8. Professional help...

I went to see the doctor, and discussed what had happened. As most GPs would, Olga checked my blood pressure, listened to my heart, and asked about my family history. I've always treated GPs as a last resort. I have studied the human body, and the human mind over the course of my education, and feel I have a strong grasp of the subtleties and workings of the human body. I have often felt that my understanding of MY body, is better than that of most GPs I've had to darken the door of. This was different. I was looking for answers, and could only dream of a GP-esque diagnosis of "soft tissue damage" or "a virus". I could tell by the way she was lingering on the subjects, that she had her heart set on either hereditary migraines, or stress. "When was the last time you had a holiday?" She asked. I replied coarsely, "I don't need a holiday - this isn't stress!!" She moved on, "Are there migraines in your family?" "That isn't it either...my Mum gets migraines but they're diet related - I've done nothing different." I answered. I saw a hint of frustration on the doctor's face, but knew that she would face thousands of people every year whose own prognosis was worse than reality. I pleaded with her, "I never come to see you - I'm not a hypochondriac. Something is really wrong." The doctor squinted, and asked, "What do you want me to do?" I'd stumped her. She asked me to see how I got on, and suggested pain killers to take the edge off. She offered to prescribe me 'something stronger', but I declined. I didn't want to hide this...I wanted it sorted. A sample of my blood was taken, and I went home.

I tried to think outside the box. What else could've been causing these problems. I scoured the internet in a vain attempt to find out what was going on. I glanced out of the spare room window to see my answer, or at least I thought I had. "Carbon Monoxide!" I shouted. That's it!!! It was a genuine 'Eureka' moment. I went back on the internet and researched the subject. When I'd looked out of the window, I'd seen my 1995 5-series BMW. It had cost me £560, and I'd been dubious of the validity of its 12 month MoT. It hadn't missed a beat, but had it been slowly poisoning me? I looked at the symptoms of chronic carbon monoxide poisoning - it was like reading the transcript of my visit to the doctor. Fatigue, headaches, concentration issues - I was convinced that I'd found the answer. I bought a pack of carbon monoxide detectors, putting one in the car, and one in the kitchen. I set the car running outside the flat, and left it for an hour. Excitedly, I went out to check it. Nothing. Foiled again.