Francis Coucke -Achilles tendon

Francis Coucke, where does a person begin? My fatigue complaints started 15 years ago. Then it was very bad, so bad that I even had breathing problems at times. I was so tired that sometimes I couldn't sleep because of the fatigue. After various doctors, psychologists and mediums of all kinds, I had also read something about a Francis Coucke. But that wasn't all positive, on the contrary. There was that order of physicians (I will definitely have to talk about that later) and there was perhaps also the will of the universe that I should not make an appointment at that time. In the meantime I kept looking. You feel that something is wrong, that your body is no longer functioning, they draw blood, everything ok sir, they do extra tests, everything ok sir, they pump you full of antidepressants, neuroleptics, tranquilizers... still not everything ok sir? It's in your head, between your two ears, we can't explain it, so it's in your head, it's your own fault, you're lazy, a planner and you just want to take advantage of the system. Welcome to the cruel world. Even your own family doesn't understand at first. Some do after a few years, others never. Francis Coucke, in August 2016 it will have been three years since I had my first appointment with him. In Antwerp. I had read his book and I knew roughly what to expect. I had prepared several pages of notes like most probably, but he really didn't care. In retrospect, that was a good thing. I just wanted answers, I wanted someone who didn't listen to my past and found answers in my body without that information. Doctors are only human, have only studied, have only been taught things and accepted them as true. You need people like Francis Coucke who dare to think outside the box. Unfortunately for the RIZIV, who are doing their utmost to make life difficult for Francis Coucke. In any case, when I returned to Francis for the results of my blood tests, an ITT test was still required. To be honest, I wasn't keen on that. I'm autistic, I like to have things under control and here they were definitely going to make me have a few panic attacks. All in all, the ITT test wasn't too bad ;-). It was very nice at the back of the practice in Sint-Gilles-Waas. I did need a Temesta and at one point the nurse shouted that I was not doing well. Man, that ITT test wasn't really the most pleasant thing to start your day with. Quiet people will have fewer problems with it, but for me all the alarms and bells went off. Sweating, shaking, time moving forward like it used to at the conveyor belt in the Crocky factory... I have never enjoyed two Snickers and a can of Coke so much after the test. Man, I enjoyed that! By the way, I don't want to scare anyone about that ITT test, if I survive it, then everyone. But really. If it has to be done, it has to be done. The results of the ITT test. Not good. Exhausted adrenal glands and possibly a problem with hypophysis. Addison's disease. Now I have to say that I was quite skeptical about this. Everyone who comes to Francis either has Addison's disease, or lupus, or one of the other three possibilities that remain ;-). He has three stamps on his desk, one for hydrocortisone, one for DHEA and one for testosterone. What do you want Lieven Cardoen? A little bit of everything? Uh yeah, just do a little bit of everything. And I went home with HydroCortisone and DHEA. Testosterone only a year later. Could it be something more? I can laugh about it now, but fuck, a week later I went on a trip with my hydrocortisone and DHEA, and that was the best trip in years. I was bursting with energy, I was able to go for a run again, I only had the occasional brain fog day when all systems were turned off, I could play with my daughters in the pool, we could go out without too much panic... It was a great trip after all the doom and gloom of the last 10 years. For the first 10 years I was sick on average 2 days a week. With Francis's new medication, that was perhaps once every two weeks. What a miracle, really. I was able to exercise again without being punished afterwards. I could go out again without being punished afterwards. Sometimes I almost forgot that there was something wrong with my body. I actually almost had a normal life. Once a week I went to play badminton and once a week I went to play football with work. Before that, that was a recipe for disaster. Fast forward to November 2013. Football at work. After 45 minutes I want to start a sprint and something pops in my calf. I look around to see who did such a mean tackle. No one to see. Incredibly strange feeling. I soon realized that something was very wrong in my right lower leg. I could no longer walk, or at least not walk normally. Achilles tendon torn, 99%, he still had a few wires attached to the muscle. Fortunately, otherwise that muscle will shoot up in your throat and they can look for it during the operation. So I went to the hospital and immediately asked for a Temesta because I felt the mood hanging in my stomach. Operation.... Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Suddenly all my confidence in Francis was gone. In the hospital the 'specialists' all agreed that it was the fault of the hydrocortisone. And they didn't even know the difference between hydrocortisone and cortisone. Then you have studied for more than 10 years... Without being critical... Just accept what that professor says at the front of the auditorium as true. Don't ask questions, make a career. No laughing matter, your Achilles tendon bursting, literally, because you hear it pop. Well, those were the first few months under Francis Coucke's care. An operation is hell for me. I burst into tears at the anesthetist there and demanded that things would be different this time. A few years earlier I had my wisdom teeth removed. When I woke up all my stops were blown. I couldn't keep my legs still, my heart rate was constantly hitting 140 at rest and I just felt like jumping through the window. I wasn't even allowed to go home then because my heart rate was too high. So I had to lie still there for another hour in that hell. If I had gotten one little fucking Temesta, one, I would have needed a whole box. The first night at home I ended up drinking a lot of alcohol to sleep. The second night that didn't help anymore and after a drunken late-night walk of 4 hours (if you have restless legs then walking is hopeful) I finally fell asleep with two Temestas. When I finally went to the doctor after 2 nights of hell, it turned out that I had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia. Then I met Rivotril. What a revelation. They had to pour that into the tap water. Rivo, what a bomb! But despite Rivo, I was still incredibly afraid of this new operation on my Achilles tendon. It had been a long time since it had happened without complications. The previous times I had contracted hospital bacteria, a piece of tooth had been shot into my sinus during the wisdom teeth operation on the 1st attempt, and so there was that hell during the wisdom teeth operation on the 2nd attempt. But during this operation on my Achilles tendon they took incredibly good care of me, gave me a lot of medication to calm me down and did the operation epidurally so that I was less bothered by the anesthesia. However, the operation was nothing compared to the months of rehabilitation and major family crisis. It does something to a person and family, tearing your Achilles tendon. It doesn't really make you happy ;-). I'll tell you more about it in the next episode of Francis Coucke.

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” ― Robert Frost