Doctor Visits

I have entered the world of socialized medicine.  In some ways it's really good once you know how the system works. 

It is a slow process to see specialists.  You visit your general practitioner doctor (whom you have to declare to the government for their records) and ask for referrals to specialists.  The specialists visit from the Netherlands every couple of months.  This means that you have to get into the cycle to see them which often takes months.

My first visit was to the internist to get my colonoscopy scheduled.  He wanted my records from the US to assure him that I was instructed to get the procedure every 3-5 years. Then the anesthesiologist calls to schedule the procedure and discuss the drugs they use (which are the same as in the US). The gastroenterologist, who is on the island from the Netherlands, only every couple of months and we are gone for the next two months, I scheduled for November. 

My next stop was the dermatologist. He gave me a once over and declared that I have no trouble spots.  This only happened after he told me to take my cloths off right in front of him.  No paper dress, no nurse just me naked with the dermatologist.

He told me some interesting stuff.  He said 1 in 10 people usually get skin cancer and on the island 8 out of ten get it.  He told us to put on 50 sun screen every day and every two hours.  Which is nuts. Nobody does that and we are all here for the sun.  Rick and I will be more diligent about putting our sunscreen on but it won't be every two hours.

I wanted him to take off some bumps, moles and warts.  I had suggested using liquid nitrogen like they use in the US.  He said he would shave them off as it is a better method.  Yikes, that sounds like it's going to hurt!  He told me the removals were not medically needed but rather driven by my vanity. Geesh.  Anyway, I will get these removed (for my vanity) in November.