Those of you who are wondering why it took me so long to post another blog... here's why... after returning from Amritsar, I was well for about a day, then I think my entire body just shut down. I had a high fever, the shivers, and vomited every few hours. It was worse than when I was ill in Amritsar just a few days before! These symptoms were practically unknown to me because in the U.S. I swear to you I very rarely get sick. After vomiting and being fever-stricken the first day, I decided to visit the doctor on day two. The closest doctor, was just a 10-minute walk away, but I lacked the energy to merely get out of bed, so this walk seemed to take ages. I felt like a mummy just being released from my ancient coffin after thousands of years of laying in one spot. My body ached and I was out of breath by the time I reached the front door. But I made it!
I visited a Tibetan doctor. What exactly does this mean? Well, it means that I stepped inside an office, that looked more like an administrator's than a doctor's office. I sat down next to a Tibetan man seated at a neatly organized desk. He says, “Tashi Delek,” which basically means “Best Wishes” or “Hello.” He then proceeds to check my pulse and ask me what my symptoms are. He does this for about minute or two, then felt confident enough to prescribe medication.
The medication that he prescribes is not your everyday antibiotic or Advil. Nope, Tibetan doctors prescribe herbal medications which, as he said were all natural and have no side effects. He also wrote a list of every type of food I should NOT eat which included, milk products, oil, spices, sweets, dry nuts, mango (ha, regardless of his advice, I wasn't having this anytime soon!), papaya, raw salads, green chilli, and icy drinks. So your next question may be what could I eat?! Well, the doctor didn't write that down, but when I finally felt up to eating again (about a day and a half later) I munched on Tibetan bread slathered in butter and rice. Mmm Mmm good! Believe it or not, especially the Tibetan bread tasted so magical! I could taste every grain of flavor, and my taste buds were jumping for joy at being able to fuel my body.
Oh, by the way, my visit to the Tibetan doctor was a total of 190 rupees or about $4.40 (including the cost of medication). Sure beats the health expenses in the U.S.!
But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself... I wasn't able to eat immediately after visiting the Tibetan doctor. I tried one pill that he gave me when I reached home that morning. I had to crush it up with my teeth then swallow it. It was one of the most repulsive medications I'd ever consumed! It took everything I had just to keep it down!
A little later that day Eric ran into our friend, Lee. She is an American who frequently comes to McLeod Ganj for meditation, to visit her many monk friends, and to enjoy practicing Buddhism. Eric told her that I was sick again (She had already heard about our rendez-vous in Amritsar.) Lee was very concerned that I'd had a relapse so she insisted on taking me to an Indian doctor whom she visits anytime she's feeling ill.
So off to the Indian doctor I went. Luckily he was literally a 20-second walk from our guest house. I went inside right away (I was his only customer, at the time.) I stepped inside, sat down in an administrator-like office and wondered if this would be any better. I was still feeling like a slug anytime I stood up... so fatigued I could barely make it to the bathroom. One time when Eric was away teaching our class, I had just finished in the restroom and as I walked back into the bedroom, I lacked the energy to even keep myself upright. I almost fell over right there as I was stepping out of the bathroom.
Anyway, back to my doctor's visit... Similar to the Tibetan doctor, he took my pulse for a minute or two and listened to me dish out my symptoms. He then proceeded to give me medication, tell me way too quickly what each medication was for (and these medications are not labeled with what they are supposed to be used for... they only give the name of the medication and that's it, so by the time I reached home I had forgotten which medication was for what! Argh!).
Oh, also after discovering that I am Punjabi, he really took a liking to me. He gave me a big slap on the back, which made every last bit of energy that I had extinguish on the spot.
I happened to tell him that I had visited a Tibetan doctor that morning and he scorned me for doing such a thing. He ordered me not too take the Tibetan medicine as if it were a poison that should not be tampered with. (Little did he know, after taking the one Tibetan pill from before, I had already decided I wasn't taking anymore. Why do you think I was so eager to see the Indian doctor?)
So the rest of the day went by and the next morning I wasn't feeling any better. I was most frustrated by these doctors because they were merely giving me medications that treat my symptoms. No one was telling me what was actually wrong with me, and then treating the bigger picture! I could've had malaria for all I knew and was being given medication for nausea and diarrhea. So the next afternoon Eric suggested (for the third time) that we visit the hospital. This time I took him up on his offer, in hopes of finding a Western doctor on the premises.
We took a taxi down the mountain to Dharamsala. Then grabbed a number to get in line at the hospital. We waited for 30 to 45 minutes, then I told Eric that I was too sick to sit there anymore. The patients were not moving in and out very quickly. At the rate they were going I would've had to sit there for another 2 to 3 hours! So Eric told the clerk that we would be back. We took a taxi home, and I slept for another 3 hours. Then Eric, our friend, Choegel, and I ventured back down the mountain again. It was around 4:00pm by that time and there was only one doctor left in the building. We walked upstairs, and thank goodness Choegel, who is a monk, was with us this time. Choegel has a way of being first in line. Even though there were about ten patients still in the room, he walked up to the doctors office, and told the doctor something which prompted him to bring me in right away!
I went inside to see a Tibetan doctor, a Westerner who may be a student shadowing the doctor, another patient, and two other younger Tibetans taking blood pressures. When I stepped in, the doctor took my pulse and asked about my symptoms (Hmmm... sounds familiar.). Then he perked up when he saw my shirt. It said “University of Pittsburgh.” He asked me if I went to school there, and I warily said,”Yes,” with the little energy I still had left. He said that he'd been there many times for medical conferences.
I was honestly thrilled to hear this news. This meant that he'd had some training in Western facilities! HURRAY! OH! And he proceeded to actually diagnose me! Would you like to know what I had? Drum roll please... the Stomach Flu! Yup, as simple as that and I felt like every limb on my body was ready to collapse to the ground. With relief I got up and let a Tibetan man around the age of 25 take my blood pressure. I think he was confused with the results, because I always have low blood pressure anyway, so being sick, my blood pressure was probably even lower than normal... after trying twice, he beckoned one of the other nurses to take it for me.
After my numerous visits to doctors from every part of the world, I came home and basically slept off my Stomach Flu for the next two days. It was around this time when I actually started eating again... Tibetan bread and rice at least. *Sigh... well, it wouldn't be India without a story (or two) about being sick in your stomach, right?
I visited a Tibetan doctor. What exactly does this mean? Well, it means that I stepped inside an office, that looked more like an administrator's than a doctor's office. I sat down next to a Tibetan man seated at a neatly organized desk. He says, “Tashi Delek,” which basically means “Best Wishes” or “Hello.” He then proceeds to check my pulse and ask me what my symptoms are. He does this for about minute or two, then felt confident enough to prescribe medication.
The medication that he prescribes is not your everyday antibiotic or Advil. Nope, Tibetan doctors prescribe herbal medications which, as he said were all natural and have no side effects. He also wrote a list of every type of food I should NOT eat which included, milk products, oil, spices, sweets, dry nuts, mango (ha, regardless of his advice, I wasn't having this anytime soon!), papaya, raw salads, green chilli, and icy drinks. So your next question may be what could I eat?! Well, the doctor didn't write that down, but when I finally felt up to eating again (about a day and a half later) I munched on Tibetan bread slathered in butter and rice. Mmm Mmm good! Believe it or not, especially the Tibetan bread tasted so magical! I could taste every grain of flavor, and my taste buds were jumping for joy at being able to fuel my body.
Oh, by the way, my visit to the Tibetan doctor was a total of 190 rupees or about $4.40 (including the cost of medication). Sure beats the health expenses in the U.S.!
But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself... I wasn't able to eat immediately after visiting the Tibetan doctor. I tried one pill that he gave me when I reached home that morning. I had to crush it up with my teeth then swallow it. It was one of the most repulsive medications I'd ever consumed! It took everything I had just to keep it down!
A little later that day Eric ran into our friend, Lee. She is an American who frequently comes to McLeod Ganj for meditation, to visit her many monk friends, and to enjoy practicing Buddhism. Eric told her that I was sick again (She had already heard about our rendez-vous in Amritsar.) Lee was very concerned that I'd had a relapse so she insisted on taking me to an Indian doctor whom she visits anytime she's feeling ill.
So off to the Indian doctor I went. Luckily he was literally a 20-second walk from our guest house. I went inside right away (I was his only customer, at the time.) I stepped inside, sat down in an administrator-like office and wondered if this would be any better. I was still feeling like a slug anytime I stood up... so fatigued I could barely make it to the bathroom. One time when Eric was away teaching our class, I had just finished in the restroom and as I walked back into the bedroom, I lacked the energy to even keep myself upright. I almost fell over right there as I was stepping out of the bathroom.
Anyway, back to my doctor's visit... Similar to the Tibetan doctor, he took my pulse for a minute or two and listened to me dish out my symptoms. He then proceeded to give me medication, tell me way too quickly what each medication was for (and these medications are not labeled with what they are supposed to be used for... they only give the name of the medication and that's it, so by the time I reached home I had forgotten which medication was for what! Argh!).
Oh, also after discovering that I am Punjabi, he really took a liking to me. He gave me a big slap on the back, which made every last bit of energy that I had extinguish on the spot.
I happened to tell him that I had visited a Tibetan doctor that morning and he scorned me for doing such a thing. He ordered me not too take the Tibetan medicine as if it were a poison that should not be tampered with. (Little did he know, after taking the one Tibetan pill from before, I had already decided I wasn't taking anymore. Why do you think I was so eager to see the Indian doctor?)
So the rest of the day went by and the next morning I wasn't feeling any better. I was most frustrated by these doctors because they were merely giving me medications that treat my symptoms. No one was telling me what was actually wrong with me, and then treating the bigger picture! I could've had malaria for all I knew and was being given medication for nausea and diarrhea. So the next afternoon Eric suggested (for the third time) that we visit the hospital. This time I took him up on his offer, in hopes of finding a Western doctor on the premises.
We took a taxi down the mountain to Dharamsala. Then grabbed a number to get in line at the hospital. We waited for 30 to 45 minutes, then I told Eric that I was too sick to sit there anymore. The patients were not moving in and out very quickly. At the rate they were going I would've had to sit there for another 2 to 3 hours! So Eric told the clerk that we would be back. We took a taxi home, and I slept for another 3 hours. Then Eric, our friend, Choegel, and I ventured back down the mountain again. It was around 4:00pm by that time and there was only one doctor left in the building. We walked upstairs, and thank goodness Choegel, who is a monk, was with us this time. Choegel has a way of being first in line. Even though there were about ten patients still in the room, he walked up to the doctors office, and told the doctor something which prompted him to bring me in right away!
I went inside to see a Tibetan doctor, a Westerner who may be a student shadowing the doctor, another patient, and two other younger Tibetans taking blood pressures. When I stepped in, the doctor took my pulse and asked about my symptoms (Hmmm... sounds familiar.). Then he perked up when he saw my shirt. It said “University of Pittsburgh.” He asked me if I went to school there, and I warily said,”Yes,” with the little energy I still had left. He said that he'd been there many times for medical conferences.
I was honestly thrilled to hear this news. This meant that he'd had some training in Western facilities! HURRAY! OH! And he proceeded to actually diagnose me! Would you like to know what I had? Drum roll please... the Stomach Flu! Yup, as simple as that and I felt like every limb on my body was ready to collapse to the ground. With relief I got up and let a Tibetan man around the age of 25 take my blood pressure. I think he was confused with the results, because I always have low blood pressure anyway, so being sick, my blood pressure was probably even lower than normal... after trying twice, he beckoned one of the other nurses to take it for me.
After my numerous visits to doctors from every part of the world, I came home and basically slept off my Stomach Flu for the next two days. It was around this time when I actually started eating again... Tibetan bread and rice at least. *Sigh... well, it wouldn't be India without a story (or two) about being sick in your stomach, right?
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