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Tag Archives: doctors

e-trike time?

21 Tuesday Oct 2025

Posted by azahar in health, health & happiness, knee saga, knees

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Tags

doctors, e-trike, knees

Went to see the GP last week to get the results of last blood test (all good apparently!). I also mentioned my disappointment with the surgeon’s report, that she had only prescribed pain killers, including a fucking opioid, with a revision supposedly in three months time. I explained to my doctor that this WASN’T TREATMENT it was avoiding proper treatment and then I asked how I could ask to get a second opinion.

To my surprise she actually took the time to explain to me that with arthrosis and other knee problems the first line treatment is painkillers until such time that the surgeon agrees that surgery is necessary. She said that for the moment I was not going to get anything else… BUT (and apparently it’s a big but?) she said the fact that they asked for new x-rays and a follow-up in 3 months means that they haven’t ruled out surgery. Yet.

So okay… I’ve heard stories of people waiting four years for knee surgery. And yes, if I had private insurance – and paid whatever add-on – I could have had this done a year ago like my pal Charo. Meanwhile, she had to get hers done over and even now walks with a noticeable limp. 

Anyhow, got me thinking that I may well be stuck in this loop for longer than I even want to imagine… so what can I do? The other day I saw a woman pedalling down the street on a trike with a comfy basket to hold stuff and I thought… maybe? A bit of quick research shows me that most e-trikes are super heavy and expensive so not really for me, because I would also like to use this not only for getting around but also for daily exercise. Meaning I’d also want to be able to pedal the thing, not just use it as a get-around vehicle. So if anyone has any experience with trikes, would love to hear from you. 

jfc ffs

01 Wednesday Oct 2025

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

doctors, knee saga, knees

Remember my disappointment with the “nothing burger” visit to the knee surgeon in August? Aside from being given a cortisone shot (which did absolutely nothing) I was also sent down for updated x-rays so they could see the state of things now, and I was reassured that my next appointment wouldn’t take so long as I was now “in the system” as priority. Then I was sent home with a new set of pain killer prescriptions and was told to lose weight, go to the pool, ride a bike, etc. BUT at least I thought I’d be seeing the surgeon again as soon as the new x-rays were ready.

A month later there was still no news, and for some reason the doctor’s report was not on the Clic-Salud website, so I went down to my health centre to request a copy. This is what I got… 

History: 68 years old. Referred for right knee pain lasting approximately two years. Reports mechanical pain, with limited ability to walk long distances and work (tour guide). Does not take pain medication.

Examination: Overweight. Right knee with negative brush test. Pain in medial compartment, BA 0°-120°. Stable. Additional tests: Last x-ray 2023: incipient gonarthrosis.
MRI of right knee: Grade II femoropatellar and internal femorotibial compartment gonarthrosis with internal meniscus tear and chronic overload of the internal collateral ligament. Joint effusion.

Action plan: After signing the informed consent form, I performed infiltration of the right knee with mepi + trigon. No incidents.

Treatment: paracetamol 1 g every 8 hours, tramadol 50 mg every 12 hours, arcoxia 60 mg every 24 hours during periods of increased pain. Weight control and exercises. Follow-up in 3 months with X-ray.

FOLLOW-UP IN 3 MONTHS. There was never any intention of seeing me sooner. And according to the Defensor del Puebo, for follow-up appts to specialists, 3 months is the maximum wait time allowed. So they went for that. 

Also… limited ability to walk long distances?? How about ANY distances, like I told her, and not without extreme pain. I mean, she saw me hobble in there on my crutches. Well I guess this is how it feels to be “just a number” in the system. I am not being treated as a whole person but as a jumble of symptoms and they are simply following protocol without, well, caring. Just get me in and out asap, fill out the report showing they followed protocol, and push the next appt to the maximum time limit. It’s very hard for me to accept that this is my life now and to feel so helpless. 

nothing burger…

28 Thursday Aug 2025

Posted by azahar in health, hospitals, knee saga, knees

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

cortisone, doctors, knees

Well after ALL THAT… the Knee Saga continues. And well okay, it wasn’t that nothing was accomplished today, it’s just that it was about a year and a half later than it should have been (what happened today could have – should have – been offered to me in October 2024 or sooner). 

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blue tuesday

05 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by azahar in health, sevilla

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

doctors, health, sevilla

blue tuesday

So much for asking my GP to fast track my next KNEE DOCTOR appt… thought I’d ask her about a couple of things while I was there with Peter today acting as translator. But turns out I will have to make my own appointment to get any info about my stuff. Which I guess is fair enough as I know they aren’t given much time with each patient… but this was just to ask her to check the knee thing. Anyhow, she told me I could ask downstairs at the reception desk, which I did and at least got a copy of the appt request by the last traumatologist. It will be with an orthopaedic surgeon! They didn’t actually tell me that, or give me a copy of the request. Anyhow, it says it’s a “normal” request (not “urgent”). And so I have dutifully made a phone appointment with my GP (earliest available Nov 19th) to ask her about a couple of other things and to also ask her if she can change the surgeon appt to urgent. Meanwhile, while at the reception desk I asked if it was possible to get a shingles jab and she said, yeah sure. So Peter and I will get vaccinated for that next week. And then on the way home I saw this beautiful blue, so not an entirely wasted morning.

traumatised

24 Wednesday Apr 2024

Posted by azahar in knee saga, knees

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

doctors, knees, sevilla

trama doc

Yesterday I finally got to see a traumatology doctor about my goddamn knees. To recap… it was less than a year ago that I was doing my (almost) daily 10,000 steps and suddenly last May my left knee decided to give out on me. Then it all went downhill with trips to Heartless GP, then an MRI and later a visit to emergency when the pain in my right knee became unbearable. I was dismissed by the ER doctor saying I didn’t have a Bakers Cyst (though all symptoms pointed to that) and was given a prescription for Nolotil, a painkiller that has been banned in 20 countries because one of the many side effects is DEATH.

So fuck that shit. I got back in touch with Heartless GP and she said she would book an appointment with a traumatologist, which finally happened today. To be honest, since my serious disappointment after seeing The Endo last summer I was preparing myself for the worst. And hey, that’s what I got.

This woman was dismissive from the start. Barely looked at me other than to tell me to not move my chair closer to her desk. A good 6 feet away, I also noticed the window was cracked open, but of course she was not wearing a mask IN A FUCKING HEALTH CENTRE FULL OF SICK PEOPLE. But I digress…

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