Diagnosis

I took the rest of the week off as sick, and could hardly move out of bed. I had a huge number of physical symptoms that kept developing. They included nausea to the point of not daring to move, an upset tummy, shaking all over, dehydration, the need to constantly pass urine, blanching, nightmares, migraine, sweats and fevers and a number more that I could spend all day listing.

3 days in and I had convinced myself that I had Diabetes. We have a history of Type 2 in the family and the drinking / wee-ing combination was forefront in my mind. I reluctantly made a Drs appointment for the Thurs. I didn't have a regular GP at my surgery so tended to avoid the place unless it was urgent! I met Dr Parihar and talked him through my symptoms, he checked my blood sugars and pressure. Sugars were normal and BP was a little high but nothing to worry about given the circumstances. He ordered a full set of blood tests and I went back to see him the following Tuesday. The key thing for me was that I was going to be diagnosed with something physical, because I was physically ill, right?

I saw Dr Parihar again and my blood tests had come back clear with no abnormalities. Great news. But then why did I feel so awful? I was very tearful and he was incredibly empathetic. He asked some questions about my lifestyle and after what you have already read, it didn't take him long to diagnose GAD - Generalised Anxiety Disorder. He signed me off for 2 weeks and told me that I needed to rest and recharge. What did I enjoy doing? What didn't I make time for? I should take some time to reconnect with these things and give my body a complete wind down. I went into complete shock and couldn't understand why I was being diagnosed with a mental illness.. I was physically sick? Dr P explained that because I had ignored the warning signs for such a long time, the illness had manifested into a large number of physical symptoms, making myself take notice. He briefly mentioned that there would be no time frame on recovery - this was a BIG issue for me as I am the sort of person who likes to know when things are happening and the unknown made me feel very uncomfortable.. and also said the words 'psychiatric nurse' which horrified me and went on to talk about more specialised help such as counselling or therapy. I will hold my hands up and say that I was embarrassed. In my mind at the time, people with mental illness surely had to be mad or in the least, weak or messed up. I wasn't any of these, why was this happening to me?!

I left with an appointment to return in 2 weeks and I had absolute intentions to be fully recovered in that time. How wrong I was!