Monday, 29 January 2007

Miserable weekend, and then...

So I'm still unwell.

Had the day off work today and, chances are, tomorrow too. My cold has developed into an ear infection which, unlike last time, is not content with being resident in one ear only. Oh, no. I have an ear infection in both ears.

Managed to get an appointment with my doctor at 10 this morning. When I spoke to the receptionist, she said it was possible I could be seen today "but not until later". I was happy with that, so when she said 10 o'clock, I was rather taken aback. It was already 9.20.

Still, it gave me time to come home and make myself a cup of tea... though I didn't have time to drink much because I made it very hot, and it hadn't quite cooled down before I had to leave again.

The appointment itself took, at most, ten minutes, and I was prescribed the longest list of medicines I've ever had: An antibiotic (1 week's supply), a decongestant (1 month's supply) and ear drops. She also took a swab of the worst affected ear, "in case the antibiotic doesn't work, and we have to look for alternatives" - basically, getting ahead of the game. I also have an appointment for next week, which suggests this sucker is worse than I thought.

OK, sure, I've had crippling headaches during the day, which I've had to try to sleep through, so perhaps I should have guessed it was worse than the last one. And there's that bloodshot eye, too... that's a sign.

The problem is I don't like going to the doctor. The one I used to see made me feel like a hypochondriac, but I get on much better with the one I saw today. She occasionally jokes around (her main thing is how people clean their ears. In her opinion, one should use nothing smaller than one's elbow to clean one's ears), and doesn't look down her nose at anyone. The one I used to see was also my grandmother's GP, and I'm told he preferred to talk about his holidays, rather that discuss her reasons for being in his office.

Anyway. My head is better at the moment, but it's too early to tell how well the medication is going. I hate having a cold.

Had a curious conversation with one of the pharmacists at the chemist I went to for my prescription. Originally from Leeds, he was in the grubby little burg I call home during the mid 70s, and remembers it as being very similar, on the whole. Transport was unreliable even back then, but folks were more tolerant of it, apparently. He also observed that, while he used to be able to clear out cold remedies during the summer, and allergy meds during the winter, now he has to keep a shelf of each all year round. He blamed the overall quality of life in London, and the push towards making it (unnecessarily, in his opinion and mine) a 24 hour city. Leeds, he reckoned, was much better.

His assistant recognised me - or, more accurately, my relation to my mother and grandmother - by my surname. That kind of thing always impresses me... We're a small sort of place - more than a village, less than a town - but still quite impersonal in general. Having a pharmacist, or anyone in any shop, for that matter, who knows who you are gives one a sense of being part of a community, even if only in a small way.

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