Greetings
Hello everyone. I am so happy to have stumbled across this site. I am a 37-year-old mother of a 15 year old son, and a 8 year-old little girl. They are my life. I often find myself feeling guilty when I am unable to do certain things with them ( such as going swimming i 100+ degree heat.
I am a critical care Registered Nurse. I have been forced to apply for disability-not only from the Addison's, but also a CVA and heart surgery. I really miss it, as it was my career and I loved helping someone get better--or be there when someone takes their last breath here on Earth. I would be there to do my best to comfort the family. If the patient had no family with them, I would be there at their bedside either holding their hand, or stroking their hair, and talking to them. Just so they knew they weren't alone. I really miss it.
As far as my Addison's, it has completely uprooted my life.I have always had hypotension, extreme fatigue, syncope, joint pain, and extreme salt cravings. my family MD just basically give me every reason-but never thought to get me tested for adrenal insufficiency. My endocrinologist just seems to not take me seriously when I tell her about my symptoms. I have had numerous hospitalizations for underlying infections-masked by the steroids.
The way is ended up being diagnosed: I felt bad and went to lie down for a nap. My daughter was sick as well, and taking a nap. She tried to wake me, but couldn't. i was in full-blown crisis with my systolic BP in the 50's, and my heart rate in the 30's. My baby girl wasted to call 911, my fiancee, and both of her grandmothers. I was blessed enough to get an MD that suspected Addison's once looking through my whole chart, as well as my symptoms upon arrival to the ED.
After many tests, and 11 days later, I was diagnosed with Primary Addison's Disease. It's notthe best diagnosis to be given---but there are much more things that could happen that would be far worse.
I am lucky to have a very helpful fiancee. He has learned to tell when I have a crisis looming. He doesn't hesitate to give me the emergency dose of Solu-Cortef and get me straight to the hospital. How ever, there are some aspects of the disease he doesn't quite get. He doesn't understand that there are days that I could be so tired and literally unable to get out of bed. I plan to let him read from this pae to see that I am not alone.
So, I really am looking forward to interacting with fellow Addisonians, and learning a lot. I am also very happy to be able to talk to someone that completely understands. I can't wait to get started.
Sincerely,
Angela Riffe
I am a critical care Registered Nurse. I have been forced to apply for disability-not only from the Addison's, but also a CVA and heart surgery. I really miss it, as it was my career and I loved helping someone get better--or be there when someone takes their last breath here on Earth. I would be there to do my best to comfort the family. If the patient had no family with them, I would be there at their bedside either holding their hand, or stroking their hair, and talking to them. Just so they knew they weren't alone. I really miss it.
As far as my Addison's, it has completely uprooted my life.I have always had hypotension, extreme fatigue, syncope, joint pain, and extreme salt cravings. my family MD just basically give me every reason-but never thought to get me tested for adrenal insufficiency. My endocrinologist just seems to not take me seriously when I tell her about my symptoms. I have had numerous hospitalizations for underlying infections-masked by the steroids.
The way is ended up being diagnosed: I felt bad and went to lie down for a nap. My daughter was sick as well, and taking a nap. She tried to wake me, but couldn't. i was in full-blown crisis with my systolic BP in the 50's, and my heart rate in the 30's. My baby girl wasted to call 911, my fiancee, and both of her grandmothers. I was blessed enough to get an MD that suspected Addison's once looking through my whole chart, as well as my symptoms upon arrival to the ED.
After many tests, and 11 days later, I was diagnosed with Primary Addison's Disease. It's notthe best diagnosis to be given---but there are much more things that could happen that would be far worse.
I am lucky to have a very helpful fiancee. He has learned to tell when I have a crisis looming. He doesn't hesitate to give me the emergency dose of Solu-Cortef and get me straight to the hospital. How ever, there are some aspects of the disease he doesn't quite get. He doesn't understand that there are days that I could be so tired and literally unable to get out of bed. I plan to let him read from this pae to see that I am not alone.
So, I really am looking forward to interacting with fellow Addisonians, and learning a lot. I am also very happy to be able to talk to someone that completely understands. I can't wait to get started.
Sincerely,
Angela Riffe
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