FFF (22)- Is this an emergency?

As most of you have probably already caught wind (seeing as how I like to notify everyone when I’m suffering), I caught a pretty nasty disease in Vietnam.  After a trip to the international clinic, $175, and a handful of meds later, I still had that damn disease.

If I have any medical advice for anyone in the States, it’s to finish ALL your meds.  You know when you’re doctor prescribes you 10 days of antibiotics for a simple cold and after day 5 you start complaining, wondering why you have to down pills for 5 more days after your cold has “passed”?  And then you wonder why a week later you somehow get another cold, twice as bad as the first?  I’ll promise you it wasn’t that snotty child hugging all over you.  If you would have just taken those extra 5 days of goodies, then you could have avoided the pain.  Literally.

Quick biology lesson- During those first 5 days of antibiotics, the weak bacteria are slowly being knocked off.  Your body begins to feel a little better because most of those little buggers have burst and passed through your system.  But those few tough guys are still hanging around.  In those latter 5 days, the antibiotics would have (typically) killed off any strong bacteria.  So when quitting halfway through the strong bacteria have time to multiple and begin taking over your body twice as bad the weaklings that your first 5 day supply killed off.

Being a part of the complaining party, I decided not to question the Vietnamese doctor when he provided a 5 day antibiotic prescription.  Not to mention, I didn’t want to be a rude guest of his country.

A mere one day following my last dose of antibiotics, I began having a fever, chills, muscle weakness, and excessive fatigue.  After calling in sick and sleeping until 2pm, I awoke with abdominal pain, followed by extreme diarrhea.  It literally hit me twice as bad as the first round.

I was so dehydrated when Brandon returned from work (in a 5 hour period since the diarrhea began) that walking was impractical, fainting a viable possibility with every movement, and speaking nonexistent.  Carrying me down four flights of stairs, into the car, and into the hospital Brandon got in his workout for the day and I began to see the light of hope…

Until I learned the ins and outs of Korean응급실.  Following blood tests, X-rays, IV antibiotics and fluids, the doctor said he could give me a one day prescription.  Excuse me?  A FIVE day prescription didn’t take care of these bad boys, what do you expect a ONE day prescription to do?

Well then he rudely informed us that he was only a 응급실 doctor and that I would have to come back tomorrow to see another doctor.  Severely frustrated from his tone and the lack of understanding of the Korean healthcare system, we were saved by a Korean-American soldier who saw the irritation and decided to lend a hand.

But from his translation, the only thing that I remember (and for valid reason) was:
“Is this an emergency?  If this is a real emergency, then why didn’t you go to Seoul?”

WHATTTT?!  Well to answer your first question, I’m in the emergency room.  To answer your second question, I would have died of dehydration on the 2 hour trip up to Seoul.

So the 응급실 in Korea is slightly different than the 응급실 in the States.

Going out the 응급실 the same way that I went in- draped over Brandon’s arms- I vowed to never go to the Korean 응급실 after 6pm, upon which time it basically shuts down.

To quickly wrap up the story up, 2 visits to the internal medicine doctor between the hours of 9am and 6pm, and 10 more days of prescription later, I think I’ve finally kicked this thing.

Lessons learned:
응급실 Doctors are grumpy
The 병원 shuts down after 6pm
응급실 are much more expensive than seeing a doctor between the hours 9-6
A 응급실 is not really for emergencies
Take antibiotics for the full 10 days and question any doctor that tries to give you less