Hello All.
I should have been in Morocco for a couple of weeks at the beginning of April. But, alas, it was not to be. I had an appointment for a Doppla test at my local community hospital on the 25th March. "This will be a breeze" I very wrongly assumed. This test measures your blood pressure in your arms and ankles, and if they are the same, or similar, you do not have arterial disease. The nurse blew a gasket when she did my ankles - started saying words including "by-pass" and "stent" and "no blood pressure". She rang my surgery as I left the building. The Doc rang me and said that I needed to see a vascular surgeon, and forget the holiday. I asked when seeing an aforementioned person would be possible, and she said it would potentially be around the end of May.
Then it was my turn to blow the proverbial gasket. I told her that I wanted a private appointment, which she arranged in a matter of hours, and then even with Easter in between, I saw a consultant surgeon on the 2nd April. He said that I had peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and also known as (PAD). I have to tell you that it cost £180 to see him, but was well worth every penny. He prescribed a blood thinning agent with the terrible name of Clopidogrel, which I shall probably have to take forever. I will eventually(can't afford to go private on that one) have a specialist scan with an injected dye, and if they see any blockages, potentially a stent, but I will post the outcome at a later date.
So if you have pains in your legs when walking - this may be the problem!! Get it checked ASAP!
Love to all
Sheena