Category Archives: health

meds update

17 Tuesday Jun 2025

Posted by in health, hospitals, sevilla

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After that whole crazy runaround a couple of weeks ago trying to get my meds sorted I suddenly had not one but two appointments with the cardiologist! The first one (today) came via my visit to the Duques del Infantado hospital and the second (July 9th) from my GP. Whatever. I went to this morning’s and have decided to hold onto the other appointment just in case.

They did an ECG (normal) and I explained to the cardiologist that I haven’t been taking the bisoprolol (beta blocker) and that I am not feeling well on the flecainide (heartbeat regulator). He said not to worry about taking the beta blocker with Losartán, the other bp med I’ve been on for ages. Then he said he’d cut down the flecainide to half a pill twice a day, and start the beta blocker at half dosage as well. And he even gave me a schedule…

Treatment
Apocard 100 mg (flecainide) – half tablet every 12 hours, breakfast and dinner
Lixiana 60 mg (anticoagulant) – 1 tablet every 24 hours, at breakfast
Bisoprolol 2.5 mg (beta blocker) – half tablet every 24 hours, at dinner
Losartán/HCTZ (bp med) – 1 tablet at night

Revision in 6 months.

I think I can live with this adjustment for now. To be honest, the tachycardia has pretty much stopped so maybe this is working and I just need less of the scary Apocard drug? I told him that when I saw my GP she said she couldn’t change my prescription he said… well, now she can, it’s all in the new report. Which he then printed out and gave to me. Meanwhile, I have this other appointment set up for three weeks from now in case I need it, and if not I’ll cancel it. Ufff…

too many hobbles

04 Wednesday Jun 2025

Posted by in health, knee saga, knees, Malaga, sevilla, spain, trips

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I think I really overdid things this past week. I mean, I try to get out for a hobble each day, as well as doing my chair workouts five times a week. But between Málaga-Marbella and Jerez I worry that I may have actually done some extra damage to The Knee. Because now it seriously hurts (even more) like fuck. Today I wanted to go to the market and gave up half-way there. The thing was, once out and about you just kind of have to keep going. Especially if you are in the centre of pedestrianised Málaga (no taxis!) or when your lunch location in Benalmádena ends up being at the bottom of a very steep foot path (ouch!).

But I persevered then took a couple of days off before heading to Jerez. I don’t know if that was a mistake or not, or if all of it was wrong to do, but dammit I’m so tired of not being able to do things. And with NOBODY helping me with info about what I should or should not be doing (other than go to the pool, ride a bike, lose weight). Not one doctor has told to either keep walking or stop walking. And so I keep on, not exactly walking, but hobbling on my trusty crutches. Clocked over 15,000 hobbles in Málaga and another 12,000 in Jerez. And each one hurt so much. I just want my life back.

ecocardiograma

26 Monday May 2025

Posted by in health, hospitals, sevilla

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I had my echocardiogram this morning and the doc said she didn’t see anything serious, so that’s good. Nothing blocked or whatever… I’d had visions of being kept in for emergency stent insertion. Now I wait to hear back from the Cardiologist. I guess! Meanwhile I still can’t get a straight answer on whether I should be taking ALL THOSE DRUGS.

I checked with my GP who said “well if that’s what he said” except he didn’t SAY to take the Bisoprolol during that phone call. Then I asked my pharmacist and she said that it’s good to check back with the Cardiologist because he might not have noticed that I was already taking Lozartán, saying “it happens”. I thought I could ask at the hospital today, so I did. And the doc said, “but you’re taking the Bisoprolol?” and I said I wasn’t sure if I should be taking it, so she said to call the cardiology dept at Duques del Infantado and they can check with the Cardiologist on the spot. Yeah right. And so this afternoon I secured the direct number for the cardiology department and tomorrow I will see if they actually answer the phone.

caracolia 2025

22 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in food & drink, health, sevilla, substack

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Sadly it looks like I won’t be making it to this year’s Caracolia festival, one of the three annual outdoor food festivals I mentioned here the other day. Turns out two of the three days I have sherry tastings booked at midday (yay! work!) but this also means I will be too exhausted to go out again in the evening.

These days I can usually only manage to get out once a day, and it’s usually in the early afternoon. After that I just run out of steam. It’s just too physically hard and painful to drag myself around on the crutches for any extended time. Which makes me feel a bit nervous about my Málaga-Marbella trip next week but at least I’ll have friends helping.

I really miss my old life, when I could go out any old time. And you know… WALK. Also this is the first time I’ll be missing one of the Festivales Gastronómicos since they began three years ago. Dammit.

relatively speaking…

19 Monday May 2025

Posted by in casa azahar, health, hope, hospitals, knee saga, knees, sevilla, spain

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Okay, so maybe not the best image since I AM GOING BALD and would never tear my hair out on purpose… but I mean fuck. No wonder it’s falling out on its own. Remember when I had it all worked out to finally take care of business and find out – in person – why I have been waiting SEVEN MONTHS to see the knee surgeon? And so on my way to my mammogram on Friday, at a new place way out in the middle of nowhere (sorry El Juncal, but you kind of are), I got off the bus and stopped in at the scene of the crime – Fleming Clinic – which was sorta kinda of on the way.

I was directed to the department I should be taking this up, and so that’s what I did. But after a few minutes of looking stuff up on the computer screen the woman at the desk told me… “all I can say is that the appointments being seen to now in the department are from requests made LAST JULY”.

My request was made in October.

And when the woman saw the look on my face she said… “well you know, relatively speaking, it shouldn’t be that far off now”.

I didn’t even know what to say. I asked if this meant I would have to wait another three months and she said “not necessarily”, which could mean anything. Maybe not three months, maybe longer. Remember, this is just to see the surgeon. Who will have to sign off on the surgery. And then I will go on ANOTHER WAITING LIST. Unless the surgeon doesn’t sign off on it and then I am completely fucked. So far I have been finding it very difficult to have doctors take me seriously about this and so it’s hard to hope.