Doctor's world

I guess this is will be the life of my posting from here on out, at least up until the middle of December. Things have just been really busy here. On that note... I have been having stomach pain and some stomach issues for the past few months. Thought they would subside as I began adjusting to the food and the like but as of Tuesday I finally got fed up.

I decided to make a visit to the hospital. Met with a doctor and explained my symptoms in a mix of English and Japanese and he recommended I returned on Thursday (today) to get an endoscopy (they stick a camera down my throat and look around in my stomach). Turns out I have two ulcers. Yay. Doctor says it's from stress. I told him I feel more relaxed than ever then he asked how I was sleeping. I realized I wasn't sleeping well at all - and I hadn't been since I got here. He said the stress must be subconscious - probably from packing up and moving to a new country all alone - and thus caused the ulcer. Firstly - bacteria causes ulcers (Helicobacter pylori to be specific). Stress merely agitates them, but I could see his point. 

This whole endeavor showed me a lot about myself and Japan - besides the inside of my digestive tract. So let me start at the beginning of my adventure. First I was made to wait in a huge waiting room filled with old people. They called me into a strange room which was just multi-purpose room consisting of several beds and a table with shelves of supplies behind them. They asked me which arm I preferred and proceeded to start me on a saline drip. While I was waiting for them to get set-up I asked why all the supplies were labelled with the prices. Thinking this was how they tallied my bill I waited while she explained "It puts pressure on the staff to double check before making any mistakes. If we use the wrong supply it is wasted and thus the money is wasted. By knowing exactly how much everything costs we are less likely to make mistakes." What brilliant logic!

Needless to say, she still made a mistake. Shortly after getting my IV going, she realized she hadn't taken any blood from me and thus had to stab my other arm to get a few tubes. Oh well. Got into the exam room and after changing nurses, they gave me a series of instructions about what they were going to do to me next. Too many details to repeat but the important points are that they laid me down facing the screen so I would be able to see exactly where the camera was going and what the doctor was seeing. I might have thought it even more cool if I hadn't been trying really hard not to spit back up the giant tube down my throat. Gross.

Here comes the real kicker though. The doctor prescribed me the medicine, assured me I will begin to feel better in a few days and should be healed within 8 weeks. He then asked me if I knew of a certain bar. I have been there numerous times so I answered yes. He apparently has seen me there... I think he might have actually brought me a drink... Awkward. I will go back in 4 weeks but I feel better already knowing what is wrong with me. Tip for people who may need to go to a hospital though - bring money. You have to pay before you can leave - for everything. Now with standardized healthcare it doesn't cost a lot but once I walked out into the waiting room they asked me to shell out $60 right there. Thankfully it was exactly the amount of money I had in my wallet but it was terribly close and could have been real bad. Eeck. 

In other news, I got my hair cut. It's really short but I like it alright. I needed something I wouldn't have to worry about while I run and now I can just throw on my cap and call it a day. I also got a letter from my grandma this afternoon and a box of my winter stuff from my Dad. Now I should start to feel a little warmer a least since I have been freezing lately. The temps are in the 30s and 40s now dropping into the 20s at night. Eeck. 

I am going rice harvesting with my students tomorrow and I can't wait. Hopefully I will have some awesome pictures for you soon and hope everyone had a great Halloween. Love.