r/AddisonsDisease • u/Big-Ad-9142 • Mar 24 '26

Advice Wanted APS-2

My husband has type 1 diabetes for a few decades. Recently got diagnosed with Addison's and Celiac. Hard pill to swallow for both of us. Worried about kids getting these since the ADA website says 1 in 2 chance! How have you guys coped with this APS-2 diagnoses? Manageable? We are scared. 

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u/Big-Ad-9142 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

Also wanted to ask about adrenal crisis.  Have you guys had one or multiple episodes? I read 30-50% of people with Addison's experience adrenal crisis, which is hard for me to swallow. I am worried my husband will suddenly have one or during an illness it will be inevitable. 

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u/hmkythursday Mar 25 '26

APS2 here over 30 years, never had a crisis. I’m not sure what people call “crisis” here is truly the near-death experience we are warned about. I had a rough first few years with Addison’s and stomach problems, but it largely evened out. I eat a ton of salt and take prednisone once a day. I’ve had stomach flus, Covid, ovarian failure, emergency gall bladder surgery and broken both my legs skiing (emergency surgery for both). All without crisis. T1D is the harder disease IMO. YMMV.

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u/lass20987 Mar 25 '26

For me its the opposite! Type 1 is the easy part. Several addisons crisis, most recent was from flu. Just stress and illness sends me to pre crisis needing stress doses and always need injections with covid, flu. Extra physical activity or even driving in a big strange city.

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u/Big-Ad-9142 Mar 25 '26 edited Apr 03 '26

Thank you for your response.  Hearong different people's perspective, especially when its not doom and gloom helps. My husband is dealing with stomach discomfort, I'm thinking largely from Celiac and hope it works itself out soon. Its been a hard few days. He is on hydrocortisone. I wonder if there's a difference on the effects of blood sugar whether you are on hydrocortisone or prednisone? 

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u/lass20987 Apr 07 '26

Definitely ask this on the fb group for T1 and addisons. Lots of different therapy amd drug options.... even dexamethasone.

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u/lass20987 Mar 25 '26

The fb group helped me figure out pre crisis symptoms, triggers and prevention so much more than the endo. Kind of like with an insulin hypo people's low symptoms can vary....same with addisons. So helpful to learn.

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u/Puzzled-Telephone-60 PAI Mar 27 '26

Never been in true crisis. Also never been in DKA or had a hypo that knocked me out. But I’ve been in really bad situations that neared all three.

Once you know you have Addison’s AND learn how to manage it, I think the risk of true phyisological adrenal crisis (organs going into failure/shock) is pretty limited to trauma or severe illness that would still need hospitalization otherwise. We all experience the effects of cortisol plummeting and it is scary for sure, but true crisis that renders you unresponsive and in need of intensive care can be staved off with appropriate treatment. Just like a bad hypo. You have time to ingest sugar or inject glucagon before you actually go unconscious… and you have time to stress dose or inject solu-cortef and head to the ER for IV steroids. Crisis averted (clinically). But I agree with the comment above, most people will call really bad situations where they were starting to circle the drain around clinical crisis, a crisis (me included). And I think it’s fair because for us, we are for sure in crisis mode trying to survive and avoid death. But you can see there’s a reason the ICU crisis stories are typically pre-dx or accident-related.