E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Nigel Roddis / Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ronald Zubar challenges Manchester United's Nani during their English Premier League soccer match in Manchester, on Dec. 10.
The stress of watching the final nail-biting minutes of a Manchester United match is enough to trigger life-threatening anxiety for one 58-year-old superfan, according to a new report published this week in the British Medical Journal.
The woman experienced palpitations, panic, light-headedness and even a "sense of impending doom" toward the end of the most high-profile matches played on Man U's home turf at Old Trafford Stadium, particularly when the opposing teams were rival clubs like Chelsea or Manchester City. "On these occasions she considered leaving the stadium because she felt so unwell," write the authors of the report, including Akbar Choudhry, who treated the woman. In contrast, when her beloved Red Devils were playing a team that didn't stand a chance, her symptoms became barely noticeable.
As a result of her football fanaticism, doctors were able to diagnose her with Addison's disease, which means her adrenal glands do not produce enough of their hormones, including cortisol. The drop in cortisol triggers an Addisonian crisis, a medical emergency that can be life-threatening.
Addison's disease is difficult to diagnose, and as many as 60 percent of those with the disorder are seen by at least two clinicians before the diagnosis is even considered, according to the BMJ report. That's likely because the most visible symptoms include fatigue, lethargy and a mild depression, all of which are characteristics of many chronic conditions. But this woman's severe anxiety during high-stress games led her doctors to diagnose her with Addison's disease.
Doctors treated the woman with cortisol replacement therapy -- fortunately for her, the start of her treatment happen to coincide with the start of Manchester United's 2011/12 season, allowing her to attend games without any Addison's symptoms. "Luckily, the patient was on holiday for United's 6-1 defeat by local rivals Manchester City in October," Choudhry said in a report on BMJ.com.
Related:
- Suck it up: Women soccer players don't milk injuries like guys
- Blue-eyed ballplayer blames batting woes on his peepers
- Yipes, it's yips! Condition throws catcher's game
Want more weird health news? Find The Body Odd on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
Finally something that makes soccer exciting.
With a name like Jonathan I can tell that your mama must have hated you when you were born and in turn you have carried that hate inside you. Furthermore your stupidity and narrow mindedness have kept you from succeding in life.
Lighten up Tony" it was a joke" don't panic.
Hey Tony, ease up on the coffee!
Really, Tony, I'd go decaf.
I'm American, not a spectator sports fan at all...........rather be doing than watching. But here's the thing: soccer really is the most beautiful game. The rest of the world is right about that.
Manchester United fans are particularly rabid, though. After all, it's only a game. :)
Tony, Jonathan is actually a very classic name meaning "God's gift". For your benefit. When finished look up Tony.
Jonathan (in Hebrew: יְהוֹנָתָן/יוֹנָתָן, Standard Yonatan / Yəhonatan Tiberian Yônāṯān / Yəhônāṯān) is a common masculine given name meaning "YHWH has given" in Hebrew.[1][2] The first known Jonathan was a son of King Saul in the Hebrew Bible, a close friend of David.
Alternative spellings of Jonathan include Johnatan, Jonathon, Johnathan, Jonatan, Jonothon, Jonothan, Johnathon, Johnthan, and Yonatan (a common name in Hebrew). Biblical variants include Yehonathan, Y'honathan, Yhonathan, Yonatan, Yonaton, Yonoson, Yeonoson or Yehonasan. In Israel, "Yoni" is a common nickname for Yonatan (Jonathan) in the same way Jonny is for Jonathan in English.[3]
The name was the 30th most popular boys' name in the United States in 2009, according to the Social Security Administration.[4]
Nicknames include Jon, Jonty, Jonny, Jack, Nathan, Johnny, Jono, Jonjon, and Jonny-Boy.
Etymologically, Jonathan is not a variation of John. Names with similar meanings include Theodore in Greek and Bogdan/Bozhidar in Slavonic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_%28name%29
Goes to show you how anxiety is personally induced. So is stress, fear, anger, hatred, preemptive suffering, etc. All symptoms of sins. Before someone hurls insults please remember that to sin means to err. When you feel pain of any kind you have erred.
http://forgodsfame.org/2008/09/23/isnt-sin-just-missing-the-mark/
We must be vigilant and guard all entry ways. This person obviously has much personal investments in her team. Let go of all attachments in order to stop carrying the weight. Do not confuse love for something with ANY OUTCOME. When you love something set it free.
One more dumb ass Britt.
How does it feel to be one of our society's idiots?
You're just jealous and of course an idiot.
This is the stupidest thing I've read all day.
I feel sorry for you to have waisted your time in life when you could have been doing something more interesting like watching the 3 stooges.
Sounds similar to my chatroom addiction...
Feels like I'm in line at the supermarket reading the tabloid headlines to pass a little time.
sounds like a bunch of rotten brats in the sandbox that all need a few lessons in social skills. geez appears those cell phones really are frying our brains because the iq points are dropping daily. god help us all.
amen
Interesting; it sounds a lot like other anxiety disorders, but this is the first one i can think of that's linked to loving soccer.
Soccer is the best. You fools that think Stickball (4 hr borefest) and Tightpants Eggball (more commercials than ball in play) are any good are totally brainwashed. Hey dont get me wrong I used to like baseball and NFL, but once I got into the real Football I never looked back. Seriously, Basball is a sleepfest and football is a bunch of drugies in tight pants some of which play 10 years an NEVER TOUCH THE BALL. Now thats exciting huh?!
Yeah. Much better to watch a bunch of pansies throw themselves on the ground and roll around in agony because somebody bumped into them or brushed past them in an agressive manner. Put any of those so-called athletes on an American football field with a 250 lb. linebacker bearing down on them and you will see who the real men are. And you say MLB is boring? 2 hours of of watching a bunch of skinny whimps running around kicking a ball with a 0 - 0 result...yeah, that's really exciting.
Right pansies that RUN for over 90 Minutes non stop...and not baseball where u stand around waiting for a ball to come your way. Or pigball where you run 5 yards and go get oxigen...yeah real manly with all those gay pads! Make me laugh! And fat 300 lb guys arent athletes their fatasses. A soccer player simply humiliates any Football or baseball player in athletisisim. No comparision Redneck.
PS: Soccer # 1 Sport on The Planet you live on pal. Baseball and Football are MINOR Sports.
Redneck I may be....but at least I can spell oxygen and know the difference between their and they're.
PS: Athleticism
ARSENAL!!!!!
YES!! Another Arsenal fan. F Man U. I want to die when they play too. Listening to the announcers talk like they are the only good team in the world makes me want to shoot myself in the face. Rooney is a hack thug who can't even score any more. He's a billion dollar decoy/hatchet man.
It is ridiculous to call the guys who play the game pansies as they are no doubt well conditioned athletes with a lot of skill. However, if the rules were relaxed so it would be possibly for a 6 to 5 score I could see something in the game. I think North Carolina won the national championship. I thought to myself, "What was the score, 1 to 0?" I'll be darned, I was right. Typical. Yes, baseball can be boring at times but at least the action results in scoring on a regular basis. Hockey has a statistic 'shots on goal'. Soccer has 'shots' and it is considered a shot even when an attempt is 20 feet wide. Wow, that must bring them to their feet. Especially in the international games, it seems the objective is to see which group of fans could sing and chant non stop the longest. I have seen more excitment, speed, non stop action, fantastic passing and incredible saves in 1 -1 NHL game than in all the soccer games combined I have seen, and I tried to get interested in the sport when Indiana University won a few national championships. To each his own but the game is slow and incredibly boring.
When you play soccer you have to stay fit, have to run fast (you cannot get another player to run for you..i.e. pinch hitter or pinch runner)...you cannot get oxygen after playing for 3 seconds......cannot wear shoulder pads....and oh yeah....there are no breaks during the game......and it does not take over 4 hours to play.....
World Series...why? It's only played here in America...no one else in the world is involved...
Baseball....was thrown out of the Olympics......
You just described a marathon runner rather than a soccer player.
Hey - knock it off with the gay slurs! Besides, there are plenty of gay players in virtually EVERY sport, to include football. Those of you making such negative references need to stand up straight, your knuckles are dragging.
Why the chest-thumping anyway? In terms of physiques, I would rate soccer players toward the top - their cardiovascular systems, BMI and overall conditioning ARE by and large much better than most other athletes. There must be something to the sport, because it has been around much longer than American football, and on a global scale, UNLIKE some of the sports the US has embraced. BTW- the original football was and is RUGBY - I wonder how some of you would fare calling a rugby player a pansy?!
If you don't care for the game of soccer or aren't interested in Addison's, why read the article or bother to comment? Move on! The article was in relation to a female fan's condition, not a commentary on what sport is better.
PS: if you still insist on making gay remarks, then explain why so many heterosexual parents enroll their kids in the sport?
Thank God she wasn't watching a REAL sport, American Football.
Actually, rugby is a real, manly sport, tougher than American Football.
If people would pay as much attention to their governments as they do to sports, the world would not be in the mess that its in right now.Wake up people!
the difference is people know that the govt will screw them over regardless and its a futile affair- atleast they have a 50% chance their favorite soccer(football) team will win! Plus i follow whats going on in politics and whats going on in MLS and european football leagues at the same time- its really not that hard!
How does one become excited about soccer?
I would get very excited about soccer if it was played by hot naked women.
So Addison's is what be happening to me when I'm observing a sports event, "rooting" for my favorite team / athlete; where the action is intense and I can barely stand to watch the final outcome, especially, if there's a chance that my team could possibly lose - (smile !!!).
Of course, from now on I simply will have to "force" myself not to watch.
- - @ Cathy V. / #11 - - "Swimmers", in my most humble and respectful opinion, "are" the best conditioned athletes on the planet !!!
you americans your stupidity is known around the world no doubt about that,thats why your stuck to your stupid sports like baseball and football which you only follow and nobody else in the world!!! the only good thing is soccer is picking up in your country lately and thats a good sign definitly.........
At least we Americans can spell and use grammar. BTW - It was American money we gave to your country that probably built those soccer (football) stadiums. Also, we Americans (except maybe a few gangstas and rednecks) can watch sports without inciting a riot.
No im sure those soccer stadiums were built by the very countries they are in - once again a typical ignorant american comment that reeks of utter bs. Put simply soccer or proper football is by far the worlds most popular sport. And perhaps you need to read these posts more because im often shocked at how bad americans are at spelling grammar and intelligence etc. But once again americans think what they like is the best and screw the rest of the world which is exactly why we are seen as pompous bullies and ignorant fools- its ok if you dont like soccer but its very disrespectful to knock the worlds most popular sport for the last 140 years .
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
If you don't like soccer, don't watch it, millions of others will. Its a great sport and very exciting if you know what's going on. As far as this lady with anxiety over watching sporting events makes me wonder if she gambles on them? If it truely could kill her then maybe she needs to find another hobby. Just saying.
How did we get from discussing Addison's disease to slamming sports? It was good that she had the symptoms which caused her to see a medical person and get a proper diagnosis. I can imagine it must of been pretty unnerving.
American Fooball is the only sport in the world in which OBESE people can play it...LMAO....what a joke...
Back to the actual subject of the article...not written well at all. What is the connection between the soccer-induced anxiety and Addison's? And, as someone who has a history of severe, frequent (and thankfully gone) panic attacks...since when is a panic attack life-threatening?
I think are a few pieces of this article missing...
I thought only Justin Bieber could cause that kind of stress.
Can't understand how any woman can get excited when men don't use their hands.
...take some Buspar woman.