Doctor Office Frustrations

Ever since Steve and I started dating, we go to his family's house in Boston for Christmas. It is an awesome time with lots of great company, delicious foods, and fun traditions. The only challenge is that usually four or five cats join us for the holiday festivities. If you know me, then you know that I am (very unfortunately) extremely allergic to animals and of all animals, I am most allergic to cats.

To prep for our visit, I always take loads of preventative allergy and asthma medicines. However, this year that proved to be much more difficult than I had ever imagined:

A few weeks ago I made an appointment and went to see Dr. März, an English-speaking German doctor recommened to me on Toytown.

I asked her to prescribe me the preventative asthma medicine that my doctor in the US had prescribed me the past four years. Instead, she gave me what she said was the German equivalent, a Budesonide inhaler, and five minutes later I was filling my prescription at the pharmacy.

After a few days of taking this medicine, I started waking up wheezing twice every night. Also, my throat became inflamed, I had a cough, and my mouth was swollen every morning. At first I it didn't register why this was happening, so I kept taking the inhalant. Then I realized that the only thing I had changed in my routine was the Budesonide.

Finally, I looked up its side effects online (http://www.medicinen...er/article.htm, http://www.netdoctor...100002197.html, http://www.nlm.nih.g...s/a699056.html, http://www.nlm.nih.g...s/a699056.html):

As it turns out Budesonide can cause wheezing, a sore throat (in 1 in every 10 people that take it), difficulty falling or staying asleep, along with many other problems. And guess what, I was being hit with just about all of them.

The next day, I went back to see Dr. März and tell her that I was having trouble with the new inhaler. As I checked-in, one of her nurses asked me to go down to the pharmacy and get the German names of the medicines I normally take. Once I returned, the nurse forgot I was there and I ended up waiting two hours to see the doctor. When I went to ask when I could expect to see the doctor, the nurse was horribly, and I mean horribly, rude. Finally, I got called into Dr. März's office to discuss the issues.

As if things couldn't get worse, Dr. März denied that Budesonide has any side effects (all of which are listed on hundreds of websites including the three above).

She blamed my symptoms on diseases and allergy inducing things floating around Munich, did not even look at my throat, or really listen to anything I said (for that matter). She also looked at the German names of the medicines I usually take (provided by the pharmacy) and said that I did not need those medicines. Instead, she tried to prescribe me yet another asthma medication, which I frustratingly declined for fear of similar results.

So now I'm back to square one and looking for a new doctor in Germany...

Luckily, because of the German health care system, I can visit any number of doctors in a three month window by paying only 10 Euros at my first visit and then none thereafter. Thanks universal health care!