Dear csteele,

Please don't apologise for the advice you're giving me.
It is deeply appreciated and I am taking all of it
on board. I should have explained in more detail that
I was taking Sotacor (Sotalol) 2 and a half tablets
a day. One in the morning - one at night, and half a
tablet in mid-afternoon (around 2pm). My GP has increased
the dosage by half a tablet (3 a day), only when I have
my palpitations (as I understand it). I haven't started to
take the extra half tablet yet - as I haven't had any
palpitations recently.

What does concern me is my upcoming road-trip that I mentioned
earlier. I'm doing it for my husband whose Birthday is coming
up on the 18th February and I promised him that we'd be
spending it in the Hunter Valley. We've pre-booked all of our
accommodation - and my husband says that he's going with or
without me. He's sick of us cancelling our trips at the last
minute because of my health as we've done in the past.

I really don't want to be a spoilt-sport - and this time -
I am determined not to disappoint him. Fingers-crossed that all
goes well.

Dear Suse,

Thanks for your concern as well. Between my GP and my Cardio -
I'm sure that things will work out eventually. CSteele has helped
me a great deal, as have you. And I appreciate all of your
concerns.

there is a docter franchise
its purely a capitalist marketing ploy
less docters creates scarcity/increases charges[income]

its much the same with dentists

[as i suggested to kevin rudd rudely...we dont need specialists
to issue a vacination or fill a tooth..

just a..'just in time'..service
rather than needing the expense special ist rebuild..later via 'special-LIST* rate..[mate rates]..

we should each have a local docter
recall when docters..were barbers?
and every candy store was a druggist

when we used the best medicine..cheaply
like cocain...in a bottle...they replaced
with the more addictive caffeine...giving peoples heart extra stimulants

noting soy sause..and other 'flavouring additives'
when on the road avoid all fast food..

go fresh juices
feresh sea food...[not too salty]
fresh salids..bbq meat...gentle walks..and sunrise/sunsets

balmy nights
spent with a lover of life..etc

dont sweat on it
holdays heal stress*

not add to it...

[if stess..
your doing it wrong]

No CSteele, I totally agree with you about some Doctors/GP's/ Specialists! Certainly we should always do our homework about a medical professional before consulting with them.

However, it is not always easy when you don't have private health insurance, as not all specialists will see public patients, unfortunately.

The only way to weed out defective Doctors (or Nurses!) is to report them to the medical board. It annoys me when one specialist puts down another one, but is not willing to take it any further with the relevant authorities, leaving unsuspecting patients at their mercy.

What I don't like is one patient scaring other patients when they don't have all the facts of the other person's problems.
On the other hand, offering constructive support for another health sufferer can be very helpful at times.
Don't let a cynical nurse like me put you off : )

Dear Suse,

I should probaby note for the record I have never had health insurance in my life.

Been involved in charity work for the local hospital though I don't think that gets one special treatment nowadays.

The time has come to shift the conceptual framework away from the idea that cancer is something bad that happens to the body,

to something the body does
in order to survive

vis-à-vis an increasingly toxic..and nutrient-deprived environment.

Only then we will begin to unravel the mystery behind the colossal failure of the conventional medical system and why the ‘war against cancer’ will only be successful

when we embrace our enemy with greater compassion and understanding, instead of blasting it (and ourselves) into oblivion.

For the past half century, the “Mutational Theory” has provided the prevailing explanation for the cause of most cancers, where, as the story goes, accumulated mutations to the DNA within the nucleus of our cells lead some to “go berserk,”

their “insane” behavior a result of multiple destructive events to the intelligent code within the cell (DNA) that keep them acting in a ‘civilized’ manner relative to the larger bodily whole.

In this view, these rogue cells clone themselves inordinately, spreading outward in a characteristically cancerous manner (cancer = Greek for “crab”),

not unlike the characteristics of an infectious process within the host, eventually obstructing vital processes, resulting in morbidity and death.

One paper summarizes this view as follows:

http://wakeup-world.com/2012/02/14/is-cancer-an-ancient-survival-program-unmasked/