Category Archives: health

supplements are go!

09 Tuesday Sep 2025

Posted by in health, knees, sevilla

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Not sure why I didn’t do this sooner, or even if I should be doing it now, but no way I’m going to take a fucking opioid (Tramadol) twice a day for three months in case it makes me feel better. And who knows when I’ll hear back from the knee surgeon to discuss the the results of the new x-rays they took that very same day. Then I remembered that when I saw the other, nicer, kinder traumatologist in June (about my shoulder) she had suggested taking this collagen supplement (two months on, one month off). Around the same time my GP had suggested something called Nubit for my neuropathy, which began during chemo and frankly ain’t getting any better. So decided to go for it, ordered both of these today and let’s see what happens.

knee news

18 Monday Aug 2025

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

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I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THE KNEE SPECIALIST. The call came in this morning and I almost couldn’t believe it. It’s for next week, August 28th and while I know I should be happy I’m also nervous, because of course this is just to find out if my surgery will be approved. I’ve already printed out my page outlining everything that has happened (and not happened) since May 2023 when this whole knee saga began. Hopefully it won’t be glossed over and dismissed like it was by the trauma guys last October.

To wit my friend Sharon has offered to come with me and be my advocate. Thing is, I’d be an excellent advocate for someone else, I just can’t manage it for myself when I’ve got all the other scary feelings going on. What can I say, hospitals trigger me big time. Anyhow… stay tuned. If it ends up being a simple meniscus repair I could be up and walking again in no time. A replacement would obviously be a longer recovery. And of course in either case I’ll end up going on another waiting list. But first things first.

three weeks later…

07 Thursday Aug 2025

Posted by in health, hospitals, sevilla

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It’s been three weeks since I had my bonus cardiology visit and the doctor agreed to cut Apocard (flecainide) from my prescriptions, even though she said she didn’t believe it was the cause of the symptoms I described to her (inside of head feeling bruised, pressure behind eyes, occasional dizziness and blurred vision). But hey, almost immediately those symptoms disappeared and I’ve only noticed one or two slight tachycardia episodes since then. My pulse has gone back up a bit but is still below 70 and BP is stable. I meant to ask if, without the flecainide, I should be taking a full beta-blocker pill instead of half (which original cardiologist switched it to when I started taking it with the flecainide) but I guess she would have noticed and said so. Maybe? 

Anyhow, feeling better about this. And not just because I’m actually feeling better. It’s easier now to take all three meds together in the morning and I don’t have that feeling of dread that accompanied taking the flecainide. Apparently it is a very widely used treatment for atrial fibrillation in Spain, but seems to be less popular elsewhere. And since here they still prescribe Nolotil (metamizol) with reckless abandon despite it being banned in more than 20 countries, well, I think I can be forgiven for not automatically thinking that Doctor Knows Best. 

Meanwhile, I already have my cardiology revision appointment set for next February (!). This doctor may have seemed a bit brusque but at least she also seems to get things done. So fingers crossed this latest drug cocktail (bp med, blood thinner, beta blocker) works and it’s all I need. 

third time lucky?

17 Thursday Jul 2025

Posted by in health, hospitals, sevilla

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So after getting a call from the Cardiologist at the end of April telling me I HAD to start taking this and that IMMEDIATELY, well, I started taking them. But I didn’t start taking the third one (beta blocker) listed because he didn’t mention it in the call. Anyhow, I wasn’t happy taking the Flecainide from the beginning because it kind of scared me, also I wasn’t feeling well on it, having several of the side effects listed here.  So after going to the hospital to try and speak to the Cardiologist and also going to see my GP I ended up with TWO Cardiology appointments. I went to the first one in June and got my prescription somewhat changed, starting with the beta blocker and getting the Flecainide dosage halved. But things still didn’t feel right.

Luckily I held on the the second “bonus” appointment and took advantage of it to go and talk to the Cardiologist again today. Except it wasn’t the same affable guy I’d been seeing, it was very brusque woman. At first I thought she was kind of unfriendly but it turned out she was just no nonsense. The first thing she said was… what are you doing back here? You were just here last month! So I had to explain it was about the prescription (didn’t mention the bonus appt) and told her that even on half-flecainide I was still feeling wonky. She told me flat out that none of the side effects I described were typically caused by Flecainide  (well OTHER THAN ON THIS PAGE) but said if I thought it was making me feel bad that she would cancel that prescription and I could continue with the other three. Just like that. Um… okay. I asked if I should have a revision in case the tachycardia started up again and she said “well, yours seem to be quite caprichoso, not constant, so check again with your GP if you notice any changes”. 

I mean, I have to admit that I haven’t had any tachycardia moments since starting on the Flecainide, and both my BP and pulse have dropped… but I mean by a lot. Meanwhile the inside of my head feels bruised and I get dizzy, pressure behind eyes, sometimes blurry vision. Anyhow, now that I have the specialist’s permission to stop taking scary drug (for now) I will see how it goes over the rest of the summer. I feel more relaxed about this. So now it’s just the same old BP meds I’ve been on for years, the blood thinner and the beta blocker (but half dosage). And apparently I can take them all at breakfast, so no more morning and evening pill popping. More news as I get it.