8 Jun
I don't usually post wins because honestly there haven't been many lately but this week felt different and I want to write it down before I forget it happened. I've been keeping a little notes app log of my bleeding for about six weeks now. Not obsessively, just date it started, roughly how heavy, how many days, whether I felt completely wiped out or just normal tired. It started because I had a GP appointment coming up and I knew I'd walk in and go blank like I always do. This week I actually went. And for the first time in years I didn't leave feeling fobbed off. I had the notes on my phone and I just read from them. Didn't have to guess. Didn't have to say "it's quite heavy sometimes" and watch her nod vaguely. I could say it started on this date, lasted this many days, I went through this many pads in a day on the worst days, and I had to leave work early twice because I was too exhausted to function. She actually listened. Referred me for bloods. Mentioned iron. Asked about my sleep. It was a ten minute appointment and I came out feeling like an actual person who had been taken seriously and I nearly cried in the car park. I know one good appointment isn't everything sorted. But it felt like a tiny door opening. I'm keeping the notes going. And I brought a spare change of clothes to work today for the first time without feeling ashamed about it, which is its own small thing. If you're dreading your next appointment, the notes thing genuinely helped me. That's all. x