An apple a day... What?!? I thought it was 7 cups of coffee?!?!

In my country hopping life I've rarely found time to go see a doctor. Or, you could say that I have managed to avoid seeing a doctor for an indecent amount of years, regardless of several complaints that I habitually try to 'walk off' (possibly a remnant of my work for the Girl Scouts). A year and a half ago in Mexico I actually attempted to walk off a gallstone the size of a grape. Lo and behold I ended up in emergency surgery at 2 in the morning, and consequently had my entire gallbladder out. Pretty gross, but luckily I was out for most of it, and my dear husband was left to deal with things - en español. When I woke up he knew they had operated, but wasn't quite sure on anything else, even though he had actually signed a permission slip (note to self: make hubby also learn the new language beyond restaurant terms).

So, now that Ciproflox antibiotics are no longer as readily available as they were in Mexico (over the counter, no prescription needed), I have recently had to visit an actual doctor (and not diagnose myself on the internet with all sorts of parasites, cancer, and such). Turns out, I had nothing to fear, but the fare itself, and by this I mean the cost of having someone poke needles in your arm, that obviously is entirely without circulation, since no blood is coming out in any painful angle. In addition to the consultation fee of around R300, for the lab tests I had to fork out R2200. I hope the insurance is sorted out soon, since these costs are depleting my shoe-money stash fast.  

Still, I actually was not horrified by the whole ordeal. First of all in SA you are not made to wear a surgical gown with your butt half hanging out. Small victory! The doctor was super nice, laid back, yet very thorough, and she was actually the first doctor in a long time who did not immediately zero in on what they all seem to see as the root of all of my complaints, my overweight. In the past I've had 'helpful' healthcare professionals explain to me how I should really "eat less" or "go on some sort of diet", and then have them look baffled when my complicated insulin issue comes out. Well, I can tell you, with the healthy BP of 125/80, I almost kissed the doctor on the mouth (people who are not in love do this here, another long story...), when she said that so far everything is looking "as it is supposed to". I might just escape this one without too many complications and win peace of mind for some years to come. I'm due back for my results on Friday.