We are suppose to be having spring but at times it has felt more like fall.  Last Thursday night the temperature went down to -4C.  Early Friday morning we had snow flurries. The weather certainly is not conducive to putting out bedding plants or swimming in the pool. It looks like there may be better weather in store for us this coming week. Hopefully I haven’t blinked at the wrong time and missed summer.

After taking a short break from doctors, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. It has become obvious that the “great” Squirt and his minions have no intentions of helping me find a diagnosis.

On Friday, May 24th I went to see No Name at the clinic here in town. He briefly went over my medical history. I asked No Name for a Vitamin B12 shot. He had no problems giving me a prescription for one shot a month for ten months. I asked him for prescription for Zyban. I had two reasons for wanting Zyban. The first reason of course is to help me quit smoking. The second reason is that the active ingredient in Zyban is bupropion, a relatively weak inhibitor of the neuronal uptake of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. I am hoping that it is enough of an inhibitor of norepinephrine that it will stop the horrible jolts of adrenaline that I experience during the day and at night.

No Name insisted on giving me a prescription for sleeping pills. I have up to this point refused to use sleeping pills. The sleeping pills he prescribed are called L-trypytophan or Tryptan. As soon as I got home from my appointment I checked these pills out on the internet. Imagine my surprise and horror when I read about its association with the nationwide outbreak of Eosinophilia- Myalgia Syndrome (EMS). It came as quite a shock that such a widely used medication could be associated with a debilitating and potentially lethal syndrome that resulted in dozens of deaths, and may have injured more than 5000 people. Makes me wonder if there is a plot out there to get rid of Widebertha.

I asked No Name for a TSH, free T4, free T3 test as well as a thyroid antibodies test. He agreed and gave me the appropriate requisition.

While waiting at the hospital for my blood test paper work, I went to the hospital pharmacy to get my Vitamin B12 prescription filled. After having the blood tests done, with a butterfly I might add, I hurried back to the clinic for my B12 shot.

I had hoped that I would wake up on Saturday morning with boundless amounts of energy but that was not the case. I felt just as crappy as before. Very disappointing. I was later told that it can take a while for Vitamin B12 to kick in and for a person to notice a difference in energy levels.

Tomorrow is my mom’s 81st birthday. I am so very fortunate that she is still healthy. Actually, to tell you the truth, in any given day my mom can run circles around me.