A couple of weeks ago my left ankle swelled up and became extremely painful, I could hardly walk. I was shuffling around like Quasimodo so I decided I needed to see a doctor. This was no easy decision for me as I am extremely adverse to strangers poking, prodding, demanding bodily fluids and sticking painful needles into my person. I usually would prefer a severe beating than a visit to a medical clinic.
Fortunately, my employer maintains a clinic on premises so I shuffled in hoping for a quick resolution to my problem. A quick exam and a prescription of strong pain pills was my goal. That was not to be.
The initial screening consisted of a blood pressure test. I failed miserably at this and attention quickly turned to my hypertension and the painful ankle I originally came in for took a back seat. This scared me as I could see the concerned looks on the faces of the medical technicians and the doctor.
A bit of background. I have what is called "White Coat Syndrome" where anxiety is experienced in a clinical atmosphere. My pulse rate and blood pressure go way up just by entering a hospital or clinic. It is like a fear of heights, a phobia. It reaches a pinnacle when they wrap the pneumatic cuff around my upper arm for the BP test and they pump it up. Since I was in my 20's I have always showed elevated pulse and blood pressure rates in this situation.
So with this in mind, the doctor forbade me to work for the next four days (Yay!) and sent me to an emergency room downtown where I was to get some blood tests and x-rays done. Since it was a holiday, no specialists were available to interpret the results.
My foot still hurts.
The next day I had to go to an orthopedic specialist all the way downtown. I have a manual transmission car and grimaced in pain every time I had to use the clutch pedal. The doc diagnosed my condition as gout, a buildup of sharp crystals in a joint caused by consuming too much red meat, beer and seafood. All my favorite things. He prescribed some pills but told me to only take them after the pain and swelling subsided (WTF!) and to quit consuming my favorite things.
My foot still hurts.
The next day I had to see a cardiologist about my blood pressure. Another painful drive downtown. I had an EKG done and when wired up thought I could end up on the operation table in 24 hours with my chest cracked open for open heart surgery if they found anything amiss. I was sent off wearing a machine that checked my blood pressure every 30 minutes for 24 hours. that was fun, especially when trying to sleep.
My foot still hurts.
The next day I had to take yet another painful drive back to the cardiologist for the results. Turns out that my BP is slightly elevated but can be controlled and lowered by exercise. I must also give up caffeine, alcohol, salt, meat, soft drinks and other favorite things. I quit listening after the first few. I refuse to live like a monk. Quality vs quantity is how I live.
My foot still hurts.
After days of running around I found out I was actually quite healthy. None of the tests revealed a serious problem. Every medical professional I dealt with seemed competent and cordial. I never had to wait for hours (like in the US) to see the doctor and I was treated quite well. As far as costs, I was only charged a copay of 50 Dirhams ($14 USD) and the prescriptions were totally free. They even let me keep my x-rays!
But my damn foot still hurts! It's getting better though.
0 коммент.:
Speak up your mind
Tell us what you're thinking... !