The Drugs Don't Work

I really try to avoid going to the doctor.

In Japan it's pretty easy to get sick, with the close proximity of people on the trains, and to quote another teacher's comment, the "germbags" that come into the kids classes. After they cough, I REALLY don't want to touch the flash cards after they have.

Anyway, like I said, if I can withhold paying a visit to the doctor I will. There've been times when I thought I had a cold or something, but it wasn't worth the cost of seeing a doctor, or missing a day of work.

On Saturday afternoon I had some aches in my shoulders, and I was unusually exhausted by the end of the day. At the end of that shift I made a makeshift bed out of cushions to rest a while before going home.

On almost arriving home I felt short of breath, and had to take quick, sharp breaths. I couldn't sleep on my stomach or on my side. My chest felt tight, and uncomfortable. You'd think that'd be reason enough to see a doctor immediately, but luckily by the next morning I was breathing normally. Only this time I was feeling dizzy.

Going to work on the Tuesday my head was spinning a little. It's not the worst I had it, so I just soldiered through the day reasonably ok.

It was still lingering on Wednesday so I called in sick. I was going to see the doctor in the afternoon, but it looks like it just so happened that he was finished by midday, so I had to go in today.

He gave me some drugs, and organised a blood test. According to the test he figured I just had something like a cold. I don't know if its just me, but I think medicine in Japan is quite weak, and while I was feeling better eventually, I swear the same symptoms back home were alleviated in a day or two.

For days after I was still feeling weak. It just makes me think this medicine is just a placebo. A good but virtually unavoidable rule in Japan, is that you just don't get sick here, it sucks. If you don't know where your nearest English speaking doctor is find out now, before you get ill.