My assistant, Zen Buddhist has had a general malaise all the time I've known her. She means well, she wants to work hard, but something always seemed to get in the way. She has an amazingly warm and loving personality (which translates well over the phone), she has a good heart, and she's so trustworthy that you could hand her the Hope Diamond and walk away, and she'd still have it when you returned. So whenever she couldn't show up to work, I just let it go.I knew that whatever the current complaint was - it was genuine. And I knew that she wasn't a hypochondriac. I just dismissed it as her having a more delicate constitution than most, and a result of hard work and stress (which she definately has).
Her symptoms often included insomnia, mild depression, nausea, mild exhaustion, weight fluctuation, and light headedness. She's 52. Her sight has been deteriorating for some time, and she has been gradually increasing her reading glasses prescription. On Tuesday, she told me that she needed to get glasses because her sight was getting even worse. She also was nauseated once more.That's when it hit me.
"Zen, your family has a history of diabetes, right? And didn't you say that a doctor once told you that you might have it when you had kidney stones several years ago?" I asked.
"Yes," she said, puzzled.
"You've got all the classic symptoms!" I said. "Zen, you've got diabetes, and if my guess is correct, it's serious. You need to see a doctor immediately to get tested. It explains everything that you've been complaining of lately!"
"Well my mom has to test her blood daily, maybe I should get it tested by her now, huh?" asked Zen.
"Yes! Go now, go to your mom's, and get her to test you. Go! Now!" I said, almost pushing her out the door. She looked a little hurt. "NO, I'm not getting rid of you. I'm worried about you, you idiot! Go!" I said. She went.
She called me shortly after, to tell me what her test results were. Normal blood sugar reads at less than 100; hers was just a little over 400! I said nothing about the dangers. I figured the doctor would.
She went to the doctor's on Wednesday and the doctor certainly was clear. As some of you know, if you don't get your diabetes under control, and keep it that way, you will die and it won't be a pleasant death: You might lose limbs, organs, or your sight along the way.
She's now on meds, resting, and undergoing further tests. So, I've lost my assistant for this week. But I'm glad that we've solved the problem, because I don't want to lose her in the future, and she's not only my assistant - she's my friend.
And yet, I come from a scientific background. When I watch Gray's Anatomy or House I usually am able to diagnose over half of their cases. So, I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. I wish I had. Happily, I think we caught it in time.
22 comments:
don't feel bad. We are all responsible for our own health care. She knew she had a family history and should have be cognizant of the signs. All the medical professionals she visited should have been aware of it and in fact most (including eye doctors) have that as part of the screening process.
So don't kick yourself because you finally caught it when lots of other folks missed it
Wow, maybe you should have been a doctor. My wife, who is a doctor, makes it hard for me to watch these shows because she is always diagnosing the "patients" before it is announced to the medically ignorant watchers, me, which kind of takes some of the sting out of the punch line. The male "pregnancy" case on Grey's Anatomy comes to mind.
Hmmmm.... some of those symptoms make me want to have that test done when I go for my annual next Thursday. It also ran heavily in my family. Thanks for the reminder!
I am glad you were around to tell her this. So many americans suffer from this disease. So many people stuff their faces with the worst kinds of food, drink tons of soda, and dont work out 30 min a day.
It is all I can do to drop little hints now and then when people complain that I only ever drink water with my meals. "No soda, lemonaid, or iced tea with sugar?" They ask.
No, no, I want to keep my vision and ability to walk. Tanks!
And it isnt just a skinny health nut complaining about lazy americans: most of the people I know get really sick as they get old. And it is depresing as hell. Half the people I see during the day are obese, and already sick even if they are only in their 30s. And the bulk of them are women. There is a serious issue here.
Alex, you are oh-so-right. I used to be a vegetarian (which is a difficult lifestyle to maintain unless you're so crazy about animals that you'd rather suffer than eat them). I've always been health-conscious but not as much as my parents and my mother's brother. Now they always eat and do the right things. This is probably why they've made it into their mid and late 60s. I decided a couple months ago to go toward a modified vegetarian diet where I allow myself small quantities of meat, but mostly am sticking with veggies, fruit, eggs and dairy. I think it's simply the wiser way to go. And you have a good point about drinks with sugar. That's one of the reasons I stay away from them. If I want sugar, I go for it in solid form and then I'm also more aware of what I'm intaking.
Ellen, glad I could help! I hope you don't have it, but you'll be catching it early (which is a good thing!)
Ed, She's a doctor? You'd never mentioned that before. How cool! I briefly considered becoming a doctor, but was married at 18 and decided I didn't want to deal with years of residency later on, which would put a heavy toll on the marriage. I still went through college, of course.
Mallory, well, she doesn't go to doctors usually! She's one of the sorts that only sees a dr. in a hospital. So it wouldn't have been noticed by anyone until it was too late. One of the things that threw me at first was that she had gone on a fad diet briefly: The Lemonade Diet (it's an idiotic one). It involves drinking gallons of sweet lemonade, and ONLY lemonade, in an effort to "cleanse" your system. I had told her it was bad for her, but she ignored me and she seemed to thrive on it at first. I put it down to "The Placebo Affect". She thought it was going to do her good, so it did.
Excellent work Doc.
Scott
Scott, :o) Dr. Saur is in da house...
That's pretty scary... especially the deteriorating sight. Good thing she's getting it under control now. Can the damage be reversed?
She's lucky you caught that. We lost a coworker not too long ago. One day she was there, then she called in sick, and then she was dead. I think she had some kind of aneurysm. She was morbidly obese and I worried about her health although I barely knew her, but I didn't say anything. I think she already knew she was fat.
BTW, I don't feel stress, I cause it. I can't understand why some people torture themselves or allow things outside of their control to bother them. I always want to ask them "Is your life so easy that you need to deliberatly make it worse?"
Grant, *LOL* My mother used to say "I don't get stressed, I cause it." I agree. Let me rephrase: I'm kicking myself mildly. I simply wish I caught it sooner. If I hadn't caught it at ALL, it wouldn't have been my fault either. But I also use what I'm given which usually includes my mind. So I'm wondering why I didn't catch it sooner; I'm not beating myself up over it, though. I agree; sometimes people want to agonize over situations. It's usually a type of attention-getting behavior.
Jenn, we don't know how bad the damage is, yet. It's probably going to be OK, but I just spoke with her and she's still in the 300s, even after a couple days of meds. My guess is she will end up needing to take insulin. That freaks her out, because she doesn't think she'll be able to give herself the injections. I told her that I can do that for her, no problem.
wow- what a good friend, to be willing to give injections. ;) I had gestational diabetes when i was pregnant, and i was able to control it with diet only. I remember getting upset when the doctors told me i had diabetes. I thought only fat, very overweight people had to worry about diabetes. Or people who ate unhealthy diets...turns out you can be thin & eting right and still get diabetes. Type 2 does run in my family too, and the fact that i had gestational diabetes puts me at an even higher risk than normal. yae.
I think your friend is lucky to have you around to kick her into gear about finding out just exactly what is wrong.
I am just going to call you Doc from now on. Hope Zen stays focused and takes care of herself.
I gave you some hints on your blogger burnt out post. Perhaps I can give you more ideas on what to do when your assistant is out for the day??
..."symptoms often included insomnia, mild depression, nausea, mild exhaustion, weight fluctuation, and light headedness."
I mean, all those symptoms can be a total different disease or problem as well. Those are so general, aren't they?
I'm. not. debating. with. you... lol!
I am just stating that whenever I see a 'health magazine' and they list a whole buncha' symptoms for their advertisements on medications, they list the most general symptoms.
"Are you tired? Are you restless at night or sleep too much? Do you find yourself depressed at times, and on highs on other days? Do you get dizzy spells or suffer from the occasional headache? Then you are clinically depressed!"
BAM! A bottle of Buspar is thrown atchya'.
However, I am very impressed that you nailed her diagnosis! But with those symptoms, that's amazing!
The doc is in!
Now, THAT'S a good news story!
I'm sure Zen is thrilled (not to have diabetes) to have an answer that explains her health woes. I hope she gets on the right healthy track and takes care of herself.
Dr. Saur will make sure of it!
How fortunate that you were there to spot the symptoms. better late than never! There are a number of incurable but treatable diseases. I suffer from one myself. I am not nor have I ever been "grateful" to have any particular malady, however, I am eternally grateful for a treatment that allows me to live normally with an otherwise terminal and fatal disease. You friend and associate should be fine... and diabetes runs in my family as well. I wonder if I told my doctor that?
~Mike
well done, Dr. Kraut! haha
I'm sure Zen is happy to have someone concerned for her health - hope she gets the care she needs!
Oh such a good and caring friend you are!
My friend's father died from complications of diabetes. He never took care of himself. So I know of what you speak. Zen's in my prayers!
As they used to say on HeeHaw (sort of) ...
"Saaaaaaaur-lute!"
Hey, I have a little paint in my neck and . . . well, never mind. Mr. Gator will just make fun of my advancing years!;o)
Good call. She will be thanking you always. My family has a long history of diabetes. I sure hope they come up with a cure.
Look at you using your superpowers for good instead of evil.
Nice catch, Saur. So glad it was diagnosed now and not later, when more damage could have been done.
Can't believe I said "paint" instead of pain. Once again, here come the age jokes. No matter. I am prepared to spank that Gator!
okay, you've motivated me to go get a check up :)
Wow, good call ... are you, or have you been in a past life, a Doctor ????
Hope you are having a great weekend.
Take care, Meow
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