TUESDAY CHAT

I really do need to vent my spleen and as I am not a person who is deliberately rude to anyone or stamp my foot or shout it will have to be here so please bear with me.

It has been a somewhat cooler week in Perth although still in the high twenties to low thirties with a little cloud about but still no rain.

Our new airconditioning unit is working like a charm and, in fact, is a little cooler than needed which of course can be adjusted.  The book of instructions is a revelation but unfortunately doesn't reveal a lot to us.  Derek said he hoped we could understand it all and now we know why.  I have discovered how to lower or raise the temperature which is more than Phil could do so I feel quite proud about that.    The best though has been the ability to cool the kitchen so I could once again cook and then at night cool the bedroom for a while before we go to bed so are now sleeping much better.

See how I wrote all that before I got down to the nitty gritty of what is making me mad.  You don't really have to read further if you don't went but I just had to get this down on 'paper' to get it off my chest.

You remember I had blood tests in February which had to be repeated after two weeks of no caffiene and none of my little blue tablets that help reduce pain?  OK, of course you do!   Well I had received results of the simple tests but was still waiting for the results of the test of the BIG one.  By last Wednesday (I had the blood tests on 2 March) I rang the laboratory and said results not received.  Was told the sample had been sent to PathWest who apparently are the only people who can do it.  I said yes, I knew that so they said they'd get on to PathWest and remind them to send results.

Today the results came in the mail and sure enough the blood was taken on 2 March, received by PathWest on 3 March and the results were printed on 16 March which was the day I telephoned asking about them.......and NO result of the one I'd been waiting upon so anxiously.   The same old speil about not fasting, no caffeine or my pills but apparently they put that on the results anyway.  I had put a note with the blood rest request saying I had done all the required things but apparently that meant nothing.

Now about the result.   There was a sentence on the bottom of the page saying that "Unable to 
quantitate the plasma metanephrine due to interference in the sample.    Suggest recollection and/or collection of 24 hour urine for metanephrines".

I rang them up but the chap I spoke to had nothing to do with the actual work in the lab so of course had no idea what that sentence meant.   I have now made an appointment with my GP for this afternoon and I am hoping he will be able to explain what has happened.

I certainly don't want to go another fortnight with no caffeine and no little blue pills and am hoping should I have to do the urine test that doesn't also mean refraining from all that again.

I now wonder if, when the first pathology people I went to, rang the second laboratory whether perhaps the test hadn't been done and because of the long delay it had perhaps gone 'off'.  Hopefully I will find out from Dr Ken tomorrow.   I have to pay him a visit anyway as overdue for my B12 shot.

If you read this far then forgive my self-indulgence but.............really!!!!