Is there a chance this could be Addison's disease?

[BlackInk]

Hi

I feel like a hypochondriac searching for a diagnosis, but I've been feeling like shit for years now and getting worse. Drs are non-plussed, either suggesting menopause or depression...

I'm 45, slim, busy, 2 primary-school-aged children.

Fatigue, sometimes so bad I can hardly speak
Daily nausea and stomach problems, sometimes debilitating
Periods stopped suddenly 2 years ago
Difficulty concentrating
Often feel spaced out and dizzy (blood pressure always low)
Definitely losing weight without wanting to
Zero libido
Grumpy and lacking drive
Pain in joints and general weakness

I've had a read online and don't have any areas of darkened skin or increased urination. I work full time and appear to manage on the surface, but am a mess in private!

Two close family members have type 1 diabetes and my mum had a pituitary tumor in her later 40s.

I've had various blood tests over the past few years. Always lowish B12, D and iron. Thyroid ok.

... I know. It could be anything. It could be nothing. I just don't want to feel like this anymore. Will the doctor just think I'm attention seeking??

Fairlea - looks like we went through the same kind of process - I just remember arriving at the psychiatric hospital and seeing that I had to climb a huge flight of stairs to get to the Doctor's office and not being sure that I would make it to the top without collapsing! And yet the GP was sure it was not a physical illness....

Yes, Addison's here too

And yes my mum marched me to the doctor's

And yes the doctor said it was in my mind and i was wasting his time

It was only because my mum asked if i should look that orange that he tested my liver function which showed the low sodium and high potassium. I was then diagnosed in hospital in crisis.

All i remember it's the nurse being pleased my blood pressure was going up at 60/30

Your B12 is below the normal range. It is best that you stop supplementing with over the counter products as this can affect results, preventing the exact cause from being found out.

Go to the Pernicious Anaemia Society website and read up as much as you can. You need to be tested again for your B12 levels and whether your blood cells are enlarged. If you have PA then you are unable to process any form of B12 in your stomach (either through food or tablets) and you will need injections for life.

If your GP is unwill8ng to test/treat etc then the PA Society can provide advice to help you push for treatment. It’s important you look into this as, if left untreated, it can cause serious problems.

I was lucky in that mine was picked up quickly at a new surgery, but I know that some people have to wait far too long and push clueless GPs for anything to be done.

Keep us posted as to how you get on. Wishing you all the best, it’s a crap way to be feeling.

Addisons here too and tbh your symptoms sound very similar to when I was first dx! I never had a crisis to get a dx just a general unwell with lots of things for about 2 years, what did it for me was that my b100 kept dropping so much when going from sitting to standing I was falling over all the time.

If addisons is something you're really worried about definitely request your am cortisol levels to be checked and request a copy of the results to be sent to you. It's not something any doctor would normally check for so it's worth asking about if not anything else judt to rule it out!

You need to start taking a good quality high dose Vitamin D supplement - gelcaps easier to absorb. Massively helped my aches and pains. I take 10,000mcg daily. My D was 9 and now its around 180 and i feel so much better. I take bio identical HRT prescribed privately which seems to help.

Late reply but if look up POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Very similar symptoms.