July 26, 2007 -- Doctors and Pitaya

We had our first doctoring experience when Eva ended up in the hospital about 18 months ago. It was a good experience, and a very reasonable one in terms of expense and care. We have just had another experience, again Miss Eva leading the way. It was also good, but just gives a new slant to the administration of medicine in the US by way of comparison.

Eva has had migraine headaches before but had not had one for several years. What began, she thought, as a sinus headache four days ago did become a migraine, with all the sensitivity to light and sound, difficulty seeing, and incredible pain. So finally, yesterday, she called her doctor. Turns out her doctor is on vacation, but he had a replacement, someone she'd never heard of or met, but who would be taking her doctor's calls for the 3 weeks he is out of town. This doctor, name of Gomez, didn't speak to Eva, but through what Eva said via telephone to his receptionist, who is not a nurse, prescribed some anti-migraine medicine for Eva to take.

I went and bought the medicine at a pharmacy and asked the clerk who waited on me about Imitrex (a medicine I knew of from friends who use it in the US and from Eva's use of it there as well), which was not what was prescribed by this doctor we'd never seen. There is a European version of Imitrex called Imigran, and the pharmacy had that. Although this medicine normally requires a prescription (and is godawful expensive like $25 US for two pills), the clerk sold it to me in addition to the other medication, apparently assuming that there was a problem with migraines and one of these meds would solve the problem.

A day and 2 Imigran tablets later, no improvement, so I insisted that Eva make an appointment to actually see the doctor to be sure there was not something else going on besides a killer migraine. The receptionist, who mistakenly called her Maria Carmen Carnitas (a type of well cooked pork), told her to come in and she'd find a slot for Eva to meet with the doctor. We sat in the reception area for what seemed like hours, but was in fact about one hour, while Eva practically killed herself trying to deal with the light and the noise of a TV, piped-in muzak, and others sitting around talking. The last straw was an unusually bratty and whiny child (whom we all wanted to smack and wondered why her parents didn't and expected that her incredibly patient and kind older sister someday would smack her but good) coupled with a newborn who was crying and could not be comforted, both in the same small waiting room. Eva, frustrated and in pain and at the end of her emotional rope of tolerance, burst into tears and the receptionist realized she had better take one of the crying individuals out of that room and so got us in to see the doctor pronto!

The very kindly doctor examined Eva and talked to her for about 15 minutes. He asked us to go get some blood tests, but said there was no rush. Go home and feel better first and then come back to have the blood drawn, he advised. The problem is indeed migraines and this one had just gone on too long. He prescribed some strong pain pills (narcotics he said so be careful), to be taken with an anti-nausea pill, to finally knock this out and a preventative pill to be taken on a regular basis, as well as something specific for this migraine. So we go down to the pharmacy and fill these prescriptions (without any additions based on hearsay), head home, and put her back to bed. And she is feeling better already knowing it is not something more serious and that there is hope the pain will subside.

Now, in the US, I have been able to self-diagnose with a severe cold or flu and call my doctor who would prescribe Zithromax by phone; however, I've known this doctor probably 20 years and been treated by him or his colleagues for closer to 30 years. And if our wonderful friend, John Ziebell who bought all the generic drugs for Walgreens, were still with us, we'd have called him to see what his suggestions were for the latest thing in drugs for this problem.

But being on our own in a foreign land, we are appreciative that doctors will first let you try to solve your own problems and even prescribe your own pills, but are still willing to see you and help you if YOUR efforts don't work!!


On a garden note, our pitaya (which has been blooming for some time now with magnificently scented flowers that bloom only for one night -- see image at left) has finally set some fruit that is turning shocking pink, meaning it is ripe for the picking (the part that becomes fruit is above the flower here and will bulge out round and turn hot pink). And when it turns shocking pink and is ready to pick and to eat, it is white inside with tiny black seeds. Resembles a kiwi fruit most but about 6 times the size and just astounding looking and sweet tasting, but not so gooey sweet as a kiwi.
We grew this by sticking some stalks in the ground and waiting for a year!! We've probably had 30 blossoms that are still in stages of blooming and fruiting and ripening. See ripened version below.

Our long, tall cactus, which also has 8 large blooms on it (that rather resemble the look of the pitaya blossom and should be opening as flowers) has been overwatered by the amount of rain we've been getting lately and so the tips have turned black. We don't think this is a good sign!