Two Evils

People always tend to talk negative about the health system in the UK but I never had any problems with specialists or hospitals there. They listen to what you’ve got to say and take your complaints serious, they don’t treat you condescendingly or show this annoying superior attitude, they don’t tell you things you already know for years…

In the Lowlands they wouldn’t listen to what I had to say last week about the specialist in the UK and what she recommended, they felt superior and wouldn’t accept her medical opinion. Their reaction was: ‘we’ don’t have that medicine here and ‘we’ feel it doesn’t work. *I feel it does!* ‘We’ have our own methods so ‘we’ are going to do this ‘our’ way…

Gosh… such arrogance!

The specialist in the UK told me that they’ve got much better allergy tests in the Lowlands and that I should have it done there, she was patient, polite and didn’t have the arrogant competitive attitude like the Dutch have. Her treatment had done me good, I wasn’t just a file number, she knew who I was when I visited her six months later.

So now I’m a guinea pig having to deal with people who are not really interested. I’ve been given medication that is kinda new and they don’t know the side effects for longterm use. It burns, stings and it hurts but it seems less damaging to the skin *no hormones*. I can see a difference already but this burning sensation is killing me…

It seems to disappear after two weeks: one week down the road it should be gone. I’m glad it’s winter because the cold numbs it in a way but I’m not looking forward to the summer: let’s hope the problem will be gone by then. I’m not allowed to catch any sunshine either, they’re still doing some serious research on the side effects.

It’s like having to choose the lesser of two evils… I was reminded again of the perfect health system and past frustration with hospitals and so-called specialists.

© Unknown A blank look…

A Mystery…

Monday I had my blood test done and for the first time, ever since I’ve moved here, I was confronted with the bureaucracy of the UK health system and I was not happy about it to be honest. What could have been done in about five minutes took fifty minutes instead and I was sent from one place to the other and back again; most annoying, especially if you don’t have much energy and want things to be done and over with asap. After fifty minutes I finally ended up waiting for my turn to have blood taken and was in and out in five minutes, no pain, no bruises this time.

Today I had to see the doctor to discuss the results of all the previous tests so I took the bus again to the hospital and waited for the doctor to come see me which took about twenty minutes. She took me to a room to discuss things. She told me, all the tests had come out negative for hepatitis, which was a major relief to me. So the only reason why I ended up in hospital with a liver malfunction could be the Chinese tea that I have been drinking for five weeks.

The doctor said I have been lucky, I went to hospital on time, I could’ve ended up having severe liver damage, she said people have died of the Chinese tea treatment. It’s like having allergies, it could harm some but others might never be affected at all. She said this must have come as a bit of a shock to me and if I’m honest it is in a way. I really put my faith and trust in this treatment only to find myself in hospital five weeks later… I will have to come back for more blood test in three/four weeks and take things slow in the meantime.

I have to say I’m happy about the test results but it all remains some kind of mystery to me still…

The hospital, beautiful building