These last few weeks have been an absolute shitshow.
It all started, ironically enough, when I managed to get an interview for a dream job - and I felt like my luck was changing. The interview date was set for the following week.
The next day (a few Fridays ago), I woke up with a sore neck. Thought nothing of it ("must have slept in a funny position"). Three hours later the pain was excruciating, truly unbearable, and I couldn't see properly out of my right eye. The left half of my vision in that eye was a flashing rainbow.
I rang the doctor, and got told I have to fill in a form on their website before anyone will even TALK to me, let alone see me for treatment. So I fill in the form, and it says that given the symptoms, I need to dial 111 (the non-emergency, but-still-semi-serious version of 999).
I dial 111, and the lady tells me it's either just a pulled muscle and a migraine, or a trapped nerve, and I need to make an appointment with my doctor. IF ONLY I FUCKING COULD!
So I rang the doctor. "Have you filled in the form on the website", they said. "Yes", I said, "and it told me to ring 111, who've told me to ring you to get an appointment".
"You can't get an appointment without filling in the form - if you fill it in properly, it will give you an appointment". Cue me losing my fucking mind.
Then, she says "oh hang on, when the form asked for your pain level between 1-10, what did you put". "Well, considering the pain is literally blinding me, I put 9/10."
"Oh, there's your problem! If you put 5/10 or over, it won't let you get to the appointment stage - it'll tell you to call 111 instead." WHAT FOR? SO THEY CAN SAY "SOUNDS SERIOUS, BETTER RING A DOCTOR"? And of course, by this point, they had no appointments left.
The next day, having managed no sleep from the pain (I can't stress the pain enough, like the feeling of being stung by a wasp at the top of your spine unendingly)... A doctor asked me to go in to be seen. By this point, I had (and still have) lost feeling in my left shoulder. Completely numb, other than "pins and needles".
His diagnosis? "Wry neck". Prescribes diazepam and amitriptyline, i.e. heavy painkillers and something to help me sleep through it.
Today, the pain is no different, but I can sleep thanks to the amitriptyline. The doctors are telling me to carry on and it'll eventually get better. But I don't see how.
I ended up paying to see a chiropractor - which isn't covered by the NHS, for me anyway, because the doctors say it's just a pulled muscle. The chiropractor is certain it's a trapped nerve, but could only offer the same "plan of action"... Take painkillers until it gets better (and, go in for a regular neck twisting / pummelling for £35 a week).
I'm too off-my-face on painkillers to work, in too much pain to stop thinking about how much pain I'm in, and I'm shitting myself that I might get in trouble at work if this doesn't magically fix itself in a few days.
Oh, and that interview? I asked if I could postpone it, because there's no way I could do it with the pain I'm in at the moment...
...they never replied, and the role has now been filled.