Tag Archives: health

here we go again…

11 Wednesday Mar 2026

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

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So after that disappointing attempt last week to get my GP to push for a new traumatology appt based on new x-rays (she wasn’t having it) I actually GOT A CALL TODAY from the hospital saying I had an appointment for my knee… tomorrow! And well damn, that wasn’t happening because I have two couples booked for a sherry tasting at the exact same time, so I asked if we could find another date. And so now it’s going to be on March 23rd, ten-ish days from now. Which is better than nuthin. I hope.

You may recall that back in August during my last traumatology appointment they did basically nothing but ask for more x-rays, give me a useless jab in the knee, tell me to take opioids (as well as the usual lose weight, ride a bike, go to the pool) and then said they’d see me again in three months. THREE MONTHS. So I am not expecting that when I show up next time they are going to suddenly say… a knee operation? Well why didn’t you just say so? How’s next Thursday?

They keep fucking me around. Like last time they said they needed the new x-rays to determine if my arthrosis had developed to the point that they could request a knee replacement. When I told them I was actually more interested in having the torn meniscus repaired – because that was actually causing all the serious pain and it’s a fairly minor op – they said they couldn’t okay that until they saw the extent of the arthrosis, even saying that an attempt to repair the meniscus before having that info could make things even worse. Fucking what?

You’re seeing the pattern, right? Here, get these x-rays or this MRI taken so we can make a decision on your treatment. But then by the time I get the follow-up appointment the test results are already too old to be useful and so… yep… need to retake those tests. And it goes round and round. Meanwhile, as long as they are “following protocol” and writing in their reports that they have told me to lose weight, go to the pool, ride a bike and take pain killers, and have requested new tests, then they are off the hook. Next!

Watch this space. I was hoping to get a friend to come with me as back up but the only person I can think of who might actually be able to help isn’t available. Well, I have ten-ish days to prepare. Wish me luck!

today’s bleak

06 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by in health, knee saga, knees, sevilla

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Yeah, it looked like this today, which was bleak enough. But it was also a bleak day because, yep, another let down re: the Knee Saga. Last month I had the bright idea to ask my GP to make a new appointment with the traumatologist based on the new xrays I had done in November as the ones taken in August hadn’t been done correctly. Due to this and that the GP appt was postponed until today and, although I knew it was a long shot, I’m still disappointed it didn’t work out. I was told, without a hint of irony, that the records show I have been up for a three-month revision since August and so she cannot ask for a new one even though a new test had been done since then because it was for the same thing. Aaargh. I’m so tired. And it hurts.

 

sneezy me

26 Thursday Feb 2026

Posted by in health, home

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Had a rough night after waking up (#4am natch) with 🤧… so far testing negative for covid/flu but have mask on at home, hepas are turned up to max and (so sad!) had to cancel today’s visit to Alcázar to see the Sorolla exhibit, also lunch out and a flamenco performance this evening at new venue. Dang. It’s not usual for me to have such a packed day either. Oh well.

Have rebooked the Alcázar for Sunday, final day of the exhibit, so I will hopefully be asymptomatic by then, though I’ll still wear a mask. I also had to move tomorrow’s Sherry & Tapas Tasting to Monday. Luckily the clients were flexible. And that’s me I guess, stuck inside until at least Sunday. How’s your week going?

well that was an effing waste of time

25 Wednesday Feb 2026

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I’m now extra glad I hadn’t unwittingly headed off to my cardiology revision two weeks ago because wasting time and money getting to the hospital and back yesterday without getting caught up in the tractor strike was bad enough. I had guessed that this revision was going to be the usual EKG and asking about the tachycardia. Which they did. But the doctor (another new one, I never see the same specialist twice) didn’t listen at all. He spent the entire visit typing out the report, even when I told him that that very morning I’d had a very unusual tachycardia episode that lasted about three hours. I explained that it was a condition I’ve had since my mid-twenties (he’s nodding and typing) and nobody has ever been able to tell me why it’s happening, that I’ve wondered if it is POTS but it has never been diagnosed as such. I stressed that it is very rare when it doesn’t stop within a few minutes and said that since it happened I was feeling some pain just above my left breast.

“Oh, that’s nothing, nothing to do with the arrhythmia”. His advice was that the next time I should go and get an EKG done while the tachycardia is happening so they can better judge was is causing it. WTAF? I asked him where I was supposed to get an instant EKG and he said to go to my health centre or to a private clinic. Again… wtf? I explained (again) that the episodes don’t usually last that long, and the times they have, and I was worried enough to go to emergency, they always stopped before I got in to see a doctor. So he said I could get a mobile “Kardia” heart monitor, wrote the name down for me, and said that was all he could do. He then gave me a perfunctory once over with the stethoscope and pronounced me “just fine”, printed out his report and said “see you in a year”. Except of course I doubt I will ever see this guy again.

So I dunno. Reckon this Kardia thing is worth it? It seems most home monitoring gadgets are far from reliable. Maybe I should splash out on an Apple watch instead?

suprise shoulder ultrasound

12 Thursday Feb 2026

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

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Well okay, it wasn’t a surprise that I was getting one but every since I bailed on my shoulder MRI last April (lasted approx 7 seconds in the COFFIN DEATH MACHINE) and got to see another traumatologist in June I’ve been waiting for this appointment. Which also wasn’t a surprise because it seems like all I do these days is wait for appointments. But after having to cancel my cardiology revision on Tuesday DUE TO TRACTORS I was actually expecting yesterday’s way too early phone call to be from them… instead it was from the Hospital Virgen del RocĂ­o saying I had an ultrasound appointment the following morning at 10.00 am. So… surprise!

In the grand scheme of things the chronic shoulder pain I’ve had for… seemingly ever?… doesn’t begin to compete with the FUCKING KNEE PAIN which now seems to be extending to my left knee, possibly due to original fucking knee pain putting lower back out (hello sciatica, my old nemesis) so all movement now is fraught with potentially fucking up… basically everything else? I don’t know. All I know is that everything hurts all the time these days.

Anyhow, back to today’s hospital visit. It actually went very smoothly. Easily found taxis to get me there and back again (not always the case). And since I pretty much know Virgen del RocĂ­o inside out by now I got to my ecografĂ­a waiting area just on time (seriously, you try it, they don’t make it easy) and was called in almost immediately. And the doctors were great. I almost felt like I was in a THE PITT episode when a young man came over and introduced himself, telling me his name and saying he was a resident intern (hey we all gotta learn sometime). Happily he was soon accompanied by the actual doctor in charge but she let him search away on my shoulder with the magic wand and there was plenty of back and forthing between them about what they were actually seeing on the screen.

Then the head doc took over and first thing she said was… how do you pronounce your name? I told her and after that she used it every time she had something to tell me. I thought that was a nice touch. Anyhoodle… apparently my shoulder is fucked, as if I didn’t know. It wasn’t possible to see whether the tendon is torn or just (just!) damaged and inflamed. But head doc told me that either outcome wouldn’t change the treatment or the pain involved. When I told her about the MRI debacle she said that for this particular issue an ultrasound is more useful than an MRI. Okey dokey.

So on to treatment. And the here we go again cycle… she said aside from anti-inflammatories and painkillers there might be some physiotherapy that could help but I needed to see the traumatologist again. And so now I wait. Again.