Wednesday was supposed to be the day.  Off to the hospital for surgery, finally getting rid of the kidney stones, or so I thought.  Arrived in my side-ward, got ready for the op, and had my obs checked.  BP was a little on the high side.  Half an hour later the anaesthetist appeared, his face a little concerned.

‘Your blood pressure is very, very high; I don’t think we can operate.’ Given the large amount of medication I take, four for blood pressure, alone; this worried me.  I knew that I hadn’t taken one for ten days due to a pharmacy mix-up.  I’d phoned the hospital and advised them of this the day before, and they said there was no problem.

I reluctantly had to accept this but appreciated what the anaesthetist had said. The consultant then came to see me, and he advised me that he would try to ensure that I’d get a cancellation, but it may take 5-6 weeks (I take that to be 6-7 months, given how long I have waited thus far).

He advised me to take all my BP medication before I went home. I did this right away. But very quickly, I experienced cold sweats, and I then tried to stand and get out of my chair to lie on the bed.   I did this, but I seemed to faint and apparently came to three hours later.  I was then kept in overnight for observations.  I eventually got home at 8:30 pm on Thursday evening.

Today has been a bit of a disaster trying to contact my GP. Their Patient Care Navigator (their name for a Receptionist) was unwilling to let me discuss the issues as requested by the hospital without having to wait over a week. Eventually, at 6 p.m., the same official who had been stalling me all day, advised I was due to get a call from a doctor that evening.  Surprise, surprise, no one called.

Watch this space….