Published 2 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2384
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2384

Practice

A Patient’s Journey

Addison’s disease

Sarah J K Baker, patient1, John A H Wass, professor of endocrinology and consultant endocrinologist2

1 London, 2 University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX2 7LJ UK

Correspondence to: J A H Wass john.wass@noc.anglox.nhs.uk

doi:10.1136/bmj.b2385

This patient in her late 40s describes the process of her diagnosis and how medications and self help enable her to have a good quality of life

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

I was diagnosed with Addison’s disease in March 1994. I was 33 years old, living in Princeton, New Jersey. Two months earlier I had succumbed to flu, which included copious vomiting. Taken to hospital for rehydration, I quickly collapsed and began hyperventilating. However, the real, underlying problem remained undetected, as I rallied in response to a saline drip and was later discharged.

In the following weeks, I seemed to recover, but exercise left me breathless and faint. Nausea and dizzy spells had become daily occurrences. I called the doctor when, one day, the dizziness didn’t go away and it became increasingly difficult to breathe. By the time I reached the surgery I could no longer stand or sit. The doctor did an electrocardiogram (ECG), took my blood pressure, and deliberated about what the problem might be. His clinical diagnosis was Addison’s disease (I had never heard of it; he had . . . [Full text of this article]


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