dimarts, 9 de desembre del 2014

Let's get physical

Aixi que, com deia ahir, estic recuperat. Però no del tot fisicament. Els mesos de inacció, i uns altres mesos de poca acció, m'han deixat bastant fora de forma - quan abans podia caminar 4 o 5 hores sense descansar, ara justet arribo a una hora (a més dels 5kg que he guanyat). Afegit a aixo està al fet que els metges m'han dit que si reforçi la musculatura de la cama, potser les molesties que noto no seràn tantes. Per tant, he fet allò que sempre sabia que no s'ha de fer. Comprar una maquina de fer exercicis. És ben conegut qua aquelles maquines s'usen el primer dia i despres es guarden a l'habitació de trastos .... però,en fi, he decidit posar una mica de disciplina en la vida. Crec que si marco objectius amb una data final - de fer-ho regularment durant un any, per exemple - encara puc fer-ho sabent que aixo no serà per a sempre. De moment, lo de "regular" varia entre 1 i 2 cops per setmana!
...
So, as I was saying t'other day, I'm back to my usual fit and healthy self. Well, not quite. The months of inactivity, followed by months of little activity, have taken their toll. Apart from the extra 5kg of weight, I can no longer do a 5-hour walk without breaking into a sweat. Lucky if I manage one hour. On top of this problem, the doctors all insist that maybe strengthening the leg muscles will relieve the pain I often feel in my leg, maybe. So, I've gone out and done the one thing I know you should never do - buy an exercise machine. It's a well-known fact that they just get used once and then merely serve to collect dust, but I'm hoping my fame for self-discipline will come to the fore-front here. Surely, if I set a schedule and end-date, I'll stick to it, knowing that this torture will one day come to an end? So, I'm hoping to use it "virtually every day" for one year, then see where I'm at. This regularity has demonstrated itself as one or two goes a week so far....

diumenge, 7 de desembre del 2014

Leg (s). Mine and others.



No és que sigui hipocondriac o paranoic, però aquest estiu passat vaig viure unes experiencies que encara ara recordo...

... recordareu (o no) que fa un any, vaig patir un trombosisa la cama. Vaig estar de baixa des de l’estiu 2013 fins al gener d’aquest any, i no vaig rebre el OK dels metges fins al febrer quan em van fer les ultimes proves i va acabar el tractament. Pos, a l’agost(2014) vam anar de vacances al mateix lloc on vaig notar per primer cop els dolors del trombosis, un any abans, a l’agost 2013. Pujant les escales empinades i de cargol en una casa que lloguem per passar les vacances de l’estiu – per més inri, en un poble empinat que no fas res més que pujar i baixar tot el dia.

Des de febrer fins l’estiu, jo havia tornat a treballar pero tampoc havia fet gairé cosa més d’exercici per falta de temps. Per tant, les vacances també van coincidir amb les primeres caminades (de mitja  o 3 /4 d’hora només) des del trombosi. En fi, a cada pujada, notava dolor – coses que els metges em van dir que seria normal, però jo no podia evitar de recordar els dolors del trombosi. A les escales de la casa, cada dia, pujant-les a pas de tortuga i encara així tremolava. I a la nit, ja “descansant” al llit, notava cada dolor, cada punxada, cada cansament de l’exercici del dia com si fos un nou atac, fins al punt que passava hores sense dormir, o em despertava a meitat nit suant i tremolant!

Per sort, i per suppost, no va passa res. Vam acabar les vacances i vam tornar a casa. Suposo que era necessarir trepitjar l’escenari del “crimen” per passar pagina, però el meu cap no pot controlar aquesta mena de sensacions i realment va ser un calvari!

En fi, al setembre, em va tocar la revisió d’un any, i em van confirmar que estic curat del tot –algunes venes m’han quedat fetes malbé i això em pot causar (i causa) moltesties per a ves a saber quant de temps, però no genera perill. Un altre de passat...

....
Not that I’m a hypochondriac or obsessive paranoic type person but... you may (or not) remember I suffered from a DVT last year, from summer 2013 to the end of the year. I got back to work in January this year but didn’t get the 100% OK from the doctors until February when the 6-month treatment came to an end. Well, this summer we returned to the “scene of the crime”, the holiday cottage in Staithes where it all started in August 2013. A house noted for its steep narrow, and spiral, staircase – which is where I first noticed the pain. In a town noted for its steep narrow and winding streets. The 2014 holiday also coincided with my first real walks (even though only ½ or ¾ hour ones) since I’d got back to work. Anyway, every walk or climb threw up strange sensations in my legs - and every slight twinge of pain was automatically converted in my brain into “here we go again, get a doctor”. I couldn’t get the bloody idea out of mind for the week we were there. Worst of all was in bed at night as I could feel everything, a twinge here, a sharp pain there, needles and pins, hot, cold, you name it I laid in bed awake for hours on end worrying about it – or woke up in the middle of the night trembling and sweating through some nightmarish thoughts I couldn’t get under control.
I suppose I had to do it, go back there as soon as possible, and close that chapter in my life, but, my God, it was hard – and strange. Hopefully, that’s it now, I can move on.
Anyway, in September I had to go back for my “one year later, check up” and my clean bill of health was confirmed. The scan did show, though, that some of the minor veins in my leg have been damaged which is what’s to blame for this constant niggling pain I feel. Not a danger to my health, apparently, but annoying.

dimecres, 3 de desembre del 2014

Getting into the spirit


You might just have to be from South Yorkshire to get this! / Potser si no ets de South Yorkshire, no agafaras l'humor!