28 Monday Aug 2023
Posted in health
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I had to work today and really appreciated that at Casa Román they prepared a simple bacalao a la plancha for me while my tapas tour guests enjoyed their crispy bacalao frito. I’m determined that this is GOING TO WORK this time. Though to be honest I did follow all the colonoscopy dietary rules last time too. No idea what went wrong unless there is some kind of scary blockage somewhere. Anyhow, three more days to go…
25 Friday Aug 2023
Posted in health, health & happiness, pilates, yoga
Since I started doing chair yoga and chair pilates I have since discovered a whole whack of different workout vids by this woman. They vary from quick 10-minute stretch/strength videos to 35-minute cardio ones and there’s lots of variety. The good thing is that there is never any excuse not to do SOMETHING each day, though I try to fit in at least half an hour, and obviously you can mix and match them. Some of them are quite challenging and, as you can see, I am also getting out of my chair (!). The whole point of starting with the chair stuff was to avoid having to sit or lie on the floor (knees! back!), so the standing ones work just as well for me. My goal is to also start fitting in some of the shorter ones (that don’t make me all sweaty) during the day, just for a bit of extra movement. Have to say that my back, and even my knees, are feeling much better.
23 Wednesday Aug 2023
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Since the last botched procedure in April I’ve been waiting for an appointment for another colonoscopy and finally got the call today… it will be next Thursday (!!). So not much time to fret but just enough time to prep for the prep. This time I’m going to start the low-residual diet a day early (Sunday) and basically try to eat as little as possible next week. ALSO, this time I have the prep instructions from the hospital (last time I had to look them up online) and it’s a bit different from what I did, so maybe that was the reason I ended up “badly prepped”?
These instructions have three different options depending on the time of the appointment (the others only had morning and afternoon options and my appointment was at noon, same as next week). So I will follow the “midday instructions” and do the usual thing with the SOLUCIÓN EVACUANTE the evening before but also get up extra early and take more of the stuff, being sure to finish six hours before my appointment, at which point I’m not even allowed water. I sure hope it works this time, and also that they don’t find anything scary. 🤞
07 Monday Aug 2023
I’m so fucking disappointed. Have been holding out on the statins until I could see the endocrinologist (appointment was on Friday) because I thought surely at least some of these things can be controlled by diet, and I am uneasy about taking statins. So I was hoping to get some guidance in that area as well as get her opinion on some other issues going on (with my pancreas, recurring abdominal pain, etc).
But no. First of all I was the only one wearing a mask in the health centre, including the doctors. I will still never understand this. But I arrived prepared with a printed sheet of my various health “incidents” and the treatments, as well as more recent issues, hoping at least she might be able to explain the whole “pancreas mystery” that’s been going on forever. Did she listen? Did she fuck.
No eye contact. She had an assistant there (junior doctor approx 14 years old) taking notes etc while she kept her eyes glued to her computer screen and typing away, seemingly eager to get the report finished at the same time she stopped talking to me. I tried to tell her about the cancer, the ops, the recurring abdominal pain, the post chemo weight gain, but was cut short with “TELL ME WHAT YOU ATE YESTERDAY”.
03 Thursday Aug 2023
Posted in casa azahar, food & drink, health
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I love blueberries. In fact, they are one of the few fruits I could actually eat on a daily basis. Plus they are a “super food” when it comes to inflammation issues. Except, they are only around for a brief season. And so! Since I am embarking on this new chapter of making changes, blueberries and lemon water have become a part of my morning routine lately (before I do chair yoga!) as well as taking the fish oil capsules after lunch (those fuckers are actually hard to swallow). All of this in preparation for my appointment with the endocrinologist/nutritionist tomorrow.
But back to blueberries. As they are in abundance right now I’ve found some from Segovia that only cost 4€ for half a kilo (which I think is great, they usually cost double that out of season and come from Peru) and so I have decided to stock up while I can and freeze them. I have never frozen blueberries before. But it seems you should wash them lightly and dry them thoroughly before laying them flat in a tray to freeze for about an hour. Then you put them into plastic bags (also laid out flat) to finish freezing. We shall see.
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