This too will be a shorty as I spent some time at medical. NOT TO WORRY, I happen to have AWESOME health insurance so things I would have ignored in the past, not so much. I have found a hospital center that hosts a number of specialty clinics. You do NOT need a referral to see a specialist, you just have to pick the correct department for what ails you. About 2 weeks ago, I had a sore throat, my glands were swollen, my ears hurt, and it was difficult to breathe. Having had pneumonia a few times before, and with all the goobies going around the dorms, I knew to keep a close eye on my phlegm. As soon as it, like the leaves in fall, starts to change colors, it is time to take is VERY seriously. It hadn't changed yet, but man it was hard to breathe.
I went home early on Tuesday and woke up Wednesday morning to visit a close/local clinic. He ruled out asthma, based in part are an x-ray, and part on an almost listen to my lungs. What is an "almost listen" you ask? In Saudi, we are wearing that black robe thing (the loathed abaya) and the doctors, even with a woman nurse present, DO NOT WANT you to take off your clothes and DO NOT WANT to touch you anywhere under the abaya, except to poke your tummy. So he maybe caught the top 1/4 of my lungs over the collar of my abaya, and that was it. He referred me to a pulmonary specialist.
So, stopped for lunch, and then off to my hospital center, which is where I should have gone in the first place. I saw the specialist, who did another over the abaya listen, and he referred me to the ER for a full work-up. He said he was not able to order x-rays for what he felt was all in my head. So, headed to the ER where the female doctor took x-rays and actually listened to the whole lungs over my abaya. Se agreed that I did not have asthma, did NOT have pneumonia, or any other awful chest thing, that what I had was an issue with dust. Just as China was pretty much filthy, Saudi is 100% dust 100% of the time. The ONLY time it is not dusty is when it rains. I have been here going on 4 months and it rained about 3 days. That may have been all we get. So, I have to keep my window closed, wear a mask to go outside and sleep with a humidifier. They gave me a couple of doses of nebulizer and sent me home with an inhaler in case it gets bad again. They are doing construction in front of my place, so I am f'd for now.
Today's trip was about my knees. It totally feels like I am kneeling on glass when I kneel. The knees don't hurt to walk or hurt when I bend, but what was an occasional pain is becoming more frequent and not just when I knee. I explained to the orthopedist that I kept falling up the stairs when I tripped on my abaya. He just nodded. So, after more x-rays, he announced that my knees were younger then they looked and it was the cartilage that was irritated. He prescribed lotion and told me to take the Naproxin Ian was good enough to send me for the pain. I just wanted to rule out anything serious.
What I failed to mention, was that the total cost for seeing 3 doctors, 2 sets of x-rays, 2 nebulizer scripts, and an ER visit (including expensive cab rides there and back,...about $56 TOTAL out-of-pocket cost. Today's little visit with the knee doc...$56, and that included a latte, donut, and sandwich for dinner tonight. Not bad.
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