Tag Archives: health

diverticulitis

04 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by in health & happiness, home

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Remember when I got a mystery lower abdominal pain a couple of years ago? It began mid-November and lasted until I had a PET scan near the end of January, and was similar to something that occurred a couple of years previously. WELL IT’S BACK!

The abdominal pain (lower left hand side) started up again on Wednesday. I’m not talking about the usual discomfort I have due to adhesions, hernia, etc. I’m talking PAIN. But fuck it, rather than race to emergency again, I decided to leave it until I see the oncologist on Monday (FINALLY got an appointment). Then I was talking to my friend Ann about this and she said “sounds like when I get diverticulitis”. Say what? So I googled diverticulitis and there were my symptoms to a T. But I mean, wtf? You’d think the many doctors I have described this problem to would have also heard of diverticulitis, no?

Anyhow, learning that this is a fairly normal disease and is rarely life-threatening (though it can be) helped me relax a bit. And now I have a bit more “ammunition” for getting the scans I need when I see the onc. I had an ultrasound done a couple of weeks ago – a month later than it should have been – and they recommended an MRI because they found a couple of dodgy bits in my liver they want to check out further. So now I have to press for the MRI and probably another colonoscopy. DYI post cancer revisions.

And another amazing thing! I casually mentioned to Ann that the radiating pain in my right upper arm had also returned, and although I was sure they couldn’t be related I also thought it was weird that I had this exact same arm pain during the two months I had the belly pain. And good ol’ Ann sent me this…

Referred Pain in Right Arm from Abdominal Wall Pseudoaneurysm

I mean seriously, who’da thunk it?? Especially as I mentioned the arm pain to the oncologist two years ago and she said it had nothing to do with the abdominal pain. I know I know… diagnosing yourself on the internet isn’t often accurate (or advisable) but it sure does seem like these two problems have been explained, and that they are related. So now I just have to get through the next few days and maybe also get a blood test done to check for infection… it’s always something.

still walking…

30 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by in health & happiness, sevilla

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Loving my daily walks. Since I started I’ve only missed a couple due to work and other obligations, though I still rack up between 10,000 – 16,000 a day. I actually feel a bit bereft it I can’t do it, a sure sign that it’s doing some good for me. The great thing is that I can do this any time of day that I have a spare hour or so, and that I can also do this in my normal clothes (not gym clothes) which means I can do errands before or after the walk. This photo was taken after seeing my GP early evening, so I did the walk in reverse and caught a lovely sunset on my way home.

time to get walking!

06 Friday Sep 2019

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I’m usually pretty good at walking every day, though during the summer heat it’s more difficult to reach that 10,000 step goal (and even then it’s mostly strolling, not WALKING). After I moved I stopped going to the gym because there isn’t one close to me here, and I’ve really been missing some sort of daily exercise. And so this morning I decided that this was the day to start serious walking again. By that I mean doing a proper fast(ish) paced uninterrupted walk for an hour each day.

To be honest, I’ve been planning to start doing this for ages, and thought that having most of August off would be a good time. But in fact I used August to learn how to sleep again, giving myself “permission” to get an extra hour or so in after feeding the cats first thing in the morning (anytime between 6-7 am). Which also means I’ve got better at falling asleep again after being woken up, so more sleep for me!

I’ve worked out a nice morning walking route along the river that is similar to what I used to do on my bike, but it finishes in the city centre so if I need to do any shopping or errands I can get that done after the walk. Perfect! Not quite the Camino de Santiago, but it’s a start.  🙂

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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tied up in knots

26 Friday Jul 2019

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It was a normal day. I was working on this and that, spent most of the day at home thinking I would go out in the evening for a walk. Made a healthy “fridge forage” lunch that had plenty of fresh veg, some chicken and noodles. Then I relaxed a bit late afternoon, and then… OMG.

Suddenly I was hit by serious sharp abdominal pain, though not the same as what I experienced last week. This was way more intense. Thinking I could maybe “walk it off” I headed out to buy some ink for my printer, at the new shopping mall over the river. Halfway across the bridge I thought – uh oh, this isn’t normal – but then the violent cramps subsided and so I kept on. Bought my stuff, headed home, almost vomited in a public bin on the side of the street, but somehow made it back. And then it got much worse.

I crawled into bed, scared and in PAIN… it was so bad that I was actually crying out. Like all my insides were tied up in knots, like I was being turned inside out. I was so afraid I would end up back in emergency. Finally I fell asleep and when I woke up again in the middle of the night I drank some water (kept it down) and things seemed okay from then on in. But you know… WTF?