Adventures in medicine

May 23, 2014 22:11

Tonight was the first somewhat negative experience I've had with the Colombian healthcare system.

I've had a headache for 2 & 1/2 weeks. Today I took all the allowed rounds of a prescription migraine medication and spent the whole afternoon with my eyes closed. When I didn't feel better, I decided it was time to go to the hospital.

I went to the hospital, they got my medical history, they ordered lab tests (bloodwork, plus an endoscopy because I've lost a lot of weight) and gave me a painkiller injection. I was dismayed to find that the drug is banned in the US upon getting home and looking it up. I would not have agreed to it at all if I'd had the opportunity to look up the drug online first.

...I'm fine. I wouldn't have agreed to it, but I'm okay, I promise.

Also, all the hospitals here use latex gloves. I am going to bring my own nitrile ones with me next time and shove them at the doctors.

On a positive note, it costs me about 20 USD to go to the emergency room. That's not a post-insurance copay. That's the total price.

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physical health, travel

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