Time to Pay Attention

Being physically active and healthy have always been a big part of my life. I took my first hike at an early age thanks to my dad, joined gyms as a young adult, I try to eat a balanced diet, follow doctors’ advice, etc. The women in my family are genetically prone to be overweight with heart disease issues and unfortunately for the most part didn’t live past their mid 80’s. My mom thankfully made it happily to 93 and then we have John’s mom, who is still going strong at 97! So, in the hopes of a long and healthy life, I stay active.

While we lived in the US, I had my regular doctor appointments whether with my cardiologist (I have a mild mitral valve prolapse), ob/gyn, general medicine (I have thyroid issue), dentist and an acupuncturist. Yes, I wanted to keep this body functioning so I could hike a gazillion kilometers in Italy!

You would think with all this regimen of doctors, I would continue it when I got to Italy with its Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Healthcare Service) . I confess that I haven’t used it much. It’s free for John and I as we are citizens here, but the thought of going into some of their hospitals, especially here in the poorer South, is a bit of a deterrent. I’ve been to the town doctor, who is considered my primary doctor. I’ve had my flu shot each year and all my Covid vaccinations. To bypass the ‘scary’ hospital situations, I’ve been going to a private clinic in San Salvo, just 20 minutes from home. They have a full selection of doctors for all ailments. You pay out of pocket, but I consider 120 euros to see my ob/gyn for an annual checkup VERY affordable. I couldn’t imagine what out of pocket in the US would have cost me. I’ve also visited the ear and eye doctors, dermatologist, and a few others.

But things changed for me a few weeks back. I could feel something different happening with my sleep pattern and my throat was sending me niggling messages, but I just put them off as temporary anomalies. It wasn’t until I had very strong heart palpitations and pressure on my chest that I got serious about seeing a doctor. Being that it was 8 pm on a Thursday night and I was very concerned, John and I headed over to the emergency room (Pronto soccorso) at the Vasto hospital, about 35 minutes from our house.

The waiting room was packed as I walked up to the closed window of the receptionist. I immediately asked if anyone spoke English/Italian, as when I am stressed and I was, the Italian language is basically impossible for me. There was a kind woman, who was waiting with her parents, explained to the receptionist my issue and I was ushered at once into the office. The personnel in the entry office were all dressed in First Responder uniforms, a very different concept from the US emergency rooms. Vitals were checked and then an EKG was performed right there in the alcove of the office. All the preliminary tests looked good. I then proceeded to another waiting area for about an hour before I was called to see a doctor. Blood was taken and then I was led back to the waiting room for another wait, this time about 2 hours. My test results came back good then in the midnight hour I was taken to the hospital basement for a chest x-ray. Kind of a creepy atmosphere…. Another hour or so wait. All looked good. I was tired and very ready to go home. Doctor gave me one more exam, paperwork to take to a cardiologist and also recommendations on getting my thyroid tested.

The outcome of the 5 hours in the emergency room was good news about my heart: no issues. Probability of cause of issue: too much thyroid medication. And I give kudos to the staff for kindness, professionalism and making all information as clear as possible, even if it was all in Italian. 😉

As I had to wait a few days to get into see the cardiologist, I lowered my thyroid meds daily dosage by 3/4! The palpitations and chest pressure disappeared by 90% within a day or so. Now in Italy, most blood tests are taken either at a hospital or a private lab, so off I went to a private lab in the same town as my private doctors. This blood test was to determine my thyroid levels.

My next appointment was with the cardiologist. My first time meeting him; young, efficient, personable doctor who was comfortable speaking English. He ran some test, another EKG and all was normal. He recommended seeing their thyroid doctor but that will have to wait a bit as this particular specialist was on a two-week rotation with their office. In the meantime, I’ve dropped my dosage a bit more and feel great. Just a note to my female readers about seeing doctors here: you will be alone in the office. There will not be a female nurse attending even if you are with a male doctor. I’ve gotten used to it, but it took me awhile. I would think that if I wasn’t 100% comfortable, I’d take my husband or friend along with me, but I’ve never felt that I needed to do that here.

The come-away from all of this, and it’s still not resolved until I see the endocrinologist, is that I should have been having my annual blood tests to check my thyroid level. Instead, I was complacent and a bit nervous about the healthcare institutions here. Having the need to go to the Pronto Soccorso opened my eyes and got me back on track about taking care of my health. Navigating life here in Abruzzo can take a bit of faith and some effort. 🙂 Though this posting only reflects my experiences here in Italy and may be different for others, I hope that you have found today’s blog informative as well as interesting.

As my energy level was greatly affected by this temporary change in my health, I’ve been taking walks around our village in place of hiking. So not to leave this blog on too heavy of note, I thought I’d share a few photos of my lovely walk home from our town square. Flowers are such an integral part of urban life here in Italy and you will find many villages filled with them throughout the year, but most especially in the summer months. They gorgeously complement the architecture and brightens our lives. Enjoy!

Until next time…:-)