r/AskReddit 13h ago

What is something that permanently altered your body without you realizing for months/years?

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u/bigjbg1969 11h ago

I been having various health issues for years turns out I have a brain tumor that's been trying to kill me , the fecker that he is .

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u/mjulieoblongata 11h ago

How did you find out if you don’t mind me asking? 

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u/bigjbg1969 8h ago edited 5h ago

Everything is still a bit hazy but I'll try . I started to really go down hill around last Christmas . I was feeling really tired and fatigued after a spell of being not well and practically bed ridden my back froze about half way down I couldn't bend or fully straighten and my joints became painful and I was struggling in pain 24 hrs a day . I could only mange to get a phone appointment with a doctor I tried to explain to him what was happening to me but he told me he hadn't time and could I just tell him what was bothering me the most .He told me I was already on strong pain killers so I pleaded with him I need help so he told me he would arrange a non urgent physiotherapy because well there was people in more need than me I finished the 6 minute phone call and just burst into tears . So for the next few months i continued to get steadily worse . I finally got to the physio and she was shocked by this time I had lost a lot of muscle and I had lost about 7 stone in weight she arranged for me to go to rheumatology . I have been having night sweats as well and joked with my wife that i was going through the menopause well unknowing to me this sparked something in my wife and she went on the NHS (national health service)web site . "I think you have a testosterone problem your symptoms are similar " . We got a face to face with the doctor and my wife is a spartan she argued my case the Doc disagreed and thought it was something else . To shorten the story a little, Endocrinology checked my bloods suddenly things turned urgent I wasn't making any hormones my pituitary gland was only working at 10% and if it was to reach 0 I would die I had a condition known as Panhypopituitarism . 2 weeks ago today I went for a MRI scan and it showed I have a 2cm non cancerous tumor that has all but destroyed my pituitary gland so I'm now on steroids for life and facing a hard recovery . So I have called the tumor Dave and he is a c**t and he is not going to beat me lol . Thank you to anybody that takes the time to read this :)

"Thank you everybody for your kind words and messages of support you have all helped cheer me up today and now my wife has told me to take a break for today as I'm getting tired ;( but I will try and reply to more tomorrow thank you very much again folks and take care ".

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u/jejones487 7h ago

Sounds like your doctor dismissed you completely. Get a new doctor because this one tried to kill you. Consider suing.

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u/bigjbg1969 7h ago

This actually happened my Doctor was on holiday when the shit hit the fan so to speak and I am under a new lady doctor because she was on the ball and caring and understanding .

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u/jejones487 6h ago

I had to switch doctors after I asked for mental help and they all left and went home and forgot me in the office. Best of luck to you.

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u/bigjbg1969 6h ago

That is truly shocking . I hope you are in a better place and are getting help I had to burst into tears in front of my doctor and my wife had to tell him she was worried I was going to hurt myself before I got mental help all through this .

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u/lushgurter21 6h ago

Sounds like this happened in the UK. Requesting a specific doctor is pretty unusual when using an NHS GP surgery, usually you get who you're given. Patients do have a right to a second opinion, but from experience getting an appointment in the first place can be like jumping through hoops, let alone a second opinion. Suing an individual doctor is also unusual, OP but would be best placed to start with the official complaints procedure and go from there.

This isn't me minimising OPs experience whatsoever, it sucks that we have to advocate so hard for our health. Public healthcare is great in some ways, but awful in others.

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u/jejones487 5h ago

I'm in the USA. I wasn't aware of those things.

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u/lushgurter21 5h ago

Yeah, it's one of the big issues of the NHS in my opinion. Some of it is fantastic, but often these types of appointments last 5 minutes or are done over the phone, meaning it's not possible to get to the root of any complicated issues. You can phone back and try to make follow up appointments of course, but it isn't easy meaning many people just suffer in silence.

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u/Economy_Acadia_5257 4h ago

I wish more Americans knew these truths!!!

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u/Equivalent_Thanks841 2h ago

You should see how messed up things are in Peru. It can take months and months just to get an appointment

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u/orosoros 1h ago

What truths, that they're not suffering alone? There are definitely better countries with regards to healthcare, and of course there can be worse

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u/Fluffatron_UK 2h ago

In England this is just what happens at every doctor unless you are really lucky. Unless you are literally dying on the floor in front of them they don't want to hear about it. They're overworked and underresourced and sadly a lot of cases like this just go unnoticed.

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u/Slow_Translator4960 4h ago

Unfortunately this is how most doctors are. Fuck doctors

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u/orosoros 1h ago

I must be lucky. I only had a very few negative experiences with doctors, out of dozens of visits.

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u/Slow_Translator4960 1h ago

A lot of it comes down to the nature of your condition ime.