Off to the doctor... again!

Boy, it seems like we've been in a lot of doctors offices the last while! 

I wasn't even going to tell this story because it may be nothing... but as travelers, it's always interesting to hear how the medical system works in other countries. So, here it is...

Almost a week ago, Ruth began to think she was getting another kidney infection. She seems to be predisposed to this sort of problem, and when she started feeling the lower back pain that is usually the first sign of an infection, she figured that's what it was.

And she carries some cipro with her just for these situations because that has quickly solved the problem in the past.

But after four days the lower back pain was still there, and getting worse. However this time, it's not accompanied by the typical fever and other symptoms that go with a kidney infection. Other than the pain, she feels fine. She thinks it feels more like a muscle strain, although she doesn't remember doing anything that would have caused it.

By yesterday morning, we were starting to think a doctor visit should be on the agenda. Fortunately, we are staying with Helen and Tony and so they know their way around the medical system here. Helen was able to send a message through a UK medical system called Ask My GP, which communicates your needs and someone calls you back. In our case, Helen had said that she was calling for her cousin from Canada who is staying here, and we got a call back within a half an hour. Explained the situation, and the caller asked for the typical information to start a file in the system. They never asked about insurance, or said that there would be a cost.

We don't currently have medical insurance and we are prepared to pay out of pocket if necessary.

We had given them our phone number, and shortly afterwards received a text message saying that she had a 1:00pm appointment at a nearby clinic and would need to provide a urine sample upon arrival.

So, Tony drove us over there and Ruth checked in at electronic screen when we arrived.

Nobody in the waiting room!

It was very strange to us that there was nobody in the waiting room. And, Ruth was called in at exactly 1:00pm. It was a nurse that saw her, not a doctor. But, based on the exam, Ruth thought she was what we in North America would call a "nurse practitioner".

They did a quick urine test to say that there is no indication of infection. However they are also sending it off along with blood work for more investigation. At first, the nurse said she wasn't sure that they would do the blood tests because Ruth is from out of country, however she checked with some colleagues and they decided it would be fine. We should hear back in two days.

Otherwise, there wasn't much she could do other than prescribe some over the counter pain medication.

In the end, there was never any mention of payment.

So, we were pretty impressed with our one time experience with the medical system here in the UK. Especially considering that we are visitors.

Hopefully that's the end of it, but we'll keep you up to date as we know more.

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Record low deal on this Apple iPad.

And in Canada...

Nice price drop on this ECOFLOW Power Station.