Tag Archives: Doctor

Falling apart (literally)

Yesterday saw my latest visit to the Doctor’s Surgery.  Unless anything unexpected happens, regular visits are scheduled every three months.  Recent appointments have been spectacularly uneventful, and I’m pleased to report that yesterday’s was too.

The only measure that’s regularly taken is my Blood Pressure, which was “perfect”.  My medications are at the “optimal” level and I feel fine.

Happy and Healthy!

We discussed some minor “issues” that under normal circumstances I wouldn’t give a second thought to, but that take on greater significance having recently experienced a Heart Attack.  Apparently they’re all “normal” too:  Light, but fairly regular nose bleeds are due to the anti-clotting drugs I’m taking, occasional dizziness is due to the artificially low blood pressure, again due to the medication, and the “sensations” in my chest are likely to be a combination of aches from exercise and an overly active imagination, they certainly didn’t appear to cause alarm.

So, it’s all good!

For the past 7 months I’ve been taking care of myself and doing all the things necessary to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle… well, almost!  Until this morning I had not visited a Dentist.  In fact I hadn’t visited a Dentist for a while… a long while.  This morning this oversight (technically more of an avoidance I guess) bit me on the behind!

Having been to the pool for an early morning swim, I was enjoying a breakfast of Muesli and All Bran when one of my teeth disintegrated.  Not so good!

It could have been worse!

As it turns out, I have 29 teeth that appear to be strong and healthy, and 1 that is an absolute basket case.  I wasn’t in pain, but even I could recognise I didn’t have much of an option other than to visit the Dentist.  Fortunately they were able to see me immediately – I don’t know how lucky I am! (apparently)

The good news is it’s just a tooth.  It’s not a hugely prominent one either; it would more naturally feature in the “big cheesy grin” line rather than the “Smile” line.  I have a few days to decide what to do next but this whole “falling apart” thing does take a bit of getting used to.

At least it’s forced me to get all my teeth checked out.  On the plus side, it also allowed me to complete a medical form without having to tell any white lies, in particular about the “Units of alcohol consumed per week”… a big fat zero!

Hopefully this will be the final stage of the healthy new me, and my newly formed support team:  Optician. Dentist. GP. Cardiologist.  Fingers crossed that will suffice… for the time being at least!

Totes Emosh

Today I received some fantastic news…

I recently presented the medical form for my Charity Bike Ride to my Doctor for his consideration.  I had two main concerns:  (1) that he wouldn’t think that embarking on a 300 mile cycle was a sensible thing to do less than a year after having a Heart Attack and (2) that his insurance company might have an issue with the wording of the statement I was asking him to sign.

A “No” would have left me lacking direction somewhat!

On one level I would have understood if either of these issues had arisen.  I was potentially asking a lot given my recent medical history.  I would even have understood if he had asked me to come back in a few months so he could see how my health and fitness have progressed.

On another level, I would have been totally gutted if he had said “No”.  It would have thrown the ride into some jeopardy.  Given it’s been my main focus for the past few months (at least as far as motivation for exercise is concerned), it would have felt deflated.  I think I’m progressing well, and I want to stay motivated.  Having something to work towards really helps.

***

Today I received the form back, signed and stamped by my Doctor.  As far as he is concerned, I am “good to go”.  I just need to continue to gradually build up my training and listen to my cardiologist.

For the record, I have never used these words before!

It was just some ink on a bit of paper, but I felt quite emotional as I left the Surgery.  I’m not sure exactly why.  It may have been the removal of doubt about whether he’d sign the form.  It may have been the fact that the ball is now in my court as far as the ride is concerned – no excuses.  It may also have been the small vote of confidence that he recognises the progress I’ve made and trusts that it will continue.

Whatever the reason, it reinforced the fact that the ride is important to me.  180 days to go!

Check Up #3 (FD +92)

Over the years, I’ve come to realise that I’m not the best with a diary.  I’ve historically had particular challenges with Birthdays (to be honest I’m hopeless), but I’m now finding it increasingly difficult to coordinate my day to day activities.

I guess it doesn’t help that I now have four different diaries to manage (technology has only taken me so far!), and that’s before I even consider my very busy social diary!  I have had plenty of practice over the years and I’ve rarely forgotten things, but perhaps I’ve reached the point that I need to invest some additional time to get myself organised.

I’m not this organised!

I completely missed an appointment to catch up with an old colleague recently.  It wasn’t a huge deal, but it slipped my mind until I received a slightly shirty email, too late for me to be able to do anything about it.  I was extremely embarrassed.  Must do better!

Anyway, this morning I sat outside the Doctor’s Surgery for 30 mins in the belief that I had an early morning appointment.  When I booked it I was given a handy little card containing the details of my appointment, but heaven only knows what happened to that!

From memory, my appointment was 7.45, but the surgery doesn’t open until 8.00 (except for Fridays, so there was an outside chance that I had missed it altogether!).

Outside the Doctor’s Surgery. I predict a riot!

Eventually the Surgery started to wake up, lights spluttering to life.  A slightly harassed looking Receptionist unlocked the doors to allow an unruly crowd that had gathered at the front door to gain entrance (actually it was just me and an elderly lady, but it was a bit chilly!).

Fortunately I did have an appointment, primarily to check how my drugs are working, but I also wanted to run the Euro City Cycle past the Doc too – I need to complete a Medical Form and get “Authorisation” from a Doctor.

The good news was that I continue to successfully stroll down the path of recovery.  My blood pressure is fine.  Everything appears to be progressing well.  I’m now onto a “steady” regime of medication.  I will need bloods checked to make sure my kidneys, etc. are still functioning OK, but it’s all good!

imagesCAD7GQQ6The bad news was that the Doctor, not unreasonably in retrospect, is not in a position to guarantee my fitness (Mental or Physical) to participate in the Charity Cycle.  I was a bit disappointed during the initial discussion, but having thought about it it makes sense.  I wouldn’t be willing to bet my Professional Reputation / Medical Practice on someone else’s actions either, particularly someone else like me!

Of course, it’s all down to insurance and lawsuits.  The key is obviously the wording on the Medical Form itself.  Hopefully the insurers will be sympathetic.  Given the number of Heart Patients that participate in these events (it is organised by The BHF after all!), I’m hoping the Medical Form is appropriately worded so it doesn’t become a real issue.  Fingers crossed!

Just another little challenge that I never thought I’d have to face!

Check Up #2 (FD +61)

Another beautiful morning in sunny Aberdeen… the summer just keeps on coming!

imagesCAZ3SE22This morning saw my first visit to the Doctor since 27th June.  It seems slightly strange to be so conscious of all aspects of my health but to have limited direct, regular medical oversight.

I’m not sure what I would have expected, but somehow taking the “let us know if anything changes” approach somehow seems a little “light”.

Is it this type of thinking that creates an unnecessarily high demand on the NHS, I wonder?

On arrival at the surgery, I was slightly surprised to discover that the entertainment was BBC London News.  I can understand the News aspect, catching up on the breakfast news seems like a reasonable thing to do.

What I couldn’t fathom was why we should be interested in the traffic around the M25 (London Orbital), or how smoothly the various London Underground lines were running (the Northern was experiencing minor delays, incidentally).  I can only assume that someone in the Surgery has a cheeky weekend in London planned and is trying to get into the mood a little early.  If that’s you, the game’s up!  (But have a great weekend anyway!)

untitled (23)

London Underground Map… particularly useful if you’re planning on spending the day in Aberdeen!

The Doctor’s consultation itself was an uneventfully positive affair:

  • My BP (medical speak for “Blood Pressure”) is fine – artificially kept low to reduce the workload on my heart.
  • My liver and kidney function is “normal” – good news, as a potential side effect of the drugs is that they “break” something else that was working fine before, in particular my liver or kidneys.
  • My cholesterol is “abnormal”… abnormally low I guess.  My total cholesterol reading was 2.9 mmol/L (Good if less than 5 mmol/L) and my “bad” cholesterol is 1.6 mmol/L (Good if less than 3 mmol/L).

Follow the link for more information on High Cholesterol: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cholesterol/Pages/Introduction.aspx

So, it’s all good!  The drugs continue to work!

I was just left with a not so subtle reminder not to rush things or push too hard!

OK… I hear you!

My heart is not allowed to do this… yet!

Check Up #1 (FD +11)

I have never been great with doctor’s surgeries.  I’ve always felt that being “under the doctor” was something to be avoided, an acknowledgement of weakness.  In fact, I think this was my first visit to the doctors in over 12 years.

Looking around the waiting room I felt I was healthy, certainly in the top quartile (and that’s including the carers, drivers, etc.).  There really seem to be a lot of sick people around these days!

Fortunately the doctor seemed to agree.  Given it’s the first time I’ve seen him since the heart attack, he seemed remarkably relaxed about the whole situation.  You’d think it was run-of-the-mill.  Something he sees every day!

A quick review of my hospital discharge information “letter” confirmed:

  • I am 42
  • I have had a heart attack
  • Stents were fitted to my left anterior descending (LAD) branch
  • The procedure was a “complete success”
  • The ECHO revealed mild-moderate damage
  • I was well following the procedure

So that’s all good!

untitled (6)If they had got my address right it would have been a full house!  I don’t know how many times we corrected the address when I was in hospital – they have a hybrid between the flat I lived in when I first came to Aberdeen and my current address.  It’s incorrect.  Wrong.  Useless.  The letter helpfully states “An appointment will be sent to the address above”… but don’t hold your breath!

A further review of my medical history revealed:

“The pies may well have been a factor, but the fags are the main culprit.”

imagesCAL5QAXBIt appears that smoking is, far and away, the biggest factor in (my) heart health.  I don’t quite understand why I should have had my heart attack after having given up smoking (over 9 months ago), but I did.

Having given up, there have been no guilt-trips or nagging, just confirmation that I’ve “done the most important thing”.

I really would not like to be in my situation and still addicted to nicotine.  Smoking is bad for you!

The doctor confirmed that, as the stents are ensuring blood flow to my heart, I should be in better shape now than before the heart attack.  My blood pressure is also “perfect”… the pills are working.

So it’s full speed ahead to the next stage of my recuperation… rehab here I come (after a wee nap of course, it’s been a busy day)!