Hello - I'm new to this board, and new to Addison's disease. I meet with an endo in late June to formally discuss symptoms and hopefully get the correct tests, but I would like to go in armed with the best information possible to make sure I can advocate for myself.
Here is what I'm experiencing:
- Muscle and joint aches (chronically worsening since ~2008, dx as fibromyalgia)
- Major depression (significantly worsened in February)
- Chronic fatigue, weakness
- Salt cravings (sometimes I will just eat salt out of bowl, or more commonly consume a jar of pickles in one sitting)
- Low BP ("normal" is 90/70 - recently the new "normal" has become 80/60 in a resting position and 60/40 in a standing position)
- Dizziness
- Orthostatic hypotension
- Unintentional weight loss (went from 160 to 125 this past year; 10 lbs of that has been in the last month)
- Fainting (over the last two weeks, I have had five major fainting spells resulting in loss of consciousness and head injury due to falls - this has been a relatively new symptom)
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- "Melasma" - I saw a dermatologist Sept 2010 because I noticed darkened spots on my face that concerned me. She dx'd it as melasma, a skin condition that women who are pregnant or are taking BCP commonly have. Since I've had a tubal ligation, that doesn't really apply to me. I have noticed more dark patches on my face, as well as what looks like lipliner around my lips. I also seem to be tanning much easier, although I don't go outside hardly at all. But I don't seem to have the hyperpigmentation in the classical areas, like knuckles, elbows, etc. that I see described on many websites.
My last bloodwork (February) showed normal sodium and potassium levels, but in looking at past bloodwork, sometimes the sodium is low and sometimes the potassium is in the high normal range. I don't know how much these levels fluctuate, and whether or not it is dependent on adrenal function at a particular time.
I also don't seem to be experiencing the nausea/vomiting aspects of the disease, which of course, I'm grateful for. Is this symptom always seen with Addison's, or only in a crisis? Also, is the hyperpigmentation variable between individual to individual? And is simple bloodwork (sodium/potassium levels at normal levels) enough to rule out a diagnosis?
I should also add that I did have some thyroid testing in May:
FT3 2.5 [2.2 - 4.0]
FT4 1.0 [0.8 - 1.5]
TSH 0.572 [0.358 - 3.740]
All of these values seem to be in the low normal range, which I don't know if is cause for concern for possible hypothyroidism. I seem to have some of the symptoms of that, but not all, such as weight gain.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best,
Marie
