To be scared to go to the doctors?

[worriedaboutchristmas]

I’m not well. At all- for the last week or two I’ve been exhausted- overwhelmingly so. Im sleeping up to 15 hours a day. Falling asleep in work. I’ve stopped driving. I’m not able to stay awake sometimes.

I’m not depressed. There is something physically causing this. But I am scared to go to the doctors. I think I have diabetes. I’m overweight. I drink too much, eat too much and do virtually no exercise. The tiredness is worse after eating.

But it’s about to be Christmas. And I feel like if I’m diagnosed with diabetes and have to then act upon that- it will ruin Christmas a bit. No alcohol or Christmas chocs. Not being able to go out for a Christmas meal. So would aibu to just carry on until after the festive period?

I felt very much like you, along with severe pain, breathlessness, feeling like I could collapse at any moment and a kind of pounding (not painful) in my head

I was incredibly thirsty, had bad diarrhoea, painful pins and needles in my whole body

It wasn’t until I finally did collapse at home that I was taken into hospital where they found my blood count was dangerously low (40) and I had a temperature of over 40

I also had bruising all over and I didn’t bruise easily, the doctor took some bloods and came back and told me I needed blood transfusions and bone marrow tests

For a couple of hours I was thinking the worst, then he came back and said it was Pernicious Anaemia which is easily treated by B12 injections

I had 10 days of treatment in hospital and while I do still have issues with the illness and I’ll be on injections for life but I feel a hundred times better

Please make the appt OP, it’s probably something very simple

Well done on making that decision OP. Even if it did take a load of random people on the internet to help you!

You have December off work? Diabetes or not, what a great chance to kick start a bit of a healthier lifestyle. Cut out the booze for a bit... Then it will only take a couple of glasses to get sloshed at Christmas if you want to. Get in the habit of doing a bit more exercise etc.

Good luck with it all.

Did you make the appointment op?
Well done if you did - better to sort it out now before it gets worse. My friend and daughter spent last Christmas in hospital due to diabetes before her diagnosis.
MissFlashpants - good luck to you too

If it's only been a couple of weeks its most likely a virus. By all means make an appointment, but it isn't an emergency so you can afford to wait a few weeks.

I'm a GP by the way.

Thanks Emily and House

How did you get on OP ?

You should definitely go to the doctors and not put it off. Your health comes first. No one really likes going to the docs but you know you need to. Please get yourself checked out.

OP (and anyone else in this situation) - Please don’t ignore these symptoms because you don’t want to face it or you’re afraid it will ruin Christmas or an upcoming birthday, special event, or some other holiday. Diabetes is the tenth leading cause of death in the UK (mortality statistics from the Office of National Statistics), and it is incredibly dangerous when uncontrolled. My uncle died from complications of not caring for his diabetes symptoms, and I miss him terribly.

Perhaps you have diabetes (or pre-diabetes), perhaps it is a thyroid problem, or maybe it is something else entirely, but it’s much better to know. I’m sure those who love and care about you would rather share several more Christmases with you healthy and feeling well. You are irreplaceable and worth more than a bottle of Christmas wine or a tin of Cadbury’s.

You are definitely not being unreasonable, I am a doctor myself and still feel nervous about going to see my GP! It's natural to be worried about your health but like the others have said, it may not be a long term condition like diabetes, it's possible it's a virus or anaemia. Hope you feel better soon x

You must ring the doctors and get checked out. If you have diabetes then it can be treated with medication. The weight will be a big factor and if you have any paternal relatives, aunts uncles then this will also double the risk.
You can eat chocolate despite having diabetes and cake and sweets. It’s about everything in moderation. It’s carbohydrates that increase blood glucose levels as this is the body’s energy source. It’s about everything in moderation. Nothing is off the menu.
Thyroid problems can also cause low energy levels so just get checked out and then u can start to feel better. Hope you get sorted x

Could you be pregnant? Sounds very much like me during early pregnancy.

In terms of diabetes, have you lost unexplained weight and are you particularly thirsty? Why would you assume it’s diabetes just from being tired?

@worriedaboutchristmas, are you alright Sweet ?

Thanks all for the support. I’m still somewhat in limbo- as my surgery don’t do any advance appointments and despite calling at 8 and 1 everyday since Monday , all appointments are fine within minutes. I could start another thread about the futility of it.

Sammy- no weight loss- but thirst and thrush, as well as the tiredness, which is worst after eating. I realise we can’t self diagnose etc and this thread has helped me calm down (I haven’t seen a doctor in 14 years. Closest I’ve come is midwives) but my symptoms are consistent with diabetes hence my jump to that conclusion. But I appreciate that it may be a range of other things too. —not pregnancy though. That’s not a possibility—-

Gone within minutes

Fuck that's shocking from the surgery! Get a complaint letter written to the practice manager. That's appalling service. Mine is similar but i can normally eventually get one booked for a month away if I check daily. Imagine if it was something serious like cancer where days matter and they get you into the hospital for checks within a fortnight!? Days waiting for an appointment could be serious. We pay for this via taxes, don't accept this shit.

Phone tomorrow and say its urgent.

Out of hours GP for an appointment? Is there one in your area?

I would go to a local walk in clinic tomorrow if you have one, you really need to get seen.

For those who asked for updates- I've finally got an appointment this morning

Wish me luck, and thanks again to all who replied, and helped me muster the courage to go

Hope all goes well

Good luck, OP - Just be open and let them know that you want to leave no stone unturned. You know it's medical and you want medical stuff checked before psychological stuff.

Good luck. And yay for finally getting an appointment!

How did you get on?

I do hope you get your health sorted out - then you can really enjoy Christmas (but possibly with less wine or food)!

Oh, well done. It's tough enough without having to persevere just to get the appointment. I hope the doctor took time to listen to you properly and that you get the right diagnosis quickly.