Trip to the clinic (Marc)

Marc here. Well, I've got a story to tell for this blog. My trip to the doctor! It's an exciting story that I have to share with all of you.

I spoke to some of the teachers at the school, and they suggested I visit a clinic very close by. Mind you, I'm visiting only to get some medication for my acid reflux. So, I get all of the fancy words prepared to talk about my diseases, and I type them into my cellphone. So, I went to the clinic, and they were very kind to me. The nurses gave me the sheet of paper to fill out, and took my insurance card. I then began to fill it out, answering each question as I could. I pulled out my electronic dictionary, and apologized that I was taking so long. After clarifying that I didn't have any major illnesses and was not pregnant, I handed in the paper.

I was promptly handed a cup. The cup was a usual paper cup, with no top. She told me what to do with it, but I didn't fully understand. I could figure I knew what she wanted, since she pointed towards the toilet as she handed it to me. I clarified through the dictionary that she indeed wanted me to urinate in the cup; after all, I wasn't about to use gestures to clarify THIS request. She led me to the bathroom, and it went just fine.

Next I returned to the desk, where I was promptly whisked away into the room where they took my blood pressure. There were two hospital beds and 4 stools in front of them. People were sitting on two of the four stools, right next to where I was having my blood pressure taken. The lady responded that it was very good, and spoke in Japanese to Kim, who had no idea what she was saying. She told me to sit down on a little stool. I looked around, and noticed that everyone could see everyone else, even the guy who was lying on the bed next to us. It felt a bit uncomfortable, to be honest. The nurse spoke to Kim again, and I felt obliged to tell her that Kim is not Japanese and doesn't speak the language. She apologized, and we all laughed briefly. Kim returned to the main waiting room, and I waited on the little stool.

The doctor called people one by one, and all you had to do was walk around a small partition to see the doctor. Everything you said was easily heard by everyone else in the room, so hopefully what you have is not embarassing! The doctor was a little discouraged that my Japanese wasn't fluent, and he seemed confused by the request I gave him for the medication (the name was written in Japanese). I told him I wrote all of the information on my cellphone, but he promptly told me that it is not acceptable to have a cellphone on in a clinic. OOPS! That made things difficult. After a brief period of going back and forth trying to talk about my problem, he finally understood what I had told him all along: it's acid reflux! He asked me about a few procedures, and I told him I had all of those things done, and that the diagnosis was GERD (gastro-esophigal reflux disease, though I might have spelled it wrong). He gave me some medicine, and told me to use it for 14 days, and see if that solves the problem. I told him it would not solve the problem because I've had it for over 5 years and I need medicine daily. He seemed confused, and told me there is no medicine to treat GERD. I think he meant that there is no cure, which is true. I requested pills daily, but he refused and said I can contact him again in 14 days if I need more; I'm going to contact him, for sure, so why didn't he just give me the pills!?

Anyway, they told me it was finished and I quickly left. I noticed he had been looking at his watch during our discussion, and so I felt a little less than totally cared for. I went to the front desk, and they told me to sit down and wait. I was then called back up about 3 minutes later. She asked if I understood the directions for the medicine, and I said that I did. She then told me the price for this entire visit, including the medicine I was taking home: ¥1610. That's a little less than $14 American. Without my insurance, it would have cost me about $45 American. I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap the whole event was.

Did I mention that there was no appointment necessary? I made the decision to visit the doctor at about 3:30 PM, went to the doctor's office at about 5:00, was seen and got out by about 5:45. Other than the language confusion and the lack of privacy, it seemed to be a great experience. Try it sometime, if you get a chance.