In the Hall of the Mountain King

This post is mainly to explain some of the silence (I'd planned to slow posts down to 1 a week anyway...) but those that have read my previous post on the NHS will know that I have some considerable concerns.

I'm currently in the hands (claws?) of the NHS. Being an ex-smoker (I gave up just over 20 months ago) it turns out that I've probably done so to late. The NHS is sometimes farcical, but at least you don't have to pay for most of the farce. On Monday I had a specialist dermatology appointment and on Wednesday I had what seemed beforehand to be an irrelevant ultrasound doppler test of my veins and it turns out, not so irrelevant test of my arteries.

I spent an hour waiting for my appointment (1st of the day) - it turned out that the sonographer had got steamed up over an email and felt she had to send some of her own. I live in amazement at the ability of the people in the NHS to be artlessly honest with their patients! But she was excellent at her job and, apart from putting her probe in some places for which I would have worn different underwear, she was quick, accurate and efficient once she started using the kit. (The picture here is of very similar equipment, although the Phillips version used to my mind looks better than its US equivalent.)

So it turns out that one of the arteries in my right leg is 100% blocked and probably has been for some time. I'm due back to see the doctor in about 10 days for the results; it'll involve another hospital visit to see a specialist to determine whether 1) they do nothing, 2) they stick a stent in or, 3) they strip a piece of tube from somewhere/use a piece of plastic tube and replace the area that is blocked. The latter two involve surgery and I believe general anaesthsia... Oddly, I'm not miserable, as I've been on and off ill with various things for three years.

But the oddest thing about this is, is that the regime I've been following for vein/ulcer problems (leg up, compression) is the reverse of what is required for arterial problems. The compression stockings I've been using are both expensive and uncomfortable and I've bought £300 of these over the last 3 years (the NHS will prescribe just 2 pairs of these). You need a lot more than two pairs, unless you can be arsed to change and hand wash continuously throughout the remainder of your life.

The weirdest thing is that, as a bloke, I've actually become used to religiously putting the damned things on first thing in the morning and taking them off last thing at night. A process that is both painful and uncomfortable. So, I'm now being told that the £300 and the continued discomfort and pain have all been the wrong thing to do.

Sigh. However, I'm not blaming the NHS - partly because I've largely shot myself in the foot (*groan*) by having been a determined smoker and partly because without the test it is not immediately apparent as the vein damage. Anyway, all these appointments have rather sapped the will to blog, but I thought I'd reassure my regular reader(s) that I will resurface from time to time!