Go see the doctor

Lou: At some point Dan had the idea that we should visit various businesses to hear their spiel (in Spanish) and thereby practice Spanish. I don’t think that idea stuck too long, could have had something to do with the Herba Life “party” he ended up at once…

Sorry to bore you with health ailments, but in the last few weeks we’ve had the opportunity to get a little Spanish practice in the practice of health care. After returning from Buenos Aires I developed a ferocious cough. I had a few thera-flu packets (thanks Aya!) that helped me sleep at night, but after finishing them I went to the pharmacy looking for the anti-cough active ingredient—only to find that that active ingredient (which is over the counter in low dose in the US) could only be given with a prescription. So, I bought some lame cough syrup that didn’t help a whole lot. I could feel that I was getting very slightly better each day, but after a week of almost non-stop coughing, Dan couldn’t take it anymore. We went to Hospital Central.

There were tons of people waiting in a few different lines when we entered the lobby area. We went to the central desk, and Dan told the lady about my ailment. She told us to go to the emergency room & told us where it was, but after we didn’t get it right away, she was really nice & led us downstairs. (but I wonder how many people had to wait while she was showing us around!)

I haven’t mentioned that this hospital is free. There are other hospitals & clinics that work with different health insurance companies or that one could visit but aren’t free. Some people have told us that Hospital Central is a bad place to go, others have said that it is fine.

We brought our books expecting to wait for hours since I didn’t have an appointment (as waiting for health care seems customary in the states), but within about 20 min or less they had seen most of the 15 people in the waiting room & had called us. The waiting room was very simple, just a few benches. The next room looked as one might imagine a free hospital. It was a bare walled room with a couple of curtains for privacy for each of the 2 patient benches. The benches had some plastic covering that was torn & peeling. Not the most hygienic looking furniture, but they weren’t performing any surgeries or anything here. This was just to get the preliminary examination.

The doctor obviously wasn’t used to dealing with foreigners because he didn’t bring the language down a notch, & I was glad that Dan was there because I wasn’t understanding him much. There was no: let’s take your weight, your blood pressure, let’s get a throat culture… like in Minn. He listened to my lungs with a stethoscope & said they were good. Then, he disappeared for a little while. He came back with a little light (not even a tongue depressor!) and looked in my throat. He said I had inflammation, gave me a prescription, and sent us on our way. Turns out the doctors’ signatures may be the same the world over because when we arrived at the pharmacy they didn’t seem to be sure what was written!

I took the $2 pills (cheapest prescription I’ll ever have!) for about a week. I still was getting slightly better each day, but still having some horrendous coughing bouts (I was thinking, “its not fair, I don’t even smoke!”) Many people were talking about how bad their allergies were at this time, I decided that maybe allergies were the root of the problem. So, I tried some over the counter stuff like Claritin. Finally, two weeks after the first doctor visit, I went to a clinic that specialized in ear, nose, and throat. I wasn’t sure how much faith I had in the first hospital. I knew I would have to pay, but wasn’t sure how much, so I brought 200 pesos with me.

Even though I had a horrible accent and wasn’t real sure in what I was saying, the receptionist seemed surprised that I didn’t have local health insurance & said, “You know you have to pay…” She made an appointment for me in an hour and seemed apologetic that that was the soonest time. (To get an appointment that fast in Minn!) I went over to another window & paid my 40 pesos (about $13). I was in the commercial area so I was not too bummed that I had an hour to window shop.

This time I brought my asthma medication, the pill blister with the name of the stuff I was taking, the allergy medication & poured out my little pharmacy for the doctor. I told her that I had had a cough for a month. She shined a little light up my nose & in my throat & told me that I had Sinitus and inflamation. She came back with the prescription that was a box that said it was a cortisone injection. (Side story starts here: when Dan had a cold in Mexico he went to the pharmacy & the lady tried to give him a syringe with antibiotics. When he told her that it wasn’t what he wanted she made some snide remark about the gringo not wanting to give himself a shot!) So, I’m a bit confused—is she going to give me this box & send me home? I start telling her no. She asks, “You don’t want an injection?” and I tell her that I’m not accustomed to giving myself shots! She tells me that she can have someone give it to me. I’m still not sure if this was her original intention, & I misunderstood --or if she was really going to send me home with a syringe!

I went into a little nurses station that looked a little more like a clinic room in the states. It had the paper covered bench a sink & other common hospital type stuff, except for the fact that there was a burner with a tea pot of hot water. For sterilization, or just to keep the mate flowing?! The nurse was really sweet & when I left I asked if I was done or if I had to pay for the shot. She replied, “No, mi amor!” Needless to say, I walked home very slowly. After two days, I was almost completely better, and the apartment is a much more peaceful place for Dan!

So, for $13 I saw a doctor and a nurse and got a cortisone shot. How much does each of these things cost in the states?! I imagine it would have been at least a $200 bill for these 20 minutes. Though I’m pretty sure that the course of action in the states would have been different. I think cortisone can be hard on your heart & can’t imagine them giving such a thing without knowing any medical history! I did a little research on the net & saw that it is sometimes given to people that are having an extreme asthma attack to control the inflammation of the lungs (which asthma essentially is). (I think it is also different from a cortisone shot one might get in a joint)