Tired: The sequel

I've admittedly not had the easiest of weeks. In my previous blog post I was telling everyone about a herbal remedy I was trying to clear up a UTI. I had tried an anti biotic and was no better for it so I felt it was worth a shot. Spoiler alert, the remedy didn't work. Now that doesn't mean that the remedy is no good as such but more likely that I was too sick for it to be much help. I'd had the infection for two weeks. Anyway over my long weekend in work I continued to get considerably sicker so much so that I found myself contacting Care doc as my shift ended Sunday night. It probably didn't help matters that I had only finished night duty a week prior and had not managed to catch up on my sleep because the combination of sunburn, UTI and the heat meant I was getting less sleep than I can manage to function on and so adding to the sleep debt rather than recovering.

 Caredoc managed to fit me in at 10.30. By the time I got into a DR, I was tired, in discomfort and stressed about the cost of my second appointment in two weeks. He was happy to give me anti biotic but stressed the need for more tests in case something more serious was wrong. This is not really the information I need when already tired and stressed because I will run with it and convince myself that something is really wrong with me and worry about that when I should be sleeping. I did try to explain to the man that I had no GP in Kilkenny and wasn't having much luck finding one but he didn't really seem to get it and I left it feeling anxious with a prescription and €60 out of pocket. I'd love to say the worst thing to happen was that my day off got derailed DR hunting in Kilkenny but it seemed the the universe had other plans in store for me. I go out to my car and discover as I turn the key that it wont start. All the lights come on but then nothing. I stay there for 20 mins panicking an retrying in the hope that the problem will solve itself. It didn't so I went back into the Care Doc to ask to use their bathroom. And when the receptionist asked why I hadn't come in sooner and I burst into tears, I didn't even have the decency to feel embarrassed about it. Anyway the lovely woman ended up giving me a lift home because my car was going nowhere.

 I get home and spend half the night stressing, half sleeping but then waking to remember the car is stuck in town or having to pee again so I managed a whole four hours. The only lift I could get to town was before 8 but I took it. My traitor of a car started when I went to collect it and I got it as far as the mechanics and once I left it in with him I set off on a tour of Kilkenny. By tour I mean I was hunting down Dr's surgerys and seeing was anyone willing to either take me on as a patient or failing that send off the Urine sample I was carrying around ( in the proper bottle). I don't really like awkward interactions so asking four different Dr's receptionists would any one be willing to send off my wee was beyond excruciating. To do so on four hours sleep and without coffee felt like hell.

 My car finally got fixed and I found a GP in callan (a mere 20 mins from the city) willing to see me. So I see two DRs in 24 hours but I get my bloods done and offload my little bottle and am broker but relieved to have it all done and not hanging over me and as a bonus this anti biotic seems to be doing its job. I will have to wait until its finished before I know for certain but for now I am enjoying not feeling awful all the time.

 Since then I managed a few half decent nights sleep and then after a week of no coffee, it lured me in with its siren song. I was only abstaining because of the UTI in fairness. Anyway I discovered the hard way that one week of no coffee is like setting a reset button. So I had one small cappucino at 11 am before going to work and found that I still couldn't sleep at 1 am that night.It was like my brain had no off switch. I did eventually get some sleep but then I woke at 4 to the birds singing and it seemed like they were singing directly in my ear so it took me a while to drown out the noise and get back to sleep. I woke the next morning and scraped myself out of bed to get ready for the gym, I felt knackered. So much so that I got a coffee on the way, on my way to work just after 12 but this proved to be my undoing. By the time I finished that coffee I was powered up. I talked the ears off my colleagues (sorry guys) and was a little distracted. In fairness I actually got loads done during my shift which is always a plus but I did forget to eat. The real trouble was is that I was still wired leaving work and went home for sleepless night round two.

 The end effect being that I was beyond tired today but I have upped my coffee threshold because the two I had today propped me up but did not have me bouncing off the walls. There was a point during the afternoon where I was finding it hard to cope (looking after my nieces and just generally staying upright) and it did occur to me that a third coffee would hit the spot nicely but for once I learned my lesson and obstained.

 So this leaves me to now, Im exhausted, unable to string basic sentences together but apparently able to throw together a long rambling blog post but I'm hoping with two good nights sleep before I am back in work and a bit of rnr planned for tomorrow that I will soon be a disaster-free, functioning woman

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