Last June I felt unspecifically unwell whilst out driving relativelyclose to home and had to stop for an hour to recover, got home, took my blood pressure and found it to be rather high 195/95 when it should have been around 140/80 so took myself to A&E where they carried out tests which basicaly that I was fine but needed to get some pills to bring the BP down to an undangerous level !
The doctor reommended I had an annual check up back at my own hospital which had diagnosed me the previous year with a weird extra heartbeat in my left ventricle.
That Consultant instantly advised me to stop driving until the source of my unwellness had been investigated and said I had to inform the DVLA which I did and they asked me to SURRENDER my licence which I did and then they 'revoked' it for a year starting in October this year because I had had recurrent episodes of 'loss of consciousness/altered awareness'....which I HAD NOT HAD !
I fell into THEIR category and I am unable to talk to anyone about this which is MADDENING !
All tests proved that there was essentially nothing wrong with me except DIVERTICULR DISEASE which is a GASTROLOGY problem but the DVLA have just informed me that following medical enquiries I cannot drive for a year....that'll be until next October so now I have a fight on my hands following the trail and finding out where things went wrong !
All appointment waiting times are around THREE MONTHS in England and so I have spent a LONG time waiting to see people and am absolutely frustrated by what has happened !
Although I DID think that something was wrong I SO wish I had never gone to A&E in the first place but crawled under a rock until things had righted themselves.....which they now have !
Friday, 23 December 2016
Friday, 16 December 2016
SALLY...Part 169. THE PHOTO THAT'S WORTH ITS OWN BLOG !
I think I might send a copy of this to be posted in all Cardiac Departments !
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| BEWARE THE TAKEAWAY ! |
SALLY...Part 168. I SOMETIMES DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I'M SEEING !
The bus stop I use to go into Newcastle is beside a set of traffic lights on a very busy main road and despite the dangers involved you can see endless numbers of people who STILL use their mobile phones despite it being an offence both whilst stopped for the red lights or whilst driving along !
Today I saw a young woman driving a 66 registered car...that means brand new in England...following a bus too closely and clearly NOT looking at the road but looking down to her right at what I presume was her mobile phone !
When the bus braked for the traffic lights she DIDN'T until the last moment when she suddenly looked up and just avoided a collision !
Shortly afterwards the bus pulled away quite some time before she noticed it had gone and signalled that it was turning into the bus stop and braked as it did so.
The woman who hadn't stopped texting the whole time didn't spot the bus halting once again until the last moment because she was back texting and glancing up had to apply her brakes suddenly AGAIN !
OK she didn't hit anything or anyone but how many people might she mow down ? How much damage MIGHT she do and at what cost !
How much will insurance companies end up paying out because of her recklessness ?
If you're reading this young lady, do reply and explain why you think it's OK to be so recklessly irresponsible !
It could be my Grandson crossing the road who you don't see next time you're texting !
Today I saw a young woman driving a 66 registered car...that means brand new in England...following a bus too closely and clearly NOT looking at the road but looking down to her right at what I presume was her mobile phone !
When the bus braked for the traffic lights she DIDN'T until the last moment when she suddenly looked up and just avoided a collision !
Shortly afterwards the bus pulled away quite some time before she noticed it had gone and signalled that it was turning into the bus stop and braked as it did so.
The woman who hadn't stopped texting the whole time didn't spot the bus halting once again until the last moment because she was back texting and glancing up had to apply her brakes suddenly AGAIN !
OK she didn't hit anything or anyone but how many people might she mow down ? How much damage MIGHT she do and at what cost !
How much will insurance companies end up paying out because of her recklessness ?
If you're reading this young lady, do reply and explain why you think it's OK to be so recklessly irresponsible !
It could be my Grandson crossing the road who you don't see next time you're texting !
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
SALLY...Part 167. MIND....I DID FEEL AWFUL !
Well it's not that I thought I was ACTUALLY dying 6 months ago but something was definitely up and having had to stop driving about twenty miles from home because of feelings too vague to provide a concrete diagnosis a cardiac consultant eventually told me I had to stop driving some twelve weeks or more AFTER I took myself to A&E where it was found I had a Blood Pressure reading of 207/110 and which probably caused the horribleness I'd experienced earlier that day !
A&E did NOT insist I stopped driving but advised me to have an annual heart check up because I DO have non-sinister ventricular ectopic beats which play no part other than being there.
A pain behind the rear left hand ribs DID lead to an ultrasound scan which showed I had kidney stones and a later MRI scan showed I DIDN'T and never had had any but I DID have something called Diverticular disease which has to do with Gastrology and not the Urology department where I had ended up after another thirteen week wait !
Now that was a brief recounting of a few medical visits but what it can't even get near to sharing is the sheer frustration of waiting about three months for a hospital appointment, especially when you're in, let's call it....discomfort and a state of ignorance because the pain in my back was dreadful but I believed it was kidney pain which would get sorted so I took strong painkillers and waited !
The DVLA asked me to surrender my driving licence until further assessments were carried out but they then REVOKED it and told me that as I'd had blackouts I couldn't drive for a year !
I hadn't had any such thing happen and simply felt unwell but their standardised categories meant I couldn't drive until they had gathered medical reports showing I was fine !
WELL a few weeks after my BP was brought back down to normal and for a long time now I have felt perfectly normal ! I never stopped working, babysitting or markets and I am just left in a limbo whilst awaiting beaurocracy to grind to a decision which I suspect it won't do for ages despite my impatiently phoning the DVLA many times and telling them that according to THEIR rules a person having had a stroke only has to stop driving for a month and someone having had an epileptic fit only has to stop driving for a week and that they had no category for a person who simply felt unwell !
They also state that once a reapplication is received, which they sent me the form to fill in, the applicant can drive...."But not in your case Sir as your licence was revoked and we are carrying out further investigations."
So DON'T go to A&E ! Don't tell anyone in an official position ANYTHING as they are duty bound to act on it...against you !
I have learnt my lesson and offer my tale as a warning !
Mind I DID feel AWFUL !
A&E did NOT insist I stopped driving but advised me to have an annual heart check up because I DO have non-sinister ventricular ectopic beats which play no part other than being there.
A pain behind the rear left hand ribs DID lead to an ultrasound scan which showed I had kidney stones and a later MRI scan showed I DIDN'T and never had had any but I DID have something called Diverticular disease which has to do with Gastrology and not the Urology department where I had ended up after another thirteen week wait !
Now that was a brief recounting of a few medical visits but what it can't even get near to sharing is the sheer frustration of waiting about three months for a hospital appointment, especially when you're in, let's call it....discomfort and a state of ignorance because the pain in my back was dreadful but I believed it was kidney pain which would get sorted so I took strong painkillers and waited !
The DVLA asked me to surrender my driving licence until further assessments were carried out but they then REVOKED it and told me that as I'd had blackouts I couldn't drive for a year !
I hadn't had any such thing happen and simply felt unwell but their standardised categories meant I couldn't drive until they had gathered medical reports showing I was fine !
WELL a few weeks after my BP was brought back down to normal and for a long time now I have felt perfectly normal ! I never stopped working, babysitting or markets and I am just left in a limbo whilst awaiting beaurocracy to grind to a decision which I suspect it won't do for ages despite my impatiently phoning the DVLA many times and telling them that according to THEIR rules a person having had a stroke only has to stop driving for a month and someone having had an epileptic fit only has to stop driving for a week and that they had no category for a person who simply felt unwell !
They also state that once a reapplication is received, which they sent me the form to fill in, the applicant can drive...."But not in your case Sir as your licence was revoked and we are carrying out further investigations."
So DON'T go to A&E ! Don't tell anyone in an official position ANYTHING as they are duty bound to act on it...against you !
I have learnt my lesson and offer my tale as a warning !
Mind I DID feel AWFUL !
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