Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Looking for a doctor ...

Heck, you could probably write this blog yourselves. Sorry if I'm being hugely repetitive (I am, I am ...!). Um, well, a rough night followed by a rather sick morning and a catarrh-filled afternoon. So much the same as the day before, and probably the one before that too. Does anyone remember me actually being healthy?? Or am I in some kind of an Ill Purgatory zone. God forbid ...

Anyway, the differences about today as compared to other recent days are these (somewhat reminiscent of a Pushing Up Daisies tag line, but hell it's a great show and why not ...):

1. I missed the 8am "ring the doctor for an emergency appointment" zone as I was asleep between 6.30am and 8.30am, which believe me was something to be thankful for.
2. While having a bath, I got hugely tearful and angry with the doctor for not bloody well curing me yet. What is wrong with these people??? Can't he ruddy well give me something stronger to start off with?? - he knows what my medical history is.
3. As a result of this, I rang the surgery anyway to see if there was any chance of getting an appointment at all before Easter. My how we all laughed. Sadly they have no slots and I have to do the 8am call tomorrow for the emergency slots.
4. I got cross again and thought about going to the Walk In Centre in Guildford hospital - but the horror of having to drive myself there whilst clutching my sick bowl (which bizarrely is something my mother gave me when I got married as she thought I'd been the only one in the family who'd ever - regularly - used it apart from my father and she didn't want it to go to waste ... Lordy, is that as weird as it sounds now I'm typing it?) or getting a taxi whilst trying not to gag in front of a stranger was too much.
5. Still, I am desperate for drugs - any drugs, please!! - so I rang NHS Direct to ask them if it would be worth going to the Walk In Centre anyway today just to see if I could start on something as quickly as possible. I've never rung them before - they're lovely - and ended up virtually weeping down the phone to a wonderful nurse whose name now escapes me. She didn't mind waiting while I had to put the phone down and tackle a few nausea moments either. What a star. Having heard it all (in gory detail which I won't go into here - thank God, you cry!) she agreed I would need something stronger but suggested I try to get a doctor's appointment tomorrow if I can hang on that long and put my case. If I can't get one tomorrow, she advised trying the Walk In Centre then and also making a further doctor's appointment so everyone can keep up with what's happening. Are you with me so far? So I think I'll do that.
6. I think I'm keeping it together fairly well, taking into account minimal and intermittent sleep and little food for a week, but I am aware that I'm not functioning to full capacity on any cylinder, so I hope I'm doing the right thing. It's hard to tell.

For the rest of the day, I've watched a lot of faintly fuzzy TV (though I suspect that is our reception rather than me) and played on Lord H's i-phone which he kindly left with me. I've also had about a quarter of a bowl of cereal in the early afternoon (well done, me!) but didn't finish it. And I've allowed myself one ten minute session with the Vick inhaler hot water in a bowl thing (sorry, can't think of what you call this right now), which had rather more dramatic results than I'd anticipated. Lord preserve us indeed.

Oh and I've faintly puzzled over whether I'll ever write anything again, but I feel the time for beating myself up about this is probably not now. I'd like to be well for Easter really, but hell we'll see. I could do with something of a resurrection myself.

Today's nice things:

1. Nice phone nurses
2. Fuzzy TV
3. I-phone games.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - hoping for a miracle cure, courtesy of the NHS ...

6 comments:

Jilly said...

Definitely don't beat yourself up over not writing - now is not the time. You really have got an awful virus - even bad colds don't normally last at full strength for this long. I hope you manage to get an appointment with the doctor tomorrow,
I love our surgery - no appointments so if you're feeling dreadful you just ring and ask how long the queue is before going.
Three cheers for NHS Direct though.
Hugsxx

Anne Brooke said...

Thanks, Jilly - and oh lordy how I wish we had your surgery. That sounds so utterly marvellous ... Here you have to book ahead (which is usually 2 weeks) or take your chances with that 8am that day only call ...

Hugs galore

Axxx

Anonymous said...

This thing sounds totally bacterial to me Anne. You need a serious course of antibiotics and some anti nausea drugs as well. A cold can take a nasty turn if your immune system is compromise in any way ie: stress, other prescription drugs or an undiagnosed condition. Get better my dear girl or I'll have to get my bathing suit on and swim across that pond and take you to the doctor myself! :) HUGS girl, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Oh, that health care crap is here too, and it's just as terrible.

Vicki said...

Oh, dear Anne, you're supposed to be getting better not worse.

Have you thought about rocking up at the chemist/pharmacist and seeing what he/she advises? I'm not sure if that's the done thing in the UK, but chemists here are like second tier GPs.

Get well soon...

Much love
Vicki
xxx

Nik Perring said...

Hugs, hugs, hugs, Anne.

Nik XX

Anne Brooke said...

Thanks so much, guys & gals!! Am going to try for that appointment today - 45 mins to go until I'm allowed to ring and take my chances then ...

Yes, pharmacists can be great, but I've already been on the over-the-counter stuff for a few days and it's not done much good, so anything else has to come by prescription via the doctor. Ah the bliss of the UK system ...

==:O

Axxx