I am sitting in the doctors waiting room
I don't need to tell you that I am beyond nervous
I just saw him walk by
And I swear
My heart jumped in to my mouth
I lay awake last night
Trying to piece together what I was going to say to him
Tossed and turned as I ran through the conversation in my head over and over
Trying to find the right words to explain my situation
It's not easy
No one likes to admit that they f**ked up
Especially not to their doctor of over ten years
I just keep telling myself
It will all be over in minutes
Then I can accept whatever decision he makes
Walk out
And start getting busy trying to recover
I'm a big girl
I can do this
Slips are all part and parcel of recovery
I know this
My doctor knows this
Sometimes it's one step forward
Two steps back
At least for me anyway
Edit: just out of the doctors
And sitting in the chemist waiting for my meds
M doctor knew by looking at me that there was something wrong
'How are you doing?'
'Eerrrmmm ok...'
'That's a very tentative ok'
I sat down and took a deep breath
'I've been messing around
Not with heroin
But with my meds'
'Ok why are you doing that?'
'I don't know
I just get anxious and bored and feel the need to break out every so often
The thing is I have my interview for my course this week and I really want to get back on track
And I'm all over the place at the monent
I can't trust myself at all'
'Are you using anything else?'
'No' I answered honestly
'Ok' he said
' you know what this means?'
'I know' I replied
'Daily dispensing fot at least the next couple of weeks
And as well as that I'm going to increase your methadone to 34mls'
Then he seemed to change his mind and said he would increase it to 36 mls
I was actually blown away by this
That's a 12 ml increase
Any time he had increased it
It's only been by 2-4 mls
So this is him being very lenient
And I very much appreciate that
He spent some time tapping away on his keyboard
Asking me questions
Then he wrote out my script
Told me to try and stay on the straight and narrow
I thanked him and left
It was all over in a matter of minutes
I left feeling a bit bewildered
But glad
I can never tell how it's going to go with my doctor
Sometimes he over reacts
And gets really frustrated with me
Other times he is calm and collected
And just gets on with the task in hand
I know I'm hard work
And not an easy case
I'm sure I'm not who he wants to see first thing on a Monday morning
Me with my baggage and endless troubles with addiction and food
It just never seems to end
If it's not drugs
It's meds
If it's not meds
It's bulimia or anorexia
I'm sure I am a doctors worst nightmare
And I am lucky to have the doctor I do
He has put up with more than a little BS from yours truly
And he is never anything short of kind
My doctor has a conscience
He is ethical
And upstanding
Always doing things by the book
Even though he gets paid handsomely for my methadone treatment
He has been trying tirelessly for years to get me off it
I've known doctors clock up as many methadone patients as the can
And keep them on file for as long as they can
All in the name of money
I've cursed my doctor over the years
Wishing he would be just a little bit crooked
And prescribe me what ever I want
But in reality
I know I'm lucky to have such a good doctor
Even though my meds have been taken in hand
There is still the opportunity to abuse them
I could store my meds
But I feel positive that I won't
I have my interview for my course on Thursday
So I really want to be lucid and compos mentis
The increase in methadone will probably have an effect on me
And make me a little sleepy
So I really want to avoid that on Thursday
I said to my mum today
'I don't know if you've noticed but I've been abusing my meds recently'
'Yes of course I have noticed' she replied
'I avoid you when you are like that and there is no talking to you.
It's like talking to a drunk person'
I don't know why
But I was surprised to hear this
Most of the time I go along thinking they no one else notices
But of course they do
It's hard not to miss
Hopefully this is the start of my turning around the meds situation once and for all
My doctor said he is going to reduce
My methadone over the next few weeks
But I'll believe that when I see it
So all in all
It was a good result
And I feel hopeful about the future
It just goes to show
When I do the right thing
And be honest
Good things do happen
I'd also like to thank all of you for your support, well wishes, advice, comments and emails
You guys have saved my sanity more times than I can count
Your support means more than you will ever know
Thank you
For being there
For listening
Reading
For your words of wisdom
Your honesty
Your candour
For telling me what I need to hear
And not what I want to hear
Good friends are hard to come by
And I am blessed to count you among mine