So, I haven't been to work all week… I finally broke down and went to the doctor's office yesterday, and saw one of the nurses.

I am maintaining my opinion that NHS sucks. I called the office and it took several minutes on hold to get through to the Coulsdon practice and then a few more minutes on hold to get to appointments, where I was told the first available appointment was the next morning. "That really isn't acceptable", I croak at her. So, she has the triage nurse call me back, within half an hour. I explained to the triage nurse what was wrong, and she agreed that I should come in, the same day, in about 2 hours or so, at 11:15. That was a bit annoying, but not bad.

So, Ray and I walk the half mile down to the doctor's office. (There isn't any parking for the car.) It's not far on a bright, sunny day when you feel perfectly fine. But it sucked yesterday. We get there, and wait and wait and wait…

Finally, I get to see the nurse. I explain that I had the flu, all those symptoms have gone away, but I now have a secondary upper respiratory infection, probably in my sinuses… The only thing that has been consistent from the start of this illness has been an annoying cough that gets worse and gets better, but has kept me from sleeping though the night for the previous 2 nights. The result of the sinus drainage and the coughing is that my throat is sore enough that I am having trouble eating.

She pokes and prods, looks at my ears and notices my swollen lymph nodes, etc… Then she tells me that she believes that it's viral and she will not give me antibiotics for it. Take 2 paracetamol (what we call acetaminophen) and 2 ibuprofen every 6 hours. Get some Chloroseptic throat spray. Put my head over a bowl of hot water and breathe in the steam to loosen up the congestion. Drink plenty of fluids because I am dehydrated. It will probably be another week before the virus runs its course.

That's it.

So. The result of this is that I am still sick and still feeling awful, and I don't feel as though I am getting any better. I didn't sleep through the night last night, either. I am fairly grumpy because back home, I would have told Dr. Shoffner that I had a sinus infection and she would have prescribed me augmentin and I would start feeling better within 3 days. I should have asked what made her think that it was a viral infection, but I wasn't very coherent at that particular moment. Even if it is bacterial, my body should eventually fight it off. It's just that I have now missed a week of work. (Though I can work from home, it's tough to do anything when you can't concentrate or you are tired.) And she expects that I am going to miss a week more. How stupid is that?

Ray made the point that maybe illnesses here tend to be viral rather than bacterial, and since she studies medicine here, she should know. I acknowledge Ray's statement, but I disagree. My opinion is based on what the media here has voiced in the past - the fear of giving antibiotics to cows, or using antibacterial hand gels (yes, I know there is a difference between an antibiotic and an antibacterial agent) will cause a superbug to evolve and destroy the world, a la Swan Song or The Stand. And I believe that is the reason she refused to prescribe me antibiotics when, in the past, back home, it has been useful.

Grrr…

And I have to miss roll practice Sunday and Thames kayaking Wednesday and I can't go swimming… This really sucks.

The only good news, kinda, is that Emma has had the cast removed, and the bandages rewrapped and a splint put on. She is done and will have everything off on 12 Sept.