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Towards the
end of 2002, I find myself in a more positive mood. I have
regained a stone of the weight I lost and feel and look
better for that. I exercise regularly, usually going to the
gym for a 90-minute workout three times each week, although
I do not run.
However, I
have learnt to listen to my body. When I feel tired, I
rest. I try not to push myself to the limit. I have found
an osteopath, who I see on a monthly basis and more
frequently when I have severe pain. He has helped to reduce
the effects of the muscle spasms in my neck, back and
shoulders. I also take a low-dose (10mg) amitriptyline
at night, which helps to reduce muscle tension and
encourages restful sleep. My knees remain a problem,
although strengthening the muscles in my legs has helped.
I also have to be aware of my hydration levels as I have low
blood pressure and dehydration aggravates this condition,
which has resulted, on occasion, in fainting.
My initial
diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease occurred a while after the
birth of my second daughter, in 1984. Hashimoto’s is an
autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid gland and the
treatment is the same as that for an underactive thyroid.
However, the consultant told me, with little attempt at
compassion, that this left me predisposed to further
autoimmune diseases, of which the list was lengthy.
Understandably, this was frightening news to me, especially
when I discovered the other possibilities, so I registered
with a different consultant; a caring and understanding
doctor at a London teaching hospital. This professor ran a
series of blood tests and told me that I carried the
antibodies for Addison’s disease, which meant that there was
some likelihood that I would develop this in the future.
Again, this was worrying news but as the prognosis was
somewhat vague, I pushed it to the back of my mind and
continued with my life as a wife and mother of two young
girls.
We later
moved house and I lost contact with the professor of
endocrinology. In the autumn of 1996, twelve years after my
diagnosis with Hashimoto’s, I became unwell. I was
continually tired and I seemed to have pain in all my
joints, particularly in my knees. The GP I saw in our new
practice suggested physiotherapy, which I tried for several
months. By Christmas I found it difficult to climb the
stairs and would pull myself up on the banisters as I went.
I asked my
GP repeatedly to refer me back to the endocrinology
professor, who had moved to a new hospital. He refused and
then, at my insistence, wrote. The professor later told me
that this letter carried an apology for wasting his time,
dismissing me as a hysterical hypochondriac. So I went and
had the tests. By then it was late January and both my
daughters and I were suffering from flu. We were all at home
one afternoon when I received a call from the professor.
He said that tests confirmed that I did have Addison’s and
asked how I was feeling. When he heard that I had flu he
told me to see a doctor immediately and to start on
hydrocortisone within the hour.
Alarming as
this was, I followed his instructions – he had telephoned
the surgery and I was seen as soon as I arrived. This
time I saw a different GP, who explained everything to me.
When I complained that I didn’t want to take steroids, she
told me that actually, I had no choice. I now realise
how fortunate it was that I insisted on being referred, as
the first GP’s reluctance to read my medical notes, which
would have contained the information about the antibodies,
could have cost me my life. When I questioned him
about it, he told me that I should congratulate myself that
I had played an active role in my own healthcare.
My health
remains uncertain. I am currently recovering from an acute
inflammation of the joints attaching the ribs to the
breastbone, which caused such excruciating pain that I was
immediately given an ECG to rule out a heart problem. Since
then, I have been taking 50mg Voltarol three times a day,
which has left me feeling exhausted although reducing the
pain. I was also told that non-specific inflammation is
linked with Addison’s – something which I had never heard
stated so directly. However, as I reflect on my health and
my life, I take pleasure from the knowledge that I have
worked hard, both to establish a useful life, and, whilst
acknowledging that my illness will not disappear, in aiming
to become stronger.
Julie
(Surname
withheld in accordance with the ADSHG publishing code of
conduct)
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