Category Archives: hospitals

difficultitis

07 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in health & happiness, hospitals

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Difficultitis – a chronic condition arising from repeatedly trying to get your doctor to take your complaints seriously. Symptoms include frustration (mild or otherwise), a sense of helplessness, loss of sleep and occasional tears. Although the cause has been well established there is so far no known cure.

I went to see the oncologist today fully armed with notes and print outs of the results from my last ultrasound and blood test, ready to tell her about my latest bout of diverticulitis, and ask about getting a blood test to check for possible infection. And well, that almost happened.

First of all, the possibility of having diverticulitis was shot down when I was told that my last colonoscopy (done a month after I had the first abdominal pain episode) didn’t show any evidence of diverticula, hence they couldn’t be inflamed if they’re not there. Okay…

So I went through my questions and the doctor said that, because of the new pain issue,  instead of an MRI (which had been recommended after the ultrasound) I’d be having a CAT scan. Even though I’d read that an MRI is much better than a CAT for detecting liver problems I was assured that a CAT was a preferred “two birds with one stone” approach. So, okay…

I asked the doctor if she had any idea what might be causing the abdominal pain (accompanied by shooting pain in my right arm and shoulder, just like the previous time) and she said no, and that this was why I was getting another CAT scan. And that was it.

My feeling is the liver issue is probably more important than this recurring abdominal pain thing, so a more specific test for that might be better? Rather than a shotgun approach to check out the entire abdominal area. Oh, and I had mentioned that the previous time I went to emergency with the belly pain they did a blood test to check for infection, but then forgot to ask if I should do this again, especially as I am supposed to be travelling next week and the CAT scan probably won’t be for a couple of weeks at least. So now I’m left waiting again.

I really miss my old oncologist. I felt she actually listened to me. Sadly she ended up with cancer and retired shortly afterwards. I mean, this new one is better than some of the awful ones I’ve experienced, but I just don’t feel “heard”, if you know what I mean.

blood!

14 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in cancer, casa azahar, home, hope, hospitals, sevilla

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WARNING: although this looks like a Jackson Pollock (it’s actually BLOOD!) the rest of this post might be a bit TMI for some of you. Nothing gross or anything, just, you know, perhaps somewhat more info than you may want to know about. So you have been warned. And it’s totally fine if you don’t want to carry on reading…

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back in the jag!

15 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in cancer, hospitals, sevilla

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So remember last June when I went to get my CT scan results at the hospital only to be told they hadn’t been completed yet? And that the saving grace of that whole debacle was being driven to the hospital in Spain’s ONLY Jaguar taxi??? Well, it happened again today. The Jaguar bit. The test results were all there today.

I mean, what are the odds? I didn’t even notice I was back in the Jag until I slid into the back seat (the driver held the door open for me) and saw THAT LOGO on the dashboard. And then I got all fan girl again, asking Pedro if he was still the only Jaguar taxi in Spain (he is) and also asking if I could get a card from him this time (which is how I know his name now). And then I thought… maybe this is a good sign, that everything is going to be alright.

Well, after waiting over an hour in Oncology I got to see my doctor, and she told me that I appear to be cancer free. Good news, right? Except I am still processing all this.

Since the PET scan a year ago that set off alarm bells, when the “area of inflammation” that has been showing up on my PET scans since 2008 had increased dramatically (previously it had been slowly shrinking), I have undergone a whack of testing: colonoscopy, endoscopy, several blood tests and 3 CT scans (latest CT was in November). And now, apparently, I am fine.

Well, that’s good! Glad to hear it, and all that. But now what? I mean, really, now what? My oncologist told me today that after ten years “cancer free” patients are given the “alta” (not sure what this is called in English) and regular scans and check ups are no longer required. I was told that if I experience pain or other symptoms, that they will check me again. Otherwise… nuthin’?

I don’t know. I mean, I am obviously happy that they have decided I am cancer-free after all this time. But, you know, I had fucking stage-4 colon cancer with metastisis to my liver and peritoneum and, to this day, none of my doctors understand why I am still here. I also know that by the time you feel pain caused by cancer you are already pretty much a goner. It’s the preventative testing that saves lives. So why am I getting kicked out of this option?

Okay, I wasn’t totally being shown the door. Because when I asked the doctor what sort of “control testing” they would be doing with me from this point on… well, she caved and said that they could do an abdominal ultrasound with blood tests in six months. And okay fine… I’ll take it.

I mean, I get it. CT scans are expensive, and PET scans even more so. In comparison an ultrasound is nothing. But once you’ve been through all I have gone through, and have talked with so many doctors, and never feeling like you are getting the whole story… it’s hard to believe you’re being told the whole truth. But for now, this is what I have.

floaters and flashes

19 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in health & happiness, hospitals, sevilla

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About a month or so ago I went to see my GP Agustín because I had suddenly developed floaters in my right eye, accompanied by flashing lights in the right hand corner (only noticable when it was dark). So he put in a request for an appointment with the ophthamologist and said they would get in touch. Then I started getting those flashing zig-zaggy prisms right across my eye, though they didn’t last long. But the point was that things weren’t getting any better and I still hadn’t heard from the specialist about my appointment.

The reason I wasn’t super worried about it was because this very same thing happened to me almost exactly 9 years ago. And I got it checked out and it was nothing, and eventually went away. But after having mentioned this here, and also to a couple other friends via email/whatsapp I was suddenly being pressured (in the kindest way possible) to GET IT CHECKED OUT. Because the threat of retina damage and vision loss is actually quite a real one. So I checked again with my GP this morning, and he agreed I should go to Emergency, so I hopped into a taxi and found myself once again at my least favourite place in Sevilla.

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following doctor’s orders

06 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in health & happiness, hospitals

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So remember when almost two weeks ago I slipped and fell at home, spraining two toes on my right foot? Well, the toes were actuallly much better after a couple of days, but then I started to notice hip and leg pain (left side) which got progressively worse, to the point where I could barely walk or even sleep. I would have gone to the doctor sooner, but I knew I had my CT scan today, so thought that I would visit the Traumatology emergency ward while I was at the hospital. I mentionded the fall to the CT technician, who said they were only in charge of the job they were given (thorax and abdomen cancer screening) but said there would be no problem having an x-ray taken after the scan.

Wrong! When I got in to see the Traumatology doc she had already found my CT scan (which stopped just below hip level) up on the computer. Lucky for me it had already been uploaded into the system because it meant I didn’t have to get an x-ray done, which the doc said she wouldn’t have advised anyhow, right after a scan. She took her time going through the scan and finally said that she couldn’t see any bone damage. Then she got me up on the table and started poking around.

Does this hurt? No.

Here? No.

How about here? AAAARRRRGH!!!

Then she went through the same process while moving my leg around, until she found the aaaarrrrgh position. And then she went back to the scan and studied it some more. I was dying to ask her if she saw anything cancer related, but knew that doctors don’t like to interfere with other departments, though she did ask when I was seeing the oncologist again (gulp! will really start to worry if they call and say I have to see the onc immediately, usually it’s 2-3 weeks after the scan).

In the end she decided that the pain was most likely related to the fall (though not necessarily) and it was either a hematoma or an inflamed tendon. But she said that in either case the “treatment” was the same: ice, ibuprofen and REST. When I asked if I could still walk (ie do my tours) she said NO WALKING. Then I asked how long I had to do the treatment, and was told “as long as it takes”. Actually I kind of liked her no-nonsense attitude, and that she did the examination in a thorough, thoughtful and unhurried manner. And so I have decided to follow doctor’s orders.

I am so used to the other pain (lower back, sciatica, etc) that actually benefits from gentle walking rather than staying still, so this is why I just kept (painfully) walking the past week or so. But this pain is really different, shooting down the side and front of my thigh, reaching at times to the front of my calf, unlike anything I have experienced before. Of course it’s boring to be housebound, but luckily Peter can do my tours this week. So I have no excuse. And I wouldn’t fancy going back to the doc saying I hadn’t taken her advice and the leg STILL hurts…