If you’re reading this, I want you to forget who you are and take on the identity of a doctor, specifically an endocrinologist… starting NOW! GO!
A female patient has just come in with strange symptoms. You are the only one who can diagnose her. She’s been seeing a general practitioner for years and been diagnosed with everything from Cushing’s disease to hypothyroidism to high blood pressure. All wrong. Do you think you can help her? You can? Great!!
Let me give you a brief overview of her patient history.
She’s been experiencing some major fatigue—just tired all the time. Her blood pressure has been high, as well as her cholesterol levels. She’s gained a lot of weight of late, but gradually. No, I don’t think it’s thyroid disease, because she lacks the common symptoms. It has to be something else. It could be hormonal, and that’s what the patient assumes. She could be on to something. She has sleep apnea, as well as chronic low back pain.
Here’s the kicker, doctor.
Her hands and feet are huge, and not at all proportional with the rest of her body. She’s complaining about not being able to see her ankles anymore. It could be lymphedema, which is as you know, the collection of fluid in certain areas, specifically the limbs.
She brought a picture with her. It’s of her before the symptoms started. Her face now looks noticeably different. She’s got what looks like a lump on her upper back—it’s subtle, but it’s there. Again, it could be Cushing’s, but apparently she hasn’t noticed any easy bruising as is characteristic of Cushing’s.
She did say her shoe size has gone up five sizes in the last three years. Crazy, right? If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, we might be able to diagnose this woman. Gaps in her teeth? Yep, meaning her jaw is growing. You want to run some tests? Let’s do it.
What do you think, doctor? What disease does your gut tell you this woman has? We want to be sure. She can’t go through another misdiagnosis.
