Tag Archives: health

shingles vax 2024

19 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in health, hospitals, sevilla, spain

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shingles

So dammit. For the past few years I’ve been asking at my health centre for the shingles vaccine and the answer was always that it wasn’t available. Until this year! A couple of weeks ago while picking up some papers at the reception desk I asked if I could make an appointment for a shingles jab and they said, sure no problem. Well hey! So I signed up both me and Peter and today we went to get the deed done. Except then we didn’t.

When I moved to the present Casa Azahar in 2017 I didn’t change health centres because my long-time GP and friend Agustín was there. There’s actually another health centre about a 7 minute walk from me, and this one is about 30 minutes away. These days that would take me an hour on the crutches, so instead I take the bus two stops, though this still involves about 20 minutes of shuffle-walking. I know I could switch to the other place, and since Agustín retired a couple of years ago that would seem to make sense. But I dunno. I know my way around this one. It’s small, fairly modern. It’s comfortable.

I have had occasion to go to the closer health centre, a massive 8-storey building built in the mid-20th century, taking the place of the rather splendid Instituto de Higiene del doctor Leopoldo Murga Machado that used to occupy that corner of Marqués de Paradas. And well… I hate it there. It’s… too big? Walls are painted hospital green. It just feels too institutional. And as I say, I’m used to my now pain-in-the-ass to get to one.

But hey, whatever it takes. Got on the bus, hobbled up to the health centre, masked up and walked in, knew exactly where to go. My name was called… then the nurse asked which year I was born. Wut? Turns out the shingles vaccine is ONLY available to people born in 1959. I was soooooooo… wut??? The nurse went on to explain that this was the first year the vaccine has become available and, for whatever reason, they are starting with people born in 1959. She did seem apologetic, but what a waste of a morning.

I’d also had a telephone appointment with my GP earlier and asked if she could fast-lane my upcoming appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon and she said “oh, you’ll have to call the hospital about that, not my department”. Fucking hell, she could have told me this when I asked her two weeks ago during Peter’s appointment (I was there to help translate), instead she said that to look up anything about me I’d have to make a separate appointment. And so now I am on a continuous loop of calling-calling-calling the hospital on speaker. Wish me luck!

marques de paradasInstituto de Higiene del doctor Leopoldo Murga Machado

blue tuesday

05 Tuesday Nov 2024

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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.

chair kickboxing!

31 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in health, knees, sevilla, video

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kickboxing

So I’ve been doing chair workouts – chair yoga, chair pilates, chair cardio, chair barre, etc – for over a year now (due to fucked up knee)… then this week I tried chair kickboxing for the first time and wow, what a great workout. I love that there is enough variety with this woman’s workout vids that I can always find something that works and also something new. I’d honestly be lost without them.

no news isn’t good news

21 Monday Oct 2024

Posted by in health, hospitals, knee saga, knees

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no news

I’m already exhausted about writing this post even before starting it. For a few days it seemed like the sudden and excruciating knee pain I first experienced back in May 2023 (left knee), which then extended to the right knee, and then got worse and worse to the extent that I’ve been painfully shuffling around (you can’t call it walking) on crutches since August, was finally about to be taken seriously and treated.

I knew I shouldn’t have got my hopes up.

I arrived at the health centre fully prepared with a typed-out list of the whole saga including every doctor’s visit, every test, every “non-treatment”, thinking it would be helpful for the traumatologist to see it laid out chronologically because, in my experience, most doctors know nothing about you or your case until you walk through the door and then there is the usual them skimming through your files on the computer and half-listening while you try to explain your situation.

Anyhow, my knees were poked and prodded and it was confirmed that I did indeed have mobility issues and PAIN because of the torn meniscus. Then the doctor said she wasn’t going to recommend a knee replacement (wtf?) but would send me to another specialist to see about getting the meniscus repaired. Well okay, better than nothing. I asked how soon I would get this appointment and was told not until AFTER CHRISTMAS. It was like a punch in the gut.

I got the usual ride a bike – go to a pool – lose weight – take painkillers “advice” and when I asked about seeing a physiotherapist the doctor said physio isn’t helpful for a torn meniscus. SO THEN WTF WOULD GOING TO THE POOL OR RIDING A BIKE DO?

I honestly don’t know what I am going to do now. The right knee keeps getting worse and worse and I fear that soon I won’t be able to walk at all, even with the crutches. Meanwhile not working is taking its toll both emotionally (I miss my old life) and financially (so scared about this). And to think that everything is just on pause, yet again, until January… right now I can’t bear to even think about that because it’s just too much. Fuck.

got the call!

18 Friday Oct 2024

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

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got the call

Well today took a sudden turn! I had planned to go with Peter to see Nice GP because he does better with an interpreter and also because I wanted to ask her what the heck was going on with the “priority” request she made for me to see a traumatologist (made almost a month ago). Then early this morning my phone rang. At first I wasn’t going to answer it because it was an unknown number then I picked it up… and omg I’m so glad I did. It was the Traumatology Dept calling to say I have an appointment NEXT MONDAY. Like wow.

First thing I did was cancel Peter’s appointment. Okay, not really, I moved it to two weeks from now. Why? Well organising medical appointments has become both simpler and more difficult these days as the ease of being able to book some things online is thwarted by long waiting times. For example, the first appt Peter could get is in two weeks, which is fine because it’s nothing urgent, just getting his blood test results and checking his bp meds. And since I go with him the end of October works better for both of us as that’s when I need to ask the doc about my next blood test and also update my bp meds, so then we can do it all at once.

One less trip to the (maskless) health centre is always a good thing.  Especially as Peter was already there yesterday to get his Covid-Flu booster (yay!) and I should be getting mine next week. And now I also have this new appointment on Monday. At first I was worried I might get the same awful traumatologist as before but it’s at a different health centre, so hopefully not. Last time they asked me if I wanted my appointment at Fleming or Marqués de Paradas and I chose the latter as it’s five minutes from my house. I’m starting to think that was a big mistake as both the Evil Endo and Dismissive Traumatologist appts took place there. This time I wasn’t given a choice so fuck convenience. Fleming is about a 40 minute bus ride from my place, but the bus stop is on the corner so that’s okay (the trusty 32 bus, which we may be losing to make Sevilla more TOURIST FRIENDLY).

Anyhow, I feel like I only have this one shot left to get the help I actually need. So I will be arming myself with the entire timeline of THE KNEE(S) SAGA, which began back in May 2023 (though I’d been having knee issues for years, this was the first time it affected my ability to walk).

May 2023 – sudden acute pain in left knee which continued to get worse
July 2023 – X-ray both knees
July 2023 – GP request for MRI (had to plead, wasn’t taken seriously)
Sept 2023 – MRI on left knee (though by this time right knee pain was much more severe)
Oct 2023 – Emergency hospital visit for severe right knee pain, was told that as there is osteoarthritis in left knee then obviously it’s in the right one too (ER doctor looked at previous x-ray not MRI), said I did not have a Bakers cyst, refused to do any further testing – was sent home with a prescription for Nolatil, a drug banned in 20 countries.
Oct 2023 – Started using a cane, could no longer walk without it
April 2024 – Appt with Traumatologist who admits I have Bakers cysts behind both knees but won’t recommend physiotherapy and refuses my request for an MRI on the right knee, tells me to ride a bike, lose weight and prescribes more drugs
June 2024 – GP (a new one) requests an MRI on right knee
August 2024 – Unable to walk anymore without using crutches, pain unbearable, at best I can shuffle-walk
Sept 2024 – MRI on right knee
Sept 2024 – GP requests appt with Traumatologist (again)
Oct 2024 – I guess we’ll find out

Meanwhile I have not been able to work since July and, aside from the physical and emotional stress (I miss my life!), I am also under a lot of financial stress wondering how I am going to make ends meet. Especially as this doesn’t look like there’s a quick solution, even if I start getting proper treatment asap.

Anyhow! One step at a time, so to speak. At the moment it all hangs on the Monday appointment and whether I get a sympathetic and not-too-overworked doctor who actually wants to help me. Let’s hope so. I’m a bit annoyed with myself for not being a better patient advocate for myself all this time but sometimes it’s really hard to stand up for yourself when you’re in pain and being told nothing is really wrong and it’s all because you’re old and fat and otherwise being dismissed as not worth their time. But now I’m angry as fuck. And I really need Monday to work. Wish me luck.