Mr. Andy Hamilton, a young 37 year old gentleman living in Jersey, finished his routine workout in the gym and suddenly collapsed.
He was immediately rushed to the local hospital where he underwent a full physical workup, including a head MRI, which didn’t reveal a conclusive diagnosis to explain his collapse.
Yet, the MRI scan revealed some findings which, coupled with an identified underactive thyroid, led his doctors to believe that Mr. Hamilton suffered from a pituitary gland hemorrhage. Bleeding in this area of the brain can potentially disrupt the normal secretion of hormones and explain the symptoms Mr. Hamilton had suffered lately, such as dizzy spells and weakness.
Acting on this diagnosis, Mr. Hamilton was prescribed a large dose of hormone replacement drugs and testosterone injections, in order to correct the hormonal imbalance.
Mr. Hamilton dutifully followed his doctor’s orders for many months without feeling any improvement in his symptoms. Moreover, he constantly felt fatigued to the point of having to reduce his work hours and severely limit the extent of physical activity he could perform on a daily basis. Feeling concerned about the lack of progress following treatment, Mr. Hamilton turned to Medix via one of AXA PPP International’s PAs.
Upon taking up the service, Medix quickly gathered Mr. Hamilton’s medical information, reviewing it and discussing the case in a multidisciplinary meeting.
During the review 2 concerns were raised, the first being that after reviewing the MRI, Medix Neuroradiologist believed the finding which was interpreted as a hemorrhage looked more like a Rathke’s cyst, an incidental finding which was unlikely to indicate an underlying issue.
The second concern was that of Medix endocrinologist, who felt that the prescribed doses were excessive and could be responsible for Mr. Hamilton’s fatigue.
If these theories were confirmed, the upshot would be that Mr. Hamilton had been unnecessarily taking high doses of medications which were responsible for his incapacitation.
In order to address these concerns, Medix referred Mr. Hamilton to a leading endocrinologist in London for an in person consultation.
By examining the patient and reading the medical summaries and concerns produced by Medix for Mr. Hamilton, the consultant was able to confirm that no pituitary hemorrhage was present and that the excessive medications were indeed responsible for his state.
The endocrinologist also explained that the original dizziness and weakness was probably related to a passing viral infection which had since resolved.
Mr. Hamilton was immediately weaned of these medications and additional tests and follow ups were scheduled to monitor his progression.
"Finding me a different specialist to consult was brilliant, as we were getting nowhere with the last specialist”, says Mr. Hamilton. From that point on, Mr. Hamilton’s improvement was extremely rapid. His energy levels began to rise again and the endocrinologist assigned to him by Medix was extremely content with the results of his tests.
Medix continued to coordinate the weaning of Mr. Hamilton’s medications with his GP, providing the latter with a detailed description and explanation of the events and conclusions. Mr. Hamilton: "Having a one to one chat with someone who is understanding is very good, and it helped me understand the recommendations in plain English”
Mr. Hamilton has improved immensely following Medix intervention and is now building up his core strength and has gone back to fulltime work and exercising at the gym.
Names have been changed to protect the privacy of Medix clients