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Jaja's guide to Self-Advocacy

  Self-Advocacy I have, in the main, been very lucky in my Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter story in respect of the medical professionals I have dealt with.   However, not everyone has the same experience and I thought I could put down some ideas on how to push your own case and help yourself. Most of this is common-sense and so may come across as patronising.   This was never my intention and so I apologise in advance if you find it to be so. Common-sense disclaimer – this is general advice and must be guided by your medical professional. ·          Find out all you can about your condition.   Read up online from reliable sources – such as the charities or NHS website – there are lots of good American ones too such as Mayo Clinic.   I found it helpful after my ablations to read and ask questions on some of the many patient lead forums, but be warned some of these can be quite toxic (I was once told I had caused my ow...
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AN IRON INFUSION AND ANOTHER VISIT TO A&E!

  THE IRON INFUSION! Well! That didn’t pan out as expected! Firstly, it took the nurses four attempts to get the cannula in despite being having totally noticeable ‘butch’ veins.   On the second attempt the nurse said it was in fine and flushed it through with saline.   As she wandered off to get the iron, I noticed a big bulge in my forearm (that cannula was in forearm/wrist).   I thought I had better query it although it had gone by the time she reappeared.   Lucky, I did as she had missed the vein and would have been infusing straight into the skin which would have been a waste plus would probably have stained my arm brown – possibly permanently! Luckily, the rest was straightforward and I felt fine for the rest of the infusion and afterwards. I took it easy with a couple of walks and an e-bike ride before beginning running (shuffle and walk intervals) five days later.   The run was as gruesome as before but I managed to run for twice as long for...
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