Hello, Dear Readers. I know I promised that I would write about my experiences at Walmart and receiving my pills, etc. But I had quite a bad time, and it's been a stressful week.

It started on Sunday morning, with Joanie's printer not working, as usual. I don't know why, but ever since she bought this new phone, she hasn't been able to print certain things from various people, including some very important ones that made everyone upset. This time, it was the general notes for my doctor and notes about the foods that I eat (no dietary restrictions/allergies, etc. just for knowledge). I was going to bring them to Walmart because they contained a list of medicines that I take (only birth control is a prescription). That annoyed me, especially since I bought my own printer four years ago just so that I could do this for myself, and it still hasn't been set up, through no fault of my own. I called Walmart to explain that I had a week before I was going to see my doctor and needed to receive my Apri. The usual pharmacist wasn't there, but this new one was very nice and assured me that I could do this, etc. She sent the intake form (not sure what it's called) to Mom's phone so that Joanie could fill it out online and make things easier, but of course, Mom didn't receive it. I should have given Joanie's number, but anyway. Mom has been missing messages lately. We later learned that she did receive it, but it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Fortunately, when we got there, the pharmacist understood when we told her and actually worked with me to complete the form so Mom didn't have to. Then, it began. I went with her into the room so she could take my blood pressure. I've had this done many times throughout my life, and normally, it's a quick procedure. This time, however, it was high. So she did it again, and again, and again. She took it several times, and each time, it was too high for her to prescribe the pills. I don't know if it was her or the machine, but she put the cup really high, to the point that the upper end almost touched my arm pit. It was also so tight that it left marks on my arms, since she tried it on both. Eventually, I just decided to go home without my pills. The only good thing that came of it was that I got to eat fish for dinner. But even Mom saw how stressed I was.

The next day, Joanie took my blood pressure and it was high again. But I think it was just my nerves, to be honest. Mom made an appointment for me to see a new primary care physition. She takes care of all of my paperwork, etc. since it's easier that way. Then, we had to call to have my insurance changed to reflect that he was now my pcp. They had an online option, but Mom chose to use the phone. I had to be there for it, so that I could authorize her to answer for me. Fortunately, the wait time was extremely quick and the woman was very kind. We got it done in less than twenty-five minutes!

I've now been without my pill for a week. This is the first time I've been off hormonal birth control since October of last year, and I'm not happy about it. I had the withdrawal bleeding, and my pms returned with a vengeance. I really hope all goes well at the doctor's so that he can prescribe the pills on Monday, or my regular obgyn can do so on Tuesday. To end this section on a positive note, A saved the day tonight by printing out my notes on his printer! He had no problems doing so. I am extremely relieved, to say the least!

On a bittersweet note, with everything going on, I decided to cancel my first day at VLANJ. They're picking me up at seven thirty, which is already early, and naturally, I have to get up even earlier. I absolutely love that place, but I really must consider if I want to do this in general. I think I owe it to myself to try. Anyway, since Mom had a lot of paperwork to do, I decided to call Access Link myself, since I don't need to read anything to do this. I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that they now have what they call a virtual assistant. This is a way that I could cancel and even schedule rides automatically, without having to wait to talk to someone. I was able to do it in a few minutes and was not only proud of myself but glad that this exists! Mom may have the patience to sit on the phone for hours, but I find it to be very inefficient and tedius. This worked perfectly.

Now, I'm just waiting to go on Tuesday so this ordeal can be over. I'm hoping all will be well and that I can return to my quiet life once again.