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Melissa from M4RD interviews Marie who was a healthy and active paramedic until one shift when she suddenly started experiencing pain in her left side (left upper quadrant pain). As a healthcare professional Marie knew likely causes for the sudden pain and knew how to treat it. However the wasn't musculoskeletal or costochondritis or even cholesystitis. It was in fact caused by compression of the duodenum by two arteries. A condition known as Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome (SMA - but not spinal muscular atrophy!!)
Marie talks about the pursuit of a diagnosis. What it did and didn't give her. How her mental health has been negatively impacted by the "rollercoaster" she has been on and how her family have been affected.
As an HCP herself, Marie is pragmatic about the challenges faced by her peers in the NHS and reflects on what she has learned from her own experiences. Which she uses in her role as Teaching Fellow in paramedic Practice at Oxford Brookes University. Find out more about the course here.
Links
Read our latest blog A REAL rollercoaster - from paramedic to patient
More info on Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome from NORD
Renal Nutcracker Syndrome on Orphanet - a related compression syndrome of the left renal vein (LRV) between the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and the abdominal aorta
Nicolette Baker suffered from SMA Syndrome for years causing her nausea and she was unable to eat. She went undiagnosed for years and was going for surgical treatment in Germany before she sadly died.
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