Hospital..

I went to the hospital for my rheumatology appointment today..what a palaver! Firstly finding the entrance wasn't easy. I had a map but it is out of date as there is building work in progress so to get to the clinic I had to go to the entrance to another clinic and trek through corridors. I was early (I always give myself plenty of time at appointments) but didn't have to wait too long. I was then taken into a room and weighed. I have put on about a stone in the three years that I have not worked, but that is only to be expected as I'm not as active as I was. As long as I don't keep putting weight on I should be OK. Then in to see the consultant. A lot of questions and a thorough examination. He concluded that I am in the early stages of rheumatoid arthriris but didn't see the need to actually give me any treatments yet, and that having M.E. confuses the diagnosis somewhat. Then off to have blood taken....4 phials of it...why do they want that much every time ? Then to be x rayed....feet, hands and upper back. The strange thing (well I thought it was strange ) was that I had to remove my my gold chain and cross for the back x-ray..... which I very rarely take off... but not my rings when I had my hands x-rayed. The whole thing, with travelling, took about 4 hours, so now I am really tired. I have to try and be up early in the morning to get to the CAB. There is no appointment system so it's first come first served.....I really need to speak to someone this week regarding my appeal for DLA. (Disabled Living Allowance)