The following account is my experience with taking blood thinning medication. I stress this is in no way a recommendation to follow my actions, it is for information only.
This story also has no reflection on the wonderful care I have received over time from the Spanish Health Authority.
We live in a society with first class health provision, provided by well-trained doctors, nurses and staff, dedicated to the health of the people, with their expert abilities in that field.
I stress, any nervousness concerning health issues by the reader, then your own GP should be consulted, and I repeat this article is not a recommendation concerning health in general.
The drug aspirin is used in many ways for the relief of different types of pain, the following is my story when using it on a regular basis.
The story starts last spring when I was very badly constipated with cramps and shooting pains and went to Emergency where I was interviewed by a doctor, who also asked if I had any bleeding. After the consultation as I was leaving and going through the door. She said ‘Goodbye Percy.’ It sounded so final.
It was sometime later that my GP wanted me to take blood pressure readings over a few days. The result was excellent with low numbers over the period. Not for the first time she asked me if I had blood in my soil or water. But for the colouration of skin – nothing.
So, I think to myself, the reason why the readings are near perfect is because of the blood pressure tablets I am taking. Being of a curious mind I stopped taking them for a few days to see what the result would be.
There was no change in the readings! Why? When I had expected them to rise dramatically because of the lack of medication, but they did not.
At that time, I had been taking herbal ‘Arnica 30c’ for back pain and I checked to see if they could be the reason my blood pressure was low. They were not.
Then what were these tablets which I was led to believe were for high blood pressure? I researched into what they are for, and I discovered they are to protect my heart from the blood thinning tablets, the ‘aspirin – acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)’ I had been taking for many years.
It was around this time that I noticed a small amount of blood in the stool. I immediately stopped taking aspirin. I should have gone to see a doctor, but it was holiday time and difficult to seek medical attention, not being near home.
As a result, I researched through various sources, clinical reports on Google and others, both USA and UK, into the use of aspirin. They all indicated they can be the reason for internal bleeding, no wonder the doctor rightly frequently asks if I have blood in my stool.
I now looked into the other tablets I was taking, one to make the tummy happy, and I discovered they are prescribed to stop the aspirin from damaging the stomach lining. So, it seemed that because of the blood thinning tablet, I was taking two other tablets to protect my heart and tummy from aspirin.
For a very long time my hearing had increasingly gotten worse, and I was frequently professionally told it was because I was getting old, and it was an age-related factor.
Then, just recently my ears made a loud bang and closed down totally into deafness.
The doctor examined them and extracted some black matter from one of them, after a ten-day course of antibiotics my hearing has returned to normal.
The doctor has referred me to a hospital specialist, so I am only guessing when I say, for a long time, without knowing I have had small haemorrhaging inside the ear affecting hearing especially as I read one of the causes of blood thinning tablets, aspirin, is nasal bleeding.
I have not taken aspirin for over two months, I feel fit and very well with low cholesterol, stable blood pressure and no sign of blood leaks especially on my skin which has improved and is totally clear.
Free Trolley.
When we are served by large companies and then suddenly, they change the way of working I doubt for certain it is not for the customers benefit although they may frame the change in that light.
Just recently some supermarkets have allowed the use of their trolley without using a coin. Why? Do I say to myself, as surely now they will have to employ staff to gather the ones that have been left anywhere but in the trolley parking lot.
Of course, large stores do not take any action which would increase their outgoing unless it is a direction they want to take and, in this instance, I think it is leading to acceptance of credit cards only – no cash. And my guess is that they will find a way for customers in using a card to obtain a trolley.
Flower Power
For twenty years after our Dad had left us, Jean and I sent my mother flowers on her birthday. As she liked a tipple I would also ask the local wine merchant to deliver a bottle of Scotch to her as well. It also ensured there was some for me when visiting.
I arrived un-announced one day as a birthday surprise to find the flowers by the bin. She smiled saying, they were lovely and enjoyed receiving them, but they gave her terrible hay fever. But the Scotch was perfect. Take Care
Percy Chattey award winning books are books available on Amazon
