Question from Roslindale, Massachusetts, USA:

I am feeling really scared these past few days. It all started in the middle of Wednesday afternoon while at work. It seemed like any other day. I felt like I always do, which is normal, with nothing alarming to report. At about 1:30, I started getting hunger pangs which I thought was perfectly normal since I had breakfast early that morning. I got myself a pack of those Snackwell’s sandwich cookies. I ate them, but noticed the pangs weren’t going away, so I just figured maybe it would go away in time. Lunch came around and I headed out to have lunch, which for me is at 4 to 5 p.m. since I work a later shift than others. I ate my lunch, but noticed the pangs were STILL not going away. The pangs end up lasting the rest of the day until I went to sleep. The next day, the pangs were still there and, on top of that, again happening at work, my right foot started to go numb up to my calf and at times it felt like my left eye was going a little foggy. I was starting to see tiny spots every now and again. I was getting really scared at that point.

Since then, it hasn’t been as bad, if at all. The pangs have generally subsided and I noticed that any problems dull or go away when I’m not at work or when I go somewhere during the day that is away from the building I work at. I also notice I feel okay when I keep my mind clear of negative thought and don’t worry about things that maybe I don’t like in my life right now. Still, there are things here and there that pop up, a little pain in the arm, a little numbness in the toe, things that tend to go away but still do raise concern.

I’m really scared of what the problem could be and I don’t have health insurance right now though I’ve filed an application for MassHealth recently. I hope it is not diabetes because being Hispanic, I know how it affects other Latinos and I’ve seen what it can do, so the idea alone scares me.