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Category Archives: health

colonoscopy prep time (again)

10 Monday Apr 2023

Posted by azahar in health, hospitals

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

colonoscopy, health

colonoscopy prep 23

Since I’m apparently not allowed any more scans the oncologist agreed last September that I could have another colonoscopy as my last one was five years ago. It was supposed to be in February but then I finally heard from the hospital three weeks ago and they told me the appointment was for March 22nd – the day of Morcilla’s operation! So I asked if they could reschedule and now it will be this Wednesday at noon. Eep.

I’ve been on the low residual diet since Saturday and tomorrow it will be clear liquids all day until I have to start with the dread SOLUCIÓN EVACUANTE at 6 pm. To be honest, I’m a bit worried about this one because I’ve been having a fair bit of abdominal pain and general discomfort lately but was so caught up with all the cat trauma of the past month that I couldn’t allow myself to think about it much. So I guess it’s a good thing I’m getting the test done and hopefully it will turn out fine and put my mind at rest. Fingers crossed! 🤞

new & improved river walk

04 Tuesday Apr 2023

Posted by azahar in health, health & happiness, sevilla

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

river walk, sevilla

new river walk (1)

Several years ago I started doing (what were supposed to be daily) River Walks and Park Walks, usually starting off early in the morning (okay, 9-ish) and getting in something like 10,000 steps, long before Fitbit step counting became a thing. But then this and that got in the way, then cancer, then getting old, blah blah whatever… so while I have revived the River Walk in the past couple of years after Covid lockdown, it was still a patchy activity. Until now!

The main drawback with the River Walk was that, although it’s lovely to walk down along the river bank, there is virtually NO SHADE and so unless you get out there early (in my case not likely) it’s quite brutal other than in winter. And while there was also the option to walk next to the river at street level, the Paseo del Torneo had become frankly treacherous as the paving stones were all broken and buckled. Then last year the Paseo had a makeover and just this week it was finally reopened. Okay, there are still a few “bare patches” which I assume they are going to fill in with plants growing atop the various pergolas along the way. But most of it is as you see above. A lovely canopy of leafy greenness with dappled sunshine peeking through. Loving this. It inspires me to get out there.

new river walk (2)

tweaking

13 Monday Mar 2023

Posted by azahar in health

≈ 2 Comments

changing up

Since starting on BP meds last November it does seem to have made a difference but when I went for a review last week my GP decided to tweak the prescription a bit and said I should come back in a month (while continuing to monitor my BP at home). And well… okay. Guess I’ll find out. A quick google gave me this info comparing Enalapril (my previous med) with this new one…

Enalapril is a common medication used to lower blood pressure which also has the added benefit of protecting your kidneys. Losartan is a first-choice medication used to lower blood pressure. It can also protect you against stroke and slow down the worsening of kidney problems in people with diabetes.

Is anyone else out there taking this?

betrayal

03 Friday Mar 2023

Posted by azahar in health, home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dreams, health

betrayal

Out of all the recurring anxiety dreams I have (and there are plenty!) the worst are the betrayal dreams. Other anxiety dreams can leave me waking up in terror, creeped out, exhausted, concerned about my sanity etc, but the fucking betrayal dreams man… they cut to the core. Maybe because I am so often “misread” by people who project their own issues onto someone they think threatens them (often who they previously admired) by making me… well, whatever they imagine me to be. I wake up from these dreams questioning everything and everyone, especially myself, and wonder how to move forward if trust isn’t actually an option. Not that trust comes easily to me, far from it. I guess mostly it’s just so incredibly sad and deflating, waking up with this awful just been stabbed in the heart feeling. Takes a lot to recover from these fuckers. What’s your worst dream?

the pressure’s on!

23 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by azahar in health, health & happiness, sevilla

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

health, sevilla

pressure

After the initial check over with my GP two weeks ago I was sent for blood tests and an ECG a couple of days later, and while checking my BP, the nurse said it was a “little bit high” but then immediately sent me upstairs to talk to a doctor, who told me to go back downstairs and get a pill from the nurse, sit there for 30 minutes, then get my BP taken again and come back to see him. After which he told me to take my BP regularly (morning and evening) until my next GP appointment (today). This meant getting on Amazon to find a reliable but not too expensive arm-band machine which would arrive quickly. That done I spent the next ten days keeping track of my BP and got Peter to do the same. He was overdue for a check up and had actually been prescribed BP meds a few years ago, but then stopped taking them and also stopped seeing the doctor. Turns out his BP is even higher than mine!

Anyhow, went back to the GP today and my blood test results were normal other than a highish cholesterol level. Not diabetic, no serious thyroid issues, everything else looking fine. But Doc Silvia wants me to take this medication, while taking and recording my BP at home twice a week, and then see her again after 90 days. With another blood test six months from now. Anyone have any experience taking this? Enalapril-Hydrochlorothiazide seems to be a pretty normal BP med without too many side effects, but I’m always a bit cautious about taking drugs, especially if they are meant to me longish term. This getting older biz kind of sucks sometimes, but I still think it beats the alternative.

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