A needling kind of day

I had a blood test scheduled for early this morning. This holiday, I have been 'pretending' that I have no car and therefore forcing myself to walk everywhere I need to go (enforced exercise, you understand). The Leech Factory I go to is only about 20 minutes walk away and so I set out on my journey straight after breakfast. When I was almost there, I decided to look in my bag and realised that I had left the collection form behind so, with no car, I had to walk all the way back home to get it. Lucky my goal has been to get fit(ter).

The nurse I got at the Leech Factory, however, was HOPELESS and mutilated 2 veins with NO BLOOD before she ran out of the collection room, leaving me holding cotton balls pressed into the crooks of both arms. For each, she had dug around under the skin for at least a minute, searching for what I had never had a problem with before - it didn't tickle! Eventually, a GOOD nurse who I had before came in and quickly and simply found a good vein, took the blood, wrapped my arm to stop any bruising caused by STUPID nurse, and I was done. I have never had such a horrible blood draw experience.

Later, I went for my acupuncture session, and Chinese Cutie Punk, my acupuncturist, inserted another 15 needles for the hour. She's actually really good and I'm glad that I found her. Not only is she a sweetie, but her office is literally just around the corner from my IVF clinic (which is only a 20 minute walk from my place also - and just behind the day surgery where I have all of my procedures). I know how lucky I am with both of those factors, especially reading about others who have to travel for a lot longer (sometimes even spending days away) to access these services.

I walked to see Saint Anne at the IVF clinic after my treatment to pick up a new sharps container, concealed nicely in a brown paper bag so that I wouldn't be confused with a patient of the methadone clinic in the same street. My blood results indicated to her that my period should have started - but it hasn't! I'm waiting, waiting, waiting. I'm now on day 30 and my usual cycle is about 26 days. I hate waiting.

Tonight, I jabbed my 10mls of Lucrin with trepidation. I think I'd had enough of the needles for today. And it hurt. And there was blood. And now there's a big bruise for my efforts.

Lucky me.