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Category Archives: health & happiness

hair we go…

24 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by azahar in hair, health & happiness

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Tags

finasteride, finastopic, hair loss, minoxidil

hair loss

I sure hope this works because IT WAS FUCKING EXPENSIVE. Finally got to see the dermatologist this week (three month wait for the appointment) and he prescribed a six month treatment using a potion of minoxidil (3%) + finasteride (1%) mixed into this base lotion, Finastopic. And so what the heck. Actually, I went straight to the pharmacy after my appointment and was told it would take a day or two to fill the prescription as it has to be specially mixed, and they asked me to put down a deposit for it. If I hadn’t done that I may have thought twice about using it after going home and googling minoxidil and finasteride (yikes). On the other hand, I’ll find out soon enough if I have any icky side effects. And if it helps then it will have been worth every penny and all the faff.  First application was last night… wish me luck!

UPDATE below…
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mammogramming

30 Monday Aug 2021

Posted by azahar in health & happiness, hospitals

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

hospitals, mammogram

mammogram

So I cannot believe it’s been… 12 years!!!… since my last mammogram. Once again I had been under the impression that with all the CT scans a mammogram was superfluous. Honestly, I should read my own blog more often because it would have reminded me that this WAS NOT TRUE. Anyhoodle, today was the day. Popped over to the hospital and was in and out in less than ten minutes. Now I have to wait two weeks for the results, so fingers crossed everybody. The next abdominal CT scan should happen towards the end of October, still waiting to get the official appointment. How was your Monday?

well boo hoo and fuck you

27 Tuesday Jul 2021

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid, friends, health & happiness, musings

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

covid, pandemic, travelling

virus 3d illustration

Who me angry?? Whatever gave you that idea?  🙂

I had something happen today that puts my mind somewhat at rest. For now. It doesn’t actually keep reality at bay, but it’s a much needed stopgap. Some breathing space. And it might be my last chance so I hope I don’t fuck it up.

Meanwhile I had to cancel a work trip to Valencia this week. I’d been commissioned by Decanter to do another of my travel articles for them, but with Covid cases spiking like crazy the past couple of weeks, including lots of breakthrough cases, I decided to stay put. Sure, things probably aren’t much worse in Valencia than in Sevilla, but at least here I am mostly in my own home. Five days away would mean being out and about all day long, meeting with lots of different people, eating out for every meal, staying at hotels, not to mention five hours each way on a train. And well, just… no.

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dodgy bits

07 Wednesday Jul 2021

Posted by azahar in cancer, health & happiness, home, hospitals

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

ct scan, hospitals

online appt

I got my CT scan results yesterday (for scan done June 21st) and it’s not a bad report. There are still some unexplained dodgy bits, but nothing has changed much since the last scan in September. At least there are no obvious signs of cancer, so that’s good. The areas of inflammation, and the spot where I was “leaking” before (ewww)  are still cause for concern but short of opening me up again and taking a proper look the best they can do is keep monitoring me with scans and x-rays.

This morning the hospital called and I have an appointment with the oncologist on Friday… on the phone! I’ve never done that before. But what the heck. It saves me a trip out there in 40º weather and perhaps it will actually be better as I won’t feel self-conscious about having my notes out in front of me. We shall see.

broken hearted

18 Friday Jun 2021

Posted by azahar in health & happiness, hospitals

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

health, hospitals, sevilla

broken hearted

I almost hesitate to write this as I know it’s really going to rile up Kate (aka Sledpress) but since my Medical Check List post I thought things were going rather well. Until this morning. After the blood test and ECG results came in my GP requested appointments for me to see a cardiologist and a dermatologist (for my going bald issue) and meanwhile oncology finally got in touch and I have another CT scan on Monday. Today I had the cardiologist at 9 AM, so I was up and out and in a taxi (in the rain) hoping to find something out. Alas… nope. They gave me another ECG when I got to the hospital and then I waited to see the doctor, who ended up remembering me from an appointment several years ago (I didn’t remember her, maybe that was my first mistake).

Anyhoodle, she acted very wary… saying I shouldn’t sit too close to her desk, telling me to turn my head away from her when she listened on the stethoscope. I mean, I get it. She is surrounded by possible sick people all day long, but she truly had no “bedside manner”. And worst of all was that she simply didn’t listen to me.

My reasons for being there were the following: I am short of breath almost always these days, I get that “tight skin” feeling in my arms when I stand up too quickly  (and sometimes also feel a bit dizzy), I also sometimes have tightness in my chest (never actually got to tell her that bit) and, yes, the tachycardia keeps happening. ASSUMPTION was that I was there once again about the tachycardia, but I wasn’t. This is something I’ve had since I was 25 and NO DOCTOR has ever been able to find out why. So I was there because it’s increasingly harder for me to breathe and I get a “tight” pain in my arms and fingers, there’s also a tightness across my lower ribs. Did she listen to me? Did she fuck.
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