The last ten days have not been the best. I have been suffering from severe pains at the back of my head. I have a high pain threshold and while the ache was not excruciating it was an annoying jabbing throb. With great reluctance and as a last resort I booked an appointment with my GP.
Before I get to the nitty-gritty (no nits were found in my hair, for the record) I must recount my waiting room experience. It was choc-a-bloc. Only one seat was vacant and it was the furthest away placing from the Tannoy that announces whom is next to be seen. There are many doctors in the surgery so the queuing was not on a first come, first served procedure, the calling was determined on what doctor was the quickest. No one knew who was seeing what doctor so some patients were taken quicker than others.
There were a lot of Chinese in the waiting room and man, did they make a racquet with their conversation. Ping-pong, ping-pong, forwards and backwards to one another. Trying to evoke the Braveheart spirit was all Beano and Dandy but it was my head that was giving me the thumps not my heart; I was starting to get a sore head at the front of my dome. More troubling was the fact I couldn’t hear the announcer. Serendipitously, during a two-second silence my name was chosen to go to a room.
Because I hadn’t been for awhile before I could thrust my problem on the doctor I had to go through a few rigmaroles to keep my details up to scratch. I got my blood pressure took, height and weight measured and scaled and obligatory questions asked- Do you smoke? How many units of alcohol do you imbibe in a week? What song do you want played at your funeral? (bit of a jester, my doctor)
On examination of my head the conjectured diagnosis of the expert put the sore head down to a few factors. Possibly, I might be needing reading glasses, though he did not see any inflammation in my eyes; an eye test would help to rule out this possibility. It could be a virus. Yeah, right. Viruses get the blame of everything, don’t they? Or I could have picked up a head knock and there could be slight bruising under the skull. This seemed the most plausible thing as I’m always banging my head either playing sports or just messing about, as you do.
Still, I was in pain and it wasn’t going away for the time being. Two days after the visit to the doctor’s the pain did go away; heads, I win, the pain left town with its tail between its legs. It brought home to me how special it is to be free of niggling pains. It’s a wonderful world at the moment… until the next breakdown crops up. For those in suffering, my deepest sympathies. Here’s a wee cheery song.
* ONLY RICK WILL HAVE HEARD OF THE QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE SONG- FEEL GOOD HIT OF THE SUMMER. THESE ARE THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF THE TRACK .
Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol- C-c-c-c-c-cocaine
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.
Boadicea's Chariot 
An interesting contrast. I too went to the doctor yesterday. I had made the appt Tuesday, Thursday was offered and a choice of times.
2.30 was chosen by me, I always arrive early, 3/4 people waiting in an 8 doctor practice. The nurse called me in at 2.25. One is always weighed, measured, blood pressured etc and all questions are asked every time by the nurse. I have been having a consistent pain in the back of my ribs where I had pleurisy 35 years ago. He ferreted about and decided it would be best to have some new xrays. His bill was $105.00.
I went next door to the imaging company in the same building with my chit and was xrayed within 5 mins, 5 shots which remain on a digital system so all and any doctors in the County can access them from their computers.
The technician who I know showed me them all on his screen and even obligingly bought up those shots taken 3 years ago for comparison. No account rendered, they bill straight to the insurance.
The doctor’s office called to say at 10 this morning there was nothing they could see of any import and should I want it, did I want to further look for diagnosis by having a ct scan?
Yes I did. They gave me a number to call of the imaging company downtown, 10 mins later I was booked in for next Tuesday at 2.45, my choice of time. Again it will all be a digital record so that other doctors can pull it up at a tap of the key so to speak.
So 4 working days to get a proper diagnosis. What chance in the UK? 2 months?
Out of curiosity I shall enquire how much the ct scan would cost if one was not insured.
royalist what diagnosis have they offered you? What do they intend doing to find the cause? All strikes me as frightfully nebulous. I would have thought the receptionist would have told the Chinese to pipe down.
Personally I wouldn’t leave it there if I were you, that could be a burst minor blood vessel causing an effective mini stroke, which at the least is an advance warning of serious impending trouble. Did they take blood work to ascertain cholesterol and furring of the arteries? You really do have to chase them up in the UK to get anything done, otherwise they will fob you off with total crap, they don’t like paying for tests out of their budgets, they get a bonus for not sending you for tests!
PS I very much doubt you would have pains in the back of the head from an eyesight problem, no where near the optic nerve or its connections into the brain!!
TR, sorry to hear about your pain, but I totally agree how refreshing it can be to be rid of it. The trouble is one soon forgets that it ever existed. Everyday one should spend a moment contemplating just how well one feels.
JW, good morning.
Good to read that you are feeling better. Personally, I subscribe to the ‘heidbanger’ diagnosis. De rigeur in Weegieland, I believe?
I really like ‘Beano and Dandy’!
Good Cup draw for both of us and still gives the possibility of an all Unionist final. Got a sneaking feeling that the Perth Saints might turn over the Unmentionables as well.
Mind, I think that the draw was fixed so that, if Inverness Caley Thistle do win at Ibrox, the headline writers can get even closer to the original ‘Mary Poppins’ text than they managed when Thistle thumped *****c in the Cup.
They must be salivating at the prospect of ‘Super Caley go ballistic, ex-SPL’s are atrocious’.
Christina, I think you are suggesting we compare apples with pears here. Your excellent treatment is what BUPA provides in the UK – at a price perhaps similar to yours.
Does anyone know how long it takes to get a ct scan on the NHS these days?
The great advantage here is that they are not controlled by the hospital! A private company does the lot of that kind of thing, that is all they do and are known to be remarkably efficient even by USA standards.
Sorry for not answering separately. I don’t want to clutter up the comments box.
CO- your last paragraph in #1 is a sobering one. Head injuries can be serious as you point out. The doctor advised me to come back in a week if it was still the same or immediately if the pain got worse. We have a same-day appointment scheme for those of us that are working so I can get seen quickly. It is a strange one how the ache disappeared not in stages but “poof” just like that.
I can only imagine the soreness was a result of a head banging incident. I horseplay around with my two sons (21 + 18 years of age) in a game we call up here “dummy fighting”. One of them must have clattered my head during a wrestle.
The doctor checked my eyes as a matter of course, I think. I got the big torch shining right in the retina. It amazes me I don’t need glasses because when I’m off work I do a power of reading.
Sipu- My wife suffers terribly from arthritis and I can almost see the pain in her joints when the swelling appears. I’m rarely ill, she’s not so lucky. It is a massive relief to be restored to full health. It is great to be living again.
JM- The Super Caley headline is legendary, let’s hope it isn’t regurgitated. Though, after Today’s shell shock it’s looking likely. Maybe it’s Rangers causing me the grief.
I’ve amended your swearing again. That must be about thirty bob you’ve to put in the swear box. Good luck Tomorrow.
J-man, always a privilege.
If you can actually trace it to horse play fair enough but if not make him do some tests. I presume you are about 50? Time to start taking a bit more care of yourself.
I’m pleased you have recovered from the head banging incident, JW. Unless it re-occurs I cannot see the sense of subjecting yourself to any further attention from the medical profession.
TR: Glad to hear it went away, I have had more aches and pains in the last five years than in the previous sixty, including periodic visits by the the dreadful Arthritis, not at all pleasant.
Just a question, this racquet that was made by the Chinese in the busy waiting room must have been a squash racket, as we would say, surely, given the crowded conditions?
Janus: The same care at the same speed is provided by Medicare here, the “Single Payer” system to which all us older farts belong. In the words of one cherished blogger hereon this would be the “mish” part of the mish-mash that is the US health care system. Rapid access to the same diagnostic tools and surgical care at the hospital of your choice, including that place in Baltimore founded by TWO fellas name of Johns and Hopkins (right CO?).
There is a monthly supplemental insurance premium but it is pretty modest compared with BUPA.