Hannah is passionate about raising awareness of Addison's disease since her own recent diagnosis in May 2022. Here she shares with us her diagnosis story, how she manages her Addison's while living abroad in Gibraltar with the Royal Navy and embracing her diagnosis with an Addison's tattoo.
Read on to see other awareness tattoos shared by our community and the 'The Doctor's View' on dosing for a tattoo and medical guidance on its use as medic-alert ID.
My Diagnosis
My Addison’s journey is still very new to me, as I was only diagnosed in May 2022. In the 6 months prior to this, I was very unwell. Initially, we put this down to the stress of getting married in February 2022 and my husband being away with work. Having gotten through this stressful period, I still didn’t improve, and I visited my GP numerous times. Looking back, my symptoms were feeling constantly fatigued, craving salty snacks, aching (including chest pains) and low blood pressure.
Eventually, I knew I couldn’t go on like this, so I called in at the GP clinic and begged for an appointment. Luckily, I was given an emergency appointment and saw a different GP who immediately recognised something was wrong. Minutes later, I walked out of the GP clinic with a direct admission letter for the hospital, as the GP thought I had something wrong with my adrenal glands.
I was taken straight through triage and sent for review by a doctor. Immediately, I was being questioned about any recent holidays because of my tanned skin (we had been on a mini-moon to Cornwall and had seen far more rain than sunshine). What I now know is that I had hyperpigmentation.
I underwent a Short Synacthen Test, and when my results came back the next day, my cortisol levels were so low that the Endocrine consultant said that I was very lucky to be alive (somehow I’d walked our dog, Rodney, that morning too!)
The Aftermath
Before I left the hospital, I was given an injection of hydrocortisone and sent home with my new medication and a lot of leaflets about Addison’s disease. Almost overnight, I began to feel better, and within weeks, I felt better than I had in months.
Among this, my husband was told that he was being posted abroad to Gibraltar with the Royal Navy. I was told at my diagnosis to avoid stress, however, in the period where most people find their feet with Addison’s, we were packing up our house and preparing to put it up for rent. Of course, this was the easy bit, the reality of leaving our friends, family and our lives was the hard part! Despite the inevitable period of denial, our friends, including my amazing work colleagues, got me into a routine, and I continued to feel better every day.
Managing Addison's Abroad
Since my diagnosis, I have always used alarms on my phone as reminders for taking medication. The move inevitably upturned our lives, but we ensured we stuck to our routine. After a 1600-mile drive through France and Spain, we found ourselves arriving in Gibraltar on our first wedding anniversary. Now, as we often take day trips to Spain, I always make sure to carry the adrenal crisis letter in Spanish, which I downloaded from the ADSHG website.
Now living in sunnier climes, I have had to adjust a few bits of my lifestyle to cope with the heat. I make sure I remain hydrated and use electrolyte drinks (sugar-free, of course) and salty snacks to replace the salts I am losing. My consultant care has remained in the UK, but I do get my medication through the military GP here (although renewing the injection kit was harder than I’d hoped!)
As my confidence has grown, I’ve felt more open about talking about Addison’s to other people, and I try to promote awareness through community craft fairs. One of my closest friends is a paramedic, and she’s made me a video of how to draw up my injection kit, which I have been showing to my new friends and work colleagues.
Awareness Tattoo
Finally, being brave enough, I decided to have it tattooed onto my arm, which I am super pleased with. I wanted to be able to feel proud to have a rare condition and not embarrassed.
It is such a good talking point when people ask, and it means I no longer have to worry about losing a medical band as it's permanently on my arm.
When I had the tattoo, I made sure to double my hydrocortisone dose as I knew it would be painful and take a little while to complete.
I’ve come a long way, and I’ve still got lots to learn. For now, we’re enjoying our adventures in Gibraltar, and I am promoting awareness of Addison’s wherever I can.
Medical Tattoos
Increasingly, people are using tattoos to show that they have Addison’s disease or adrenal insufficiency and are steroid-dependent. It is recommended that these tattoos are not used to replace medic alert identification, but in addition to medical jewellery and your steroid alert card.
Learn more: Making others aware of your condition
