2 Doctors visits and a blood test

Being as my children seem to have had a relatively quiet couple of weeks I thought I had better do something interesting...

Last week I finally gave in, I have been feeling tired, no make that exhausted, well make that cannot stand up for another moment, feeling shaky and my eyes closing as soon as I sit down knackered! So I went to see the doc. When I explained the problem and added to it that I felt shaky, a bit nauseous and irritable he asked me if I could be pregnant.
'Not unless God's been at it again!' was my response, 'I have three under five already!' I explained realising it was a little rude!
He wrote out a blood test form and said it was probably just the hectic pace of life catching up with me but best to have a blood test, just to be on the safe side.

So I did, no drama there, no screaming, missed veins or blood spattering the walls.

I didn't expect to hear much about it and had convinced myself that I was just being a wimp and would have to do better. On the way to Heather's dancing on Saturday I grabbed the post, on Saturday I generally get a whole 45 minute session to myself in Starbucks, usually I write but I knew I would have less time this week as I had to run a couple of errands. Heather tapping and first postioning away, errands ran I turned to the mail. There was one from the docs, 48 hours after the test, couldn't be good.

I opened it, 'need a face to face consultation' were the words that jumped out at me, followed by this is NOT urgent! Not urgent! Not flipping urgent I thought, 48 hours after I had the test and now I need an appoinment.

I spent the four days until the appointment the following Wednesday convinceing myself I was ill, very ill. I tried to work out what it could be even putting my symptoms into search engines and self-diagnosis tool - please don't try that at home, not to be advised, definitely bad for your health and sanity!

Anyway in a packed surgery the doctor I was seeing passed by, on her way back she looked at me and said 'Melanie.' I just nodded, the fact that she knew my first name must be bad I thought, she was trying to put me at my ease before she delivered the bad news! After manouvering Lucy's buggy around the other patients I sat in her room and she looked at me blankly. I ended up explaining the whole thing again and then she found her results on the computer and started to study them. Maybe it would be OK after all, maybe she only remembered my name from a home visit she had once done, reluctantly!

'Aha, your bilirubin's a bit high' she said, I nodded having expected that and explained for the hundreth time that I have Gilbert's syndrome that causes excess bilirubin, isn't it about time they put it on my notes? She tapped away again and as she sat there all I could think was if you don't tell me in a minute I am going to be sick all over your carpet!

'Aha' she said triumphantly and then looked me in the eye, bad I thought. Very bad!
'I'm surprised you're standing up' she said. Alarm bells were now ringing.
'Your iron levels are very low, no wonder you're tired you're anemic, very easy to sort out though' she added.
She told me about the tablets she would prescribing and the rather charmless side effects I could experience, the blood tests I would have to have and that I should be more like my normal self in about a week!

I was relieved, partly because it isn't serious and there is an easy cure and also because I wasn't imagining it, I am not a wimp there is a biological cause! A day and a bit in and I am feeling a little brighter, probbaly the placebo effect but I haven't fallen asleep yet today.

NEWSFLASH: This is a new section at the end of the blog to record the family achievements; Matthew can now count to 20, Heather got a swimming certificate for being able to do a whole width on her own, Lucy still isn't walking but can say; Heather, Matthew, Mummy, Daddy, Hello and duck! Mr T has laid the turf in the garden, the dogs have watered it!