My Diagnosis Story - A blog by Hannah
On the 18th of December 2017 my life changed forever.
It all began in June 2017, halfway through my final year of High School. I started to struggle reading the whiteboard in class and need the teacher to enlarge the screen. I had never struggled with my eyesight before, however it runs in my family to need glasses, so I didn't think much of it at that stage. By September I was feeling constantly tired and fatigued. But I figured I was just run down from school? Exams were coming up and the pressure was on, I was stressed and most people were feeling the same way. I was so focused on school that the symptoms I started to show were oblivious to those around me. I started to have sleepless nights, I would need to go to the toilet multiple times throughout the night. I was drinking litres of liquids a day. I would drink things like fruit juice when I was thirsty, unknowingly making my thirst worse. My study became interrupted, I couldn't focus for more than an hour without needing a nap or a break. In October I started to lose weight, I didn't notice how drastic it was but in the space of two months I had lost almost 20 kilos which is significant even for someone whose goal is to lose weight, which was not mine. My symptoms were persistent, yet it wasn’t obvious to anyone what was going on. My attitude was always “I’ll just push through, it will pass”. I graduated and went on ‘Schoolies’ in Byron Bay with my friends. I didn’t have much energy, I spent most days lying by the pool and even stayed home from activities the group had planned. I didn't verbalise that I felt unwell, as it had been going on for so long I was used to it and didn't like to overreact……..
