symptoms and can be attributed to many other things which is what happened to me. I was told that the hot shower caused it and that I'd be fine with some rest. They then left. My mum obviously wasn't very happy although I accepted it. Partly because I didn't want it to be anything and partly because my mum was so worried I couldn't bear it. Within the next hour or so, my mum took me to the GP and I was beginning to go into fits from an unbearable headache that made me feel like being stabbed several times in the back. This is also a key sign of an Addisonian Crisis. Trying to remember that pain gives me a headache even now. Eventually, the GP saw me and checked my pulse which had fallen down to a dangerously low 32. He almost thought I'd go into cardiac arrest. This was when I started to panic. An ambulance took me away with paramedics who attempted to dismiss the doctor's orders. Paraphrasing the doctor's words - I was "washed-out" and looked like I was "about to go into a coma". She quickly looked over a recent blood-test and noticed my sodium/potassium levels were imbalanced. From a doctor's perspective, this should be fairly clear sign that the patient may have Addison's Disease especially if they are presenting with my symptoms. However, due to the rarity of the condition not many medical professionals are aware that it is something to worry about.
At the hospital, I was put in a bed and wheeled around the A&E department. I started to feel anxious. I mean thought I was simply being hit hard by a very strong flu. Dehydration, perhaps? Sifting through the list of patients, they finally took me into a room and took several bloods as well as ECG's. I wasn't being told anything no matter how much I asked. They hooked me to an IV fluid pack and told me that I was just dehydrated. I would leave in a couple of hours and I would also brag to my sister that I am better than doctors at diagnosing. At least that what's I thought.
Later on in the day, the doctors came one by one, hours away from each other watching my anxiety grow and grow. My mum struggled to comfort me. I think she knew that it was a lot more serious than it seemed and just held my hand at times. Many hours later at last, I received some definitive news but it wasn't great. I had to stay overnight.
"It's just dehydration right?"
The doctor just stared at me blankly and nodded. He then left me and my mum, telling us that I would need to have some stuff brought to me from home. Upset, I tried standing to go and have a talk, but I ended up losing my balance and feeling extremely dizzy. This was the sudden change in blood pressures taking effect.
Medicated and annoyed, I retreated to the bed and waited for my family to bring my stuff. I began discussing with sister and we both began to brace the possibility of Addison's Disease...
My symptoms Day 1:
- bone pains
- dizziness
- constant unbearable headaches
- mood swings
- low sodium, high potassium (through blood-tests)
- fainting
- low blood pressure and pulse
It is an auto-immune condition that affects the adrenal cortex layer of the adrenal glands. It prevents the production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as a related hormone aldosterone which regulates blood pressure through controlling salt and water content. A lack of these hormones lead to a wide range of symptoms ranging from bone pains to fainting. If the condition is undiagnosed for too long, the patient will enter an adrenal crisis in which their body is under severe danger and the symptoms become too strong. If not treated, the patient can lose their life. However, if diagnosed early and treated, the patient can effectively control the condition through life-sustaining steroid medication - namely hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone. While Addison's is a serious condition, it can be taken care of well through proper care and people can enjoy healthy lives!
17.01.18
On the morning of 17th January 2018, under severe distress from a flu my body reached it's breaking point. I had decided to take a shower to alleviate some of the stress but it didn't go as planned. As I left to grab my towel, my body froze. Without warning, I had fainted and hit my head on the toilet. In what I can only attribute to a strong motherly instinct, my mum who was leaving for work reacted to the thud (which could have been anything) and immediately knew it was me. I was out-cold for 5 minutes straight. It felt like seconds to me, but I could hear the muffles of my mum's screaming in the background asking "what happened?". I couldn't reply even though I wanted to say something. My body didn't let me. Eventually, I managed to shuffle my way towards the door but before I got there I apparently fainted again. My memory was so blurry at this point that I physically cannot remember it happening. However, my fall had broken things on the opposite sides of the room so I guess that's the proof. Another 5 minutes of torture for my mum and another fall closer to a coma for myself. After this fall, she knew I wasn't okay and called the ambulance still desperately banging on the door.
I'm not even sure how because I was so weak at this point, but I managed to get up a second time and open the door. I collapsed again into my mother's arms and she took me to rest on the sofa. At this point, the ambulance arrived and we found out that my standing/sitting blood pressures were differing by a large amounts and that my pulse was low. These three symptoms, low BP, low pulse and especially syncope (fainting) are very big signs of an Addisonian Crisis with the latter requiring an emergency injection of hydrocortisone to prevent coma or worse. Obviously, they are very generic symptoms and can be attributed to many other things which is what happened to me. I was told that the hot shower caused it and that I'd be fine with some rest. They then left. My mum obviously wasn't very happy although I accepted it. Partly because I didn't want it to be anything and partly because my mum was so worried I couldn't bear it. Within the next hour or so, my mum took me to the GP and I was beginning to go into fits from an unbearable headache that made me feel like being stabbed several times in the back. This is also a key sign of an Addisonian Crisis. Trying to remember that pain gives me a headache even now. Eventually, the GP saw me and checked my pulse which had fallen down to a dangerously low 32. He almost thought I'd go into cardiac arrest. This was when I started to panic. An ambulance took me away with paramedics who attempted to dismiss the doctor's orders. Paraphrasing the doctor's words - I was "washed-out" and looked like I was "about to go into a coma". She quickly looked over a recent blood-test and noticed my sodium/potassium levels were imbalanced. From a doctor's perspective, this should be fairly clear sign that the patient may have Addison's Disease especially if they are presenting with my symptoms. However, due to the rarity of the condition not many medical professionals are aware that it is something to worry about.
At the hospital, I was put in a bed and wheeled around the A&E department. I started to feel anxious. I mean thought I was simply being hit hard by a very strong flu. Dehydration, perhaps? Sifting through the list of patients, they finally took me into a room and took several bloods as well as ECG's. I wasn't being told anything no matter how much I asked. They hooked me to an IV fluid pack and told me that I was just dehydrated. I would leave in a couple of hours and I would also brag to my sister that I am better than doctors at diagnosing. At least that what's I thought.
Later on in the day, the doctors came one by one, hours away from each other watching my anxiety grow and grow. My mum struggled to comfort me. I think she knew that it was a lot more serious than it seemed and just held my hand at times. Many hours later at last, I received some definitive news but it wasn't great. I had to stay overnight.
"It's just dehydration right?"
The doctor just stared at me blankly and nodded. He then left me and my mum, telling us that I would need to have some stuff brought to me from home. Upset, I tried standing to go and have a talk, but I ended up losing my balance and feeling extremely dizzy. This was the sudden change in blood pressures taking effect.
Medicated and annoyed, I retreated to the bed and waited for my family to bring my stuff. I began discussing with sister and we both began to brace the possibility of Addison's Disease...
My symptoms Day 1:
- bone pains
- dizziness
- constant unbearable headaches
- mood swings
- low sodium, high potassium (through blood-tests)
- fainting
- low blood pressure and pulse
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