A few years back, the Mrs was suffering from repeated dizzy spells, it was finally proven to be a thyroid issue, and was all fixed up, but early on she went to the ER, and the fuckin bozo gives her 2 days of fucking Prozac, for the love of fuck.
Never mind that 2 days of Prozac won’t do any good and potentially lots of harm, they never even asked her thing fuckin one about any of the numerous contraindications.
Needless to say, I binned them as soon as she got home.
Oh yeah, this one fucks a lot of people up. The two medicines for hypothyroidism is T3 and T4. T3 is not available at all in Taiwan but is in pretty much the rest of the world. For most, T4 is usually better since it’s less potent than T3. But for many, switching to T4 really messes them up.
Hop on the ‘blue line’ and exit at Far Eastern Hospital station, it’s right there at the exit.
You must be Scottish
In my experience its pretty much par for the course here. I had 2 issues over the years here where I’ve seen multiple doctors had tests and procedures without solving the problem which went on for months. Went back to my home country, seen a GP, correct diagnosis, correct meds and problem solved within a week for both issues.
There are some good doctors, it’s just difficult to find them. I know an excellent ENT who treated me properly and solved a sinus issue where 2 other doctors insisted an operation was the only possible solution. Its next to impossible to make an appointment with him however as the hospital he works from only allow a minimum number of repeat visitors to the popular (good) doctors, most of their patients are new.
Works for Denmark .
Here we go 
Danes would disagree right now. Following closely, health care costs is on the forefront of political debates. Recently polling shows over 50% of Danes do not trust the public health care system and it shows as 33% of Danes have taken out private insurance. They have gradually made retirement age 73, the highest in the world, to keep up with gov expenses. It’s a ticking time bomb as the population age.
The best thing about Taiwan is the cost and following the speed of seeing a doctor when you need it.
But the rest, unless you manage to get a appointment with one the more reputable doctors , you’re best off diagnosing what you have yourself and bringing it to the doctor. You need to take control and be an advocate for your treatment, more so in Taiwan probably. Which is fine by me, I go in asking for what I want and leave with it for 200nt including the drugs.
Taiwan seems to have followed the uk model . It’s very similar to the uk nhs if the 70s . Easy to be seen quickly , cheap medication and virtually free treatment . I fear the same problems will transpire . Costs spiral naturally with more advanced drugs and procedures , life expectancy rises, management realizes that managers can save costs on paper… result loads of highly paid managers chasing more savings in staff and facilty costs . Diminishing returns . Retaining doctors and nurses became harder as they could earn so much more overseas . ( taiwan has a slight advantage as fewer nurses speak English fluently perhaps ) . The uk nhs is in total failure at the moment. It is heartbreaking to see . Hope Taiwan sees the mistakes and can preserve a great service ( in spite of the weaknesses)
That sounds about right. You have to do a lot of prep work and research on your own to narrow it down before you go to the doc or they’ll just try random combos of treatments and tell you to come back and see how it goes. I always thought it was a language issue but I also found you have to go in and advocate for what kind of treatment you think will help you.
The quality of docs can really vary too. It’s almost case by case with the competency level. I had plantars fascitis on in both feet from playing hoops for years, had MRI’s (they cost me like 50 bucks!) and cortisone shots but the problem woudn’t fix…3 different docs, diff hospitals. found the right physical therapist after several years and in two sessions i could ‘run’ again and had no prob walking.
That should probably be stated as ‘additional’ private insurance, mostly it’s the hospital part. Something that many people do in Europe, to cover for a private room and all the extras that come with it.
Soon people will be on average 100+, so plenty of time to tap the coffers.
Thank you, everyone for the support and advice. It was mostly helpful to learn about people’s experiences and whether I was having a common issue with the system.
To update: I ended up finding a pharmacy that would sell antibiotics. They were extremely helpful and listened better than the doctor who saw me.
After a few days, however, I felt that I was getting worse. Upper back pain, extreme tiredness and overall feeling like a heaping pile of trash. I was convinced it was a kidney infection. I finally told my employer, nearly in tears, because I had been so frustrated. She informed me that I need to ask her to help me with appointments from now on. She knows a lot of people where I live, and she was able to slide me into a spot right away (unfortunately at the same hospital in Sanxia). This was helpful, but unfortunately my issue became very public to my entire job. Everyone asked how I was feeling. When you have a uti because you didn’t pee after sex, and your boss keeps yelling, “drink more water!” over the room partition…it’s just…different. There is no privacy. I have decided to give up that expectation. At least she can make appointments for me in Chinese. But now I have to rely on this. And I would rather go to a more updated hospital.
We went to the hospital and every culture came back negative for a uti. Which was hella frustrating. Because it was obvious to me. And I have had them before. The doctor did not speak fluent English but kept telling me that he hoped his English was good and is working on it. Honestly found this unprofessional because I just wanted him to treat me, not keep apologetically stating the obvious.
They performed several kidney scans and everything came back negative. Guess who hopped right into the room during the kidney ultrasound? My boss. Sat there watching the screen like a football game…
(???)
Eeeek.
My pride is forever gone. But the doc prescribed me new meds. The day later after stopping the pharmacy ones, I was feeling better. I believe that the kind I had been taking actually mimicked an upper uti, because my muscles were sore, exhaustion, etc. I only have a few days left of this new medication and have seen results. All in all, it turned out for the better.
Lesson learned: Culture happens in different countries. Sigh
Welcome to Taiwan!
if you figure out how the system works and take some time to find a right department using Google translator, you could make an appointment online.
Most hospitals have similar format, and many big hospitals have English reservation page too.
Online reservation/appointment: 網路掛號
This is the page of En Zhu Gong
https://ws.eck.org.tw/EckNetReg/Kreg/DivList.aspx?Func=Reg
The page lists departments they have. You click the department you need to go, then you see list of doctors name and date. Click the slot you want to make an appointment, then fill your info on the next page.
you figured this place out. Have a stiff whiskey you’ll feel much better
This may not be a good idea while she’s on antibiotics…
Wow, thank you so much! I thought I had to call them.
