Sounds like the title to a bad film noire, yes? Well, it’s not. It’s what my life has been like the last 5 days. I started Sunday night with a little scratchiness in the throat, turning into a wheeze by Tuesday. On Wednesday I was done with it, so I went to the doctor. As usual, I waited and waited, watching the pharmaceutical reps walking right inside in front of me, with their cheery wave and sample bags. And then the nurse marveled at how high my blood pressure was… amazing.
The doctor finally came in the room, and we had a quite genial chat for the next 10 minutes. He then got around to “so what’s the trouble today”, looked in my throat, said “that looks nasty”, and said a steroid shot was in order. Then he offered me a choice of a Z-Pak, or Avelox. No throat swab, so I don’t know if it’s strep throat or the plague, or any infection at all. Then he says “The nurse will be right back with your shot. Get better!”. And then I waited for another 30 minutes, because he walked straight to another exam room and performed a minor surgery with the nurse he assigned to give my shot (probably to operate on some poor soul with a skin growth, from the sound of it). After about 20 minutes the receptionist came in and apologized, saying she couldn’t go talk to the doctor because they had already scrubbed in. The nurse came back about 10 minutes later with the syringe, rolled up my sleeve, jacked it in my arm…and it jammed. Yes, the plunger was stuck as she worked it around in my arm! She finally had to pull it out and get another one; this one worked. I paid my copay and left.
Steroid shots, for me, at least, are a mixed bag of hurt and goodness. The goodness is that they almost immediately make you feel better. The bag of hurt: you feel better and more energetic for about 24 hours straight, maybe longer. No matter what time you get the shot. Which in my case is usually about 4 PM, because of how my doctor does his scheduling. That meant for 18-24 hours I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep, normally. This time, though, I went to bed at 11 PM and went straight to sleep. And then the datacenter staff had a minor crisis and called to wake me about 2:00 AM. And that was when the sleeplessness kicked in.
So now it’s the next day, and I’m worn out but still unable to sleep, and it’s 11:31 PM. Somebody shoot me, please.
johnmcgeeblog 
I am SO very glad I referred myself to your blog upon seeing a witty post on a Notebook Addiction thread. 🙂 I like your style of writing, your dry humor, and the “true to life” nature of your entries.
“And then the nurse marveled at how high my blood pressure was… amazing. ”
Nice cap off!
“I paid my copay and left.”
Yep, had that experience about four weeks (a month) ago. Went to the doctor for a *simple* prescription. Arrived 6 minutes late, waited 1 hour and 56 minutes, sat in a waiting room for another 15-17 minutes and then — “my” doctor flies in, says a quick, insincere “hey how are ya?,” flings my prescription at me and excuses herself. In a record breaking 1 minute and 45? seconds.
I’ll stay tuned.
Aun Aqui
Thanks for the comments! Yes, I find a drier sense of humor to fit me better, up to the point I begin to border on snarkiness (which I call my “spiritual gift”). At least those pharmaceutical reps could have left me some free sample for blowing past me in line…