Category Archives: health

staycation 2024

27 Thursday Jun 2024

Posted by in health, holidays, home

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staycation 24

Am considering not doing any tapas tours in July (August is already booked off – way too hot!). I can’t actually afford to do this but as I’m also not going on holiday my (somewhat warped) logic is that the money I’m not spending on a holiday I also can’t afford might help pay for a two-month staycation.

Well almost two months. I have a couple of tours booked early July, but I’ve been thinking… what if I had (almost) two months to just focus on other things? I’ve been dithering about The Next Step(s) ever since I realised I needed to diversify and not just rely on the tapas tours for income, but it feels like I’ve been pivoting so long I’m really just going around in circles. So maybe a reboot would help?

I’ve never been a “go on holidays” type of person anyhow, short getaways are more my style. Mostly due to finances but also because I don’t really enjoy being away from home for a long time. I love where I live and enjoy my day to day life. But I’ve also never had an extended period of time to just… BE (well other than when sick with cancer and during covid lockdown, which don’t really count).

I mean, I’d still keep up with my websites, visit tapas bars, and visit all you guys here. I just think it would be nice to feel like I didn’t have to do something, or be somewhere, on a schedule. Feeling more relaxed just thinking about it. What are you doing this summer?

feeling a bit hopeful again…

24 Monday Jun 2024

Posted by in health, hope, hospitals, knee saga, knees

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hoping

You may recall that after the disastrous episodes with the Traumatologist and the Endo, and the ongoing issues with Heartless GP (who just keeps telling me I’m fat), I was feeling pretty let down and not sure what to do next in terms of my health concerns. Then I remembered I still had one more blood test available, so I booked that a couple of weeks ago and afterwards made an appointment to see my GP again to go over the results and hopefully to also see if I could get some actual help with my fucked up knee. Made the appt online and was surprised to see that I would be seeing a different GP and a glimmer of hope started to break through.

And so I went off to see New GP today. We talked over the blood test results and my medication. I told her I am only taking the BP meds because I’d had three different doctors tell me three different things about the other meds and she kind of smirked knowingly at that. So we took them one by one. My blood pressure is still a bit high but she said it was fine to stay on the present meds for now (she wants me to check in again in December at which point she’ll also order another blood test). Re: statins (for cholesterol) and metformin (sugar) she agreed with my oncologist that neither of these were necessary as I am kind of “borderline” and in fact my cholesterol has gone down a bit since October. I told her I had been making some diet changes and taking some supplements, and she seemed to think I was making good progress but that we will check it again in six months.

Then it was on to my knee. I told her the whole story and finally said that I really didn’t want to be living on painkillers, the only treatment so far offered to me, and I wondered if it would be possible to get an MRI for my right knee. I said to her maybe then they could figure out if there is any kind of physio or other treatment I could get because so far I felt like nobody has been helping me and the pain is so bad now that I can’t even climb stairs anymore. She immediately put in a request for an MRI and said I’d get a call telling me when the appointment would be. As for treatment she said that my best bet was probably going to be surgery but first things first.

And omg I almost cried. It’s been so long since a doctor has actually listened to me that I almost couldn’t believe it was happening. And she didn’t once mention my weight. I actually brought it up when we were talking about diet and cholesterol saying that of course I know I need to lose weight and she said I could try walking a bit more and cutting down on fats when cooking (this led to a chat about my air fryer) but she said the drop in cholesterol was a positive. In contrast Heartless GP, the Endo and Trauma Doc all made it seem like being fat was the reason EVERYTHING was happening to me. Not helpful.

And so there is a plan now. And I feel so very relieved. All I needed was a little support and now that I have it I feel like I can move forward with this. Getting my knees back would certainly help with getting back to my 10,000 step walks, meanwhile will keep on with my chair yoga/pilates and yeah, am also going to start tweaking the diet a bit more. Amazing what a little hope will do.

churros o’clock

11 Tuesday Jun 2024

Posted by in health, sevilla

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churros oclock

I almost never eat churros. In fact I usually only have them when I am in Jerez and can go to Manuel’s churrería in the square in front of the central market… his family have been making light crispy churros in that same spot for 3 generations. But today it was get-up-way-too-fucking-early-after-not-having-slept-in-order-to-get-blood-work-done day. Ufff.

So there I was, up way to early, feeling like crap, knees killing me and on my way to the health centre. Peter came with me as the plan was to stop off somewhere for a nice breakfast on the way home. Things at the centre were quite backed up and I didn’t get in for my turn until about 40 minutes after my appointment time. On the plus side the nurse was fantastic. I held out my arm and said “good luck!” (they can NEVER find my veins) and she just laughed, pulled up her sleeve and said “hey, I’m the same!”. In the end she got it in one poke and I was out of there. But of course it was now peak breakfast time (10.00 am).

I knew exactly what I wanted. I could almost taste it, feel the textures in my mouth… a soft toasted mollete with olive oil, tomato and jamón Ibérico. At first we thought about going to a place that does just that, but then I foolishly said “let’s look for somewhere closer to home” (this place was a bit further away and… KNEES). And thus began the long and painful trek home peeking into possible bars along the way. There was nothing. Either the toast looked like crap or (the good ones) were packed full, some even with a queue. In the end I did get my wish, in a way, stopping in at Doña Carmen, a mere two minutes from my house. At that point it had to be churros because I just didn’t care anymore. And they were fine, but not as good as Manuel’s. Anyhow, doctor’s appointment coming up soon to check test results and see if there is anything at all they can do for my knees. Some hopeful news (???) is that I have been assigned a new GP. Fingers crossed.

covid spring 2024

05 Wednesday Jun 2024

Posted by in coronavirus, covid, health, health & happiness, spain

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covid spring 2024

This article mostly focuses on the province of Córdoba (an hour’s drive from Sevilla) but the gist of it is that the increase in respiratory conditions in the province is because Spain is experiencing a new epidemic wave of Covid. The incidence of Flu and RSV is zero. In other words, all respiratory illnesses happening now are Covid.

Meanwhile there are people coughing all over the place (in June!), others complaining about their “allergies” starting sooner or being harsher than before, and others having sudden “mystery fevers” that leave them in bed for a couple of days. Two weeks ago I was hit with a gastro bug that left me bedridden for 24 hours and then very weak afterwards. And yes of course I tested for Covid because… why the fuck not? Covid can hit other parts of you because it ISN’T PRIMARILY A RESPIRATORY ILLNESS. It’s actually a virus that attacks your immune system and your organs and can leave you totally fucked, even if your symptoms during infection were “mild”. I think the best trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people that Covid is no longer a global health threat.

People requesting my tapas tours are told that I am only offering tours to those who are fully vaccinated and boosted (last available booster). For the most part the response to that has been very positive with people telling me they are really happy to know I am taking precautions. Have had a couple of deniers send me a lecture on how I’m living my life wrong, but you know, fuck them.

BUT I have noticed it is getting more difficult. There’s a bit more push back these days about wearing masks, about even talking about Covid, and I can see that this is probably going to escalate as the world keeps pretending we are “post pandemic”. ALSO… just to point out that almost every article I see on Covid these days shows a photo like the one above of a sad and dirty surgical mask trampled in the street… as in we should all just give up and die already. Because the other greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people that Covid is only harmful to the “vulnerable” creating an US AND THEM mentality with “healthy” people thinking they are immune. Well guess what motherfuckers… you are ALL vulnerable. You just haven’t found out yet. Have a great day.

gastro gut

24 Friday May 2024

Posted by in health, home, sevilla

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gastro guts

Well dammit. Woke up yesterday feeling a bit off but didn’t really think much of it. Then at about 2.00 I suddenly had to LIE DOWN and I spent the next 24 hours in bed. It was pretty awful at first with severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches and chills, so sleep wasn’t even possible. I finally – and gratefully – dozed off towards dawn.

Anyhow, I am sitting upright once again and, so far, have managed to keep some toast down. Still feeling quite weak but compared to yesterday this is a picnic. Now waiting to see if I can still go to Vinoble on Sunday (so far it’s not Covid but I’ll test again tomorrow). I’ve been looking forward to this since the last one (two years ago) and have two amazing hotels booked (one is free!) so would hate to have to cancel. Fingers crossed!