Working in emergency medicine, 29-year-old Dr. Adina Haffeez pays attention to her patients and doesn’t take any symptoms for granted. Yet, for so many months, she ignored her own which led to a lifechanging diagnosis.
Haffeez struggled with extreme fatigue, lethargy, and constant headaches. She put up with these symptoms for around a year, blaming herself for feeling tired. It seemed like something she needed to power through, so Haffeez continued working long hours, working out multiple times a week, and trying to maintain her social life.
After all, who doesn’t complain that they’re tired? Haffeez, from the United Kingdom, told Newsweek that she thought it was “just what everyone deals with.”
However, the symptoms got progressively worse as she noticed her hair thinning, painful leg cramps, increased thirst, and going to the bathroom more.
“If they had been present in a patient, I would have said we needed to get this checked and figure something out,” Haffeez said. “I felt frustrated with myself because I didn’t have the energy and didn’t understand why. I’m in my 20s, I work out four or five times a week, and I eat well. Why was this happening?”
Haffeez kept dismissing the symptoms and telling herself she was fine. Any serious diagnosis was out of the question because she’s a young, healthy doctor.
Now, she looks back and realizes she wasn’t taking her own health seriously.
“It’s almost like I gaslit myself and insisted it’s not that serious. I thought it must be something minor that I’m just blowing out of proportion. I thought I had anxiety because, when you have low blood sugar, the symptoms mimic anxiety,” she said.
Last year, Haffeez went on vacation to Nicaragua and Guatemala without knowing how much her health had deteriorated. She’d gone hiking during the trip and assumed she was struggling to recover in the heat.
Indeed, she even questioned if it was because she’s pushing 30 and this was just a sign of getting older. Never did it cross her mind that she was in “a life-threatening state.”
When she returned home, her parents instantly recognized that she wasn’t well. Her dad encouraged her to get a blood test, and although she thought he was being dramatic, Haffeez obliged.
“I look back at pictures of myself in Nicaragua and even though I’d just got ready to go to breakfast, I looked like I’d done an all-nighter. I was exhausted and lost a lot of weight. I thought I was being more active so put it down to that,” Haffeez told Newsweek. “If it wasn’t for my dad telling me to get a blood test, I would have continued running myself to the ground. With the state I was in, I wouldn’t have lasted very long.”
The results came back days later, and Haffeez remembers how concerned her doctor sounded. He revealed that everything they tested for was shockingly out of range and she was rushed to the hospital.
Not in a professional capacity this time, but rather, a patient.
After months of struggling with symptoms, Haffeez was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in July 2024. The condition means her pancreas either doesn’t make insulin or doesn’t make enough.
As explained by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a lack of insulin means that blood sugar can’t be used as energy and instead builds up in the bloodstream. As of 2021, 2 million Americans were living with type 1 diabetes, including 304,000 children and adolescents, the American Diabetes Association reports.
Just the day prior, Haffeez was treating a patient with new onset diabetes, and now Haffeez was in a similar situation.
“I couldn’t believe I was now the patient that I had been treating the day before. My numbers were twice as bad, and I didn’t even realize. But because I’m a young person and quite physically fit, my body was able to withstand it,” she said.
Not only was Haffeez learning to deal with her new reality, but she also had to grapple with the idea of being a patient. Having spent so much time caring for her own patients, it was jarring to be on the receiving end of that.
Switching roles was an uncomfortable experience and it required a total change of mindset.
Haffeez manages her diabetes with insulin injections, a blood glucose monitor on her arm, and she doesn’t go anywhere without something sugary in case of an emergency. She also counts the carbohydrates in every meal to ensure she’s keeping her blood sugar within range.
Changing Her Perspective
A lifechanging diagnosis can be isolating, but Haffeez discovered a newfound purpose after sharing her experience on social media (@dradinamd on TikTok). The internet has become a place for her to be transparent about her journey and educate others.
With so much misinformation out there, Haffeez hopes to be a beacon of honesty and awareness.
“A lot of people were shocked that I’m so young,” she said. “It’s been interesting to see how it brings people together. People have recounted horrible stories with me, and there’s so many aspects that I resonate with, and they can resonate with mine. It’s beautiful in that way.”
Haffeez continued: “It always bothered me that there are so many people on social media telling lies and people believe them. But I feel like someone with credibility as I’m both a patient and a doctor. Every day that I’ve had this condition, the number one priority is food, and I now realize that there are so many things marketed as healthy, but it’s health washing.”
It’s not just online that Haffeez shares her experience, but also occasionally with patients.
If the context is appropriate and she feels it will help her patient, Haffeez will open up about what she’s gone through.
“I think that makes the connection a lot deeper,” she said. “It’s not taught in medical school, but I wish more doctors spent time giving back to their patients. I try to show others to really care for themselves because this doesn’t define you. For a long time, I defined myself and thought I was weak, but now I realize this is my superpower.”
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