When the average person has the following schedule, it may not seem too involved:
Doctor's Appointment: 1pm
Bloodwork and urine sample
Fill prescriptions
I urge you to make a guess, in your mind, as to how long that process would be expected to take on any given weekday.
Obviously, living in a larger city would increase the hours the above errands may take, but here is how the day went:
Doctor's Appointment at 1pm
It's a specialist appointment, and a physician I have never seen before. It was also an incredibly vital appointment. So - up at 11am, gather all documentation, healthcare card, notebook, directions, and lost of questions. Leave by 11:40 -> this appointment is across the city and I will have to fill out paperwork once I arrive.
Get there, find an open parking spot in a busy hospital lot, pay for parking, then get directions to the clinic itself.
Wait.
Name called - measure height, weight, go over entire list of medications, allergies, surgical procedures, diagnosed conditions, current pain levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels.
Wait.
Ask and be asked a multitude of questions, discuss all worrisome symptoms, discuss all diagnosed conditions, and come up with a plan.
This process took until approximately 2:40pm (and started on time).
Update medical book of all pertinent information discussed in the appointment, then get back to the car and head out to get bloodwork done followed by filling prescriptions.
Bloodwork and Urine Sample
My physician suggested going to a lab in a hospital because of the reduced chances of huge lineups. With the two new requisition forms, we booked it down to the hospital close to my place (to later avoid rush hour).
Get there - turns out another requisition form from a couple of weeks ago was still at home, and since I needed to get bloodwork done anyways, I decided to run home to get that third req. (Luckily, if you are in the parkade for less than 15 minutes, there is no charge!)
Get home, grab the form, jump back in the car and head back to the hospital.
We got to the door of Lab Services at 4:12pm, only to discover that they closed at 4pm.
Well sh*t.
Okay - so I look up other labs to check hours, and another one nearby closed at 6:30. So we booked it over there.
Now, as this is all happening, I am realizing how late it is getting. The pharmacy closes at 8, and I NEED one of the medications that is ready for pickup. Not only that, but because it is a controlled substance, no one else can pick up that prescription - I have to sign for it.
So by this point I am irritated, flustered, absolutely dead-tired, starving, and anxious.
I finished at the lab by about 5:45pm, after 12 vials of drawn blood and a cup proving how dehydrated I must be.
This was the time that I had reached by threshold. My face was pale, I was having major issues walking, speaking, and even simply staying awake. Add a little bit of light-headedness, a missed afternoon dose of medication, no opportunity to have eaten, and general exhaustion - mentally and physically - I was in rough shape.
Pharmacy
Of course, the fuel gauge in my car showed that I was running on empty. That red little symbol on my dashboard was glaring at me, so we stopped to get gas.
Then to the pharmacy - which (as luck would have it) was hosting a flu vaccine clinic today. To my benefit, no one was really there at this point in the day.
I gave them the two new prescriptions and waited for them to be filled. I had to sit completely crouched down almost in the fetal position while I waited on a chair beside the pharmacy. I could no longer stand and wait, I could no longer sit up in my chair, I was dangerously close to passing out, and even speaking was difficult from the fatigue.
Discussed the new medications with the pharmacist and booked it home. We made it home just before 7:30pm. I read through the medication leaflets, ensured that I had no allergies or contraindications, then took some medication, had a bite to eat, and was out cold by 8:30pm, only to wake up just before 1am for another dose.
On these days, the amount of information intake, driving all around the city, a few unfortunate strokes of bad luck, and high stress levels, the body basically shuts down entirely from the incurred exhaustion.
I had three things to do - three important things to do - and it took over 8 hours to complete.
Not to mention that I now have to fast for another set of bloodwork to be done tomorrow after my dental appointment.
I also have a boat-load of paperwork that I need to go through and organize from today.
Today was positive. Today was productive. I managed to get just about everything done that I needed to, and the outcome of today's appointments is a positive one - just a lengthy and tedious one.