Hey, I am Jenny, turning 16 next week, and I have recently been diagnosed with diabetes with the help of an online doctor. Today, I am sharing my experience of Your Doctors Online with you all so you can also get diagnosed at the right time.
One fine weekend, I woke up with intense abdominal pain and started to vomit; I had vomited five times in 10-20 minutes, as far as I remember. I was unable to keep anything down. Like anyone would think, I also thought this is a stomach bug and made myself a jug of lemon water to cut down nausea. My parents were out camping, and I was all alone. Not knowing which medicine I should take to stop nausea and vomiting – I turned to google for help.
I wasn’t blindly prescribed medications for my symptoms.
As soon as I searched google for an online doctor, I saw this application, Your Doctors Online. Since they were offering a free trial, I had to try them out.
Within no time, a professional and calm doctor connected with me who was not blindly prescribing me medications. I started the chat by asking for a prescription to stop the vomiting. The doctor calmed me down and informed me that she would like to take history before giving the right medicine.
As emphasized by the doctor, my past medical history was pertinent for the correct diagnosis of diabetes.
The doctor started asking questions like what did I eat before vomiting start? I told her I had homemade soup and salad, and I do not eat readymade meals or take-out food. This intrigued the doctor to dig deeper into my history. She then asked me specific questions:
- Do I have on-off abdominal pain?
- Am I having an increase in thirst, hunger, and urination?
- Do I have any history of diabetes in the family?
- Am I losing weight?
To my surprise, I had answered YES to all her questions. Yes, I was losing weight, I was hungry all the time and had been urinating and eating a lot more, maybe for the last one year, but I never paid any attention to it as I was also occupied with my studies. My parents were also diabetic.
‘But I came to take antiemetic from you doctor – why you are asking me all these questions?’ I asked the doctor.
The doctor referred me to the emergency department for a quick check-up of blood glucose levels.
The doctor revealed to me that she is suspecting that I have type 1 diabetes mellitus, as all my symptoms were fitting the criteria. She also told me that most Type 1 diabetes mellitus cases in teenagers get diagnosed when they suffer from its complication Diabetic Ketoacidosis – where there is high blood glucose level, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Because the symptoms are non-specific, teenagers usually think that it is due to physical activity or due to improper diet that they took.
The idea of having diabetes mortified me, and then thinking about its treatment was giving me anxiety.
The doctor made me understood the gravity of symptoms and the need for urgent medical attention.
While speaking to her, I had vomited twice. The doctor helped me understand the seriousness of my symptoms. She explained that if I got medical help right now, I would prevent further complications. On her advice, I called my uncle to take me to the ER. The doctor remained online throughout the way.
The moment I entered the emergency department, I showed the Your Doctors Online chat to the ER physician. After checking my vitals, the doctor checked my blood glucose level with a glucose strip, and it came out to be 25mmol/L, and from there, the doctors at emergency took over.
I was in the hospital for two days. They ran different tests which confirmed that I had Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.
Since that day, I have been on Insulin for the treatment of diabetes.
Thanks to caring and knowledgeable doctors at Your Doctors Online, I was diagnosed correctly.
I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had turned up to a quack who wouldn’t have taken my history or if the doctor had blindly given me medicine. But thanks to the doctor at Your Doctors Online, who was competent and caring, she was also extremely professional.
I have been in continuous follow-ups with Your Doctors Online, and all the doctors there are incredibly professional. They not only helped me in coping up with the stress of diabetes but also helped me in understanding my disease more. I can speak to them anytime for advice on diet and controlling my blood glucose level.
Take home message for you all is that please take your symptoms seriously, always answer your doctor properly. And yes, download Your Doctors Online for instant medical help. Cheers!