Thursday, May 14, 2009

Whacky adventures in German medicine

Oh the Germans, they are an endless source of entertainment. I went to my German English speaking doctor today. We debated the pros and cons of American medicine, which ended with me getting a bone density scan to settle an argument. Ha! I win, there's nothing wrong with my bone density. Suck it, Germans! I drank milk as a kid and eat a ton of ice cream! But seriously, the Germans are very concerned about their health and believe a μg of prevention is worth a kilo of cure. As such, they have given me all sorts of ultrasounds on different organs and tissues, all normal, thank God. The only thing they find is that "Your muscle tissue is very thin. There is something wrong. You need exercise" Signs of my pesky old neuromuscular disease show up on their scans and they don't like it. The doctor suggested some permanent medical procedures and surgeries that would replace some of my stop-gap measures to prolong my mobility/life. But do I trust the Germans to administer any medical procedure, let alone surgery? She could quote me the procedure prices in €, and they are actually affordable compared to the thousands of $ I would have to spend in the US. Something to think about, I suppose.

3 comments:

  1. coming soon to a theater near you: Adventures in Health Care starring Barb Schimdt. :) Any impressions of German emphasis on nutrition as part of that ug of prevention? If you spot any guidelines or handouts Please snag one for me!

    My husband is proud of his euro-surgery (shoulder). He says you can't come close to the value, compared to astronomical fees for surgery here in the US.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Georgie, they are bonkers over nutrition as a means of disease prevention. And yeah, surgeries are cheap. You can get a simple surgery/procedure for under €1000. I think even getting your wisdom teeth out in the US costs more than that. And for Bruno, his teeth cleaning in the US was over $350. Here, they told me it wouldn't be more than €175. Bargain basement prices :-D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you get what you pay for? HA-HA Can't wait to get together with the kiddies!

    ReplyDelete