Jan
30
2007
7

Give me strength!!!

Ok… picture this.

I go to my GP's surgery today for a repeat prescription of drugs which I take for weight loss. I saw a GP I have seen on one occasion before, but not for a long time. Over the last year I have lost about a stone and a bit, which isn't a massive amount, but I have also lost several inches off my waist etc.

The following conversation ensues.

GP: So, how are you getting on?
Me: OK, although I have been trying to give up smoking so I think I may have put on a bit of weight. I am still swimming and doing Pilates though so I hope to get back on track soon.

*I stand on the scales which show I have put on 2 pounds… as expected*

GP: Oh you have put on weight… you need to stop snacking. Losing a stone in a year isn't very good is it?
Me: *sigh* I know… that's what I have just told you. Anyway, what do you mean losing a stone isn't great? It's better than putting it on, and doesn't losing 4 inches around my waist count for anything.

Then I ask the GP about a painful thumb and shoulder.
GP: Have you had a fall or anything?
Me: No, but I am hyper-mobile so I just wanted to check whether it could be anything else.
GP: Well, everyone has stiff joints so you can expect some problems.
Me: er…. I have just told you that I am hyper-mobile so I *don't* have stiff joints which is why I wanted to get it checked out because it is unusual for me.
GP: Well everyone has stiff joints so just take some ibuprofen and do some exercise.
Me: What sort of exercise do you suggest?
GP: What about swimming and something like yoga?
Me: So, swimming 4 times a week and doing Pilates weekly isn't enough?
GP: Oh
Me: Yes, I mentioned it at the start of my consultation.

Do you ever get the feeling that you are talking to someone who hasn't listened to a word you have said? I came out of the surgery absolutely fuming. Not because he hadn't read my notes or gave me bad advice, but because he did not listen to anything I said and was clearly disinterested.

I won't be seeing that GP again unless my leg has dropped off and I am at imminent risk of gangrene or something else life threatening.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
28
2007
2

Just chillin’

I have had a really nice weekend – mainly because I had absolutely nothing planned!

Yesterday I had a nice long lie in. It was lovely. I had clean sheets and shaved legs…. mmmm!!! Then I went to the market and bought fruit and veg and in the evening I watched TV and did some craft stuff. Today I went to church, then out for lunch and that’s about it.

So, I have done absolutely nothing and thoroughly enjoyed it!!!!!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
26
2007
5

*yawn*

Tonight I am so unbelievable knackered. I woke up this morning with quite bad backache, and I lay in bed thinking…. ooooo I can have another house….. or I can go swimming.

So I went swimming. I must be mad. Mind you, it definitely helped my back pain.

I just don’t think I am cut out to work full time. I believe I should be a Kept Woman.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
25
2007
1

Hope

Sometimes work seems like a good thing. I have just spent an hour with a client who I have been working with since October 2004. When we started our work she was on a methadone prescription, still using illicit drugs and on a probation treatment order. Today she has been clean from all illicit drugs, prescribed drugs, alcohol and tobacco for nine months and she is such an inspiration. She is three weeks younger than me and last year we shared the trauma of turning 30. In her appointments we have laughed and cried together over her progress and the changes that have happened throughout the two years. I feel that as a practitioner her reflective approach to treatment has encouraged me to try and treat my clients with more dignity. I will really miss working with her, and I suspect that discharging her is as hard for me as it is for her. I am absurdly proud of her achievements and her progress and I hope and pray that she will continue to move on and begin to truly Live Life. All I hope for is that I can make a difference in the work that I do with my clients and in this case I believe that I have.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
24
2007
3

Hmmmmmm

Tonight I went to the ‘Welcome Café' for a church I have been going to for the last few months. After having had a really difficult time at my last church and leaving in horrid circumstances I have been wary about getting back into church. However, I have given in and been going to this one… slipping in late to meetings and leaving a bit early, but I have to say they have been very welcoming and accepting. Tonight they lured me in with cheese, wine and dessert. It was good and I didn't feel as though they were going for the hard sell, but happy to let people come in and see what they are all about. Basically my experience boils down to this… any church that offers decent wine and really, really good coffee is a clear winner!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
22
2007
0

Don’t mess with me people!

Today I am back to work and miserable as usual… not smoking at work isn't so bad, but driving home and all that sort of stuff is much more difficult. I have also had a bit of a run in with one of the doctor's today. I have a client who is 33 weeks pregnant and is stable on a methadone programme. She is getting pretty fed up with with receiving contradictory information from different professionals as to whether she will be able to breastfeed. As pregnancy and drug use is my special interest I know that the recent evidence shows that it is fine to breastfeed and it should be positively encouraged. So, I was pretty pissed off when this client came in today to be told by one of our doctors that she needs to come off her methadone. The nail in the coffin though was that I had documented the key worker appointment I had with the client last week and included in the file all the evidence about breastfeeding and methadone! I sometimes wonder why I even bother being efficient and professional. So, I had a head-to-head with the doctor and told her she could take it up with our consultant if she had a problem with it.

Bring it on!!!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
22
2007
0

Camping it up

Wow look at that! I haven't blogged for 5 whole days.

SBW came down at the weekend and we had a lovely time just chilling out, going to the cinema and eating! We also visited a couple of my friends who have as Playstation SingStar and it was wonderful to see him fitting in nicely with the gay men and singing ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun'. It was a special moment!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
17
2007
5

Huh!

This giving up smoking lark isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. OK, so I can breathe more easily when I am swimming, my clothes and hair don’t smell of fags etc etc. But what do I do when I need to get away from my desk at work? I liked having a fag after my meals and I was used to concentrating on driving and smoking at the same time. Suddenly everything has become a trigger… some people only have one or two things that remind them of smoking, but I have realised that EVERYTHING I do reminds me of having a fag. I must have been even more of a chain smoker than I thought!

Sheesh… it had better be worth it!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
15
2007
1

So much to see…. so little time…

I fully admit I am like a sheep because I have seen this on a couple of other people’s blogs.

It seems to me that I have seen far too little of the world. I was amused to see the Channel Islands listed as a separate country though!

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Jan
14
2007
4

Ouch, ouch and ouch again!

I feel absolutely shattered today! The wedding went really well and it was a lovely day. The food was good and it was hugely entertaining to see my cousins again. They are especially funny after a few beers.

Today however, I feel like I have been run over by a bus. The balls of my feet really hurt from wearing high heels, my legs ache from dancing all evening and my head hurt from a little bit too much wine! A brisk walk across the beach has managed to clear up most of these aches and pains though.

Other than that all is well and I fly back to England tomorrow and back to work on Tuesday. I guess that all good things have to come to an end.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |

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