Mrs Thomas has used Medix services on a number of occasions over the past years for varying medical conditions. This time, fatigue and loss of appetite had become a permanent part of her waking hours. She turned to her local physicians in Spain in order to try and identify the underlying cause. Numerous tests and investigations were performed, including colonoscopies, gastroscopies and blood tests; however no cause was found. In the meantime Mrs Thomas started experiencing severe headaches. At first some pain killers were prescribed however they did not provide any significant relief.
With an apparently deteriorating condition and inconclusive tests, Mrs Thomas referred herself once again to Medix. Initially, Mrs Thomas' case manager reviewed all the tests that she had performed making sure that the local doctors hadn't overlooked anything. As a second step, the case was sent for review by a world leading headache specialist for a second opinion.
Concerned both with the severity and persistence of the headaches, the specialist recommended certain tests to rule out cancerous causes and infectious disease. Medix coordinated the tests and referred her to a specialist in London.
Mrs Thomas flew to London and had a first set of tests. These ruled out malignant causes as well as infectious diseases. As a result, the remaining potential diagnosis was Giant Cell Arteritis or better known as Temporal Arteritis. The condition is an inflammation of the arteries in the head. Untreated, it is considered an emergency condition because it can cause blindness and even stroke. Realizing that time was of the essence, Medix and the treating physician arranged an urgent biopsy of the temporal arteries to confirm the diagnosis. Sure enough, the biopsy results returned positive for the condition.
Having obtained a diagnosis at long last, Mrs Thomas was immediately prescribed steroid medication. After a week of treatment the improvement was apparent. The headaches had subsided and overall, the bothersome symptoms had all disappeared.
Even when treated, temporal arteritis puts patients at higher risk of stroke and aneurysms. As a result, Medix put together a follow up plan for the following years in order to mitigate the risk. The Medix medical team has stayed in the picture allowing the Medical Case Management Nurse and Doctor to ensure that the treatment has no negative effects and that Mrs Thomas can finally return to her usual schedule.
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of Medix clients