Doc Sleaze is Unwell (Again)

All I seem to do these days is make posts about the state of my health. Having seen off the tooth infection (the offending molar is due to be removed tomorrow) and suffered the consequent stomach upsets which resulted from the antibiotics, I woke up this morning to find the right hand side of my lower back gripped by indescribable pain. This was agony of an order I've never experienced before, and nothing seemed to shift it. The situation was made worse by the doctor's surgery I registered with some thirteen years ago (but haven't had cause to visit for over ten years) denying any knowledge of me as a patient. They (and every other surgery) refused to see me on 'legal grounds', until I could tell them who I was registered with! All through this farce (conducted over the phone) I was wracked with pain and sweating bucket loads. In desperation I called NHS Direct, where one f their nurses advised me that my symptoms sounded like a kidney infection or stone, and that I should see a doctor as soon as possible! After explaining my predicament, she said that the surgeries were talking nonsense and of course they could see me on an emergency basis and worry about the records later. I relayed this information to one of the surgeries involved and they reluctantly agreed to see me - but only if I came to them, regardless of my pain levels!

Luckily, the pain killers I'd earlier taken began to kick in in and, as the appointment approached, the pain faded away. I was eventually seen by a nurse practitioner rather than a doctor (although, frankly, she seemed far more sympathetic and better informed than most GPs I've ever encountered). After an examination and urine sample, she pretty much confirmed the phone diagnosis, that it was most probably a kidney stone, and that it should pass through my system over the next few days. In the meantime, if the pain returned I should take the pain killers, if it got worse I was to see a doctor immediately and I should drink lots of liquids to help flush it through my system. They were also going to do more tests on my urine (lucky them) and, if they found anything else wrong, they'd let me know when they were complete in a few days. Very reassuring. So there you are, dosed up on ibuprofen and waiting to piss a stone away! What a life! I've never known such a run of ill health - this is the first sick day I've taken from work since 1990! When the late Jeffrey Bernard said he was 'unwell', he generally meant that he was pissed. If only!