Dear Regular Newsletter Readers,
Welcome to this edition of our weekly newsletter. As usual, we have managed to put together an array of education based news articles for you to read, so I hope you find something of interest.
This week, I would like to pick up from where I left off a couple of weeks ago regaling you with my ongoing health related stories, so without further ado here is my next installment:
When I revisited Dr Hasegawa on December 22nd, 2021 to get the result of my CT scan, I learned that my sinuses were clear, but I wondered why I still had the feeling of a lump at the back of my throat accompanied by a dry sore throat and nasal congestion. At this point I was half way through taking the PPI’s for acid reflux which Dr Hasegawa recommended I continue on with and he also recommended that I continue on with the antibiotics I was taking for rhinitis. He also reiterated that for peace of mind I should consider having an upper GI endoscopy to rule out acid reflux. Dr Hasegawa told me to revisit him on January 4th to see if there were any improvements in my condition. As Christmas was quickly approaching, I decided that I would wait until my next hospital visit and at that time book myself in for an Upper GI endoscopy.
I finished my course of PPI’s and antibiotics for Rhinitis on December 28th, but I really didn’t feel any better, and as Japan pretty much closes down for the new year’s celebrations from this time until about January 4th, I thought I would use this opportunity to see if an alternative approach would help to improve my condition. Instead of taking prescribed medicines, I thought I would try to adjust my diet by cutting out all dairy related products (eggs, milk, butter) as such foods cause mucous to become thick; I also decided to stop drinking alcohol and any caffeine related drinks as they generally irritate sinus, rhinitis and post nasal drip related issues. Instead, I started to drink a good amount of water and soya and almond milk; I began eating oatmeal and other grains every morning, as well as lots of vegetables, chicken and fruits such as apples and pears. To be clear, at this stage my medical issues(s) were yet to be confirmed by a professional, I had my own assumptions, but that was all.
On new years day, my wife’s parents and her auntie came to our home to celebrate new year’s day and with them they brought a very large amount of typical and very tasty Japanese new year’s food. For those of you reading this that live in Japan you will be well aware of the different array of foods that Japanese people eat over the new year’s period and my wife’s parents always go the extra mile when they are buying and preparing the food ready for their visit to our home during this time. Barring the tamagoyaki (kind of like an egg omelet) I was pretty much able to eat most of the other food that was laid out on the table. At this stage in the proceedings, I still had the feeling of a burning sore throat, the sensation of a lump at the back of my throat, a stuffy (painful to the touch) nose, bad breath and in general I was suffering with a lot of congestion.
Normally, during the new year’s celebrations in Japan quite a lot of alcohol is consumed and as a general rule I buy a bottle of champagne and a couple of bottles of very good Italian red wine to help to bring in the new year with my in wife and in-laws; however, this time around, what with my health issues preventing me from drinking any alcohol, my mother-in-law waiting for some health test results to come through and my father-in-law announcing very recently that he has given up drinking alcohol the only types of libation we had around the dinner table was water, orange juice and Japanese green tea. I’m not sure exactly what the cause of another symptom that raised its ugly head was, but after enjoying all the food and eating rather heartily, I noticed that I had a very salty taste in my mouth. On top of all the other symptoms that I was struggling with, the last thing I needed was to have another one to add on to them.
January 4th finally came around and still with a feeling of a burning sore throat, the sensation of a lump at the back of my throat, a stuffy (painful to the touch) nose, bad breath, in general feeling very congested and now with a salty taste in my mouth off I went back hospital to see Dr Hasegawa. Upon entering his surgery, he asked me how I was feeling and I told him there was no improvement. He checked me over again and asked me if I wanted to have an upper GI exam just to rule out acid reflux which I said I was now ready to have. He asked me if I had time after his consultation and I said I had. He then directed me to the gastroenterology department and after filling in all the necessary forms I sat down and waited my turn to see a doctor. I wasn’t waiting any more than about 30 minutes when my name was called out and in I went for a consultation which says a lot about how efficient Japan operates its healthcare system. A 30 minute wait in Japan without a prior appointment to see a doctor is pretty good going I think. I dare not think how long I would be waiting in my home country of the UK in a similar situation, probably hours considering how inefficiently the British healthcare system seems to operate these days.
The gastroenterology doctor I saw, Dr Kato, asked me what my symptoms were and after describing them to him and informing him that it had been recommended to me by my ENT doctor to have an upper GI endoscopy to rule out acid reflux he asked me when it would be possible for me to return for the examination. I asked him for the earliest date available and I was told that the following day was possible, early in the morning. I agreed and Doctor Kato asked me whether I wanted to have the nasal endoscopy (through the nose) or the usual endoscopy in through the mouth and having had previous experience of the one in through the mouth and the memory of how invasive I felt it was I figured this time around I would try the nasal endoscopy. Doctor Kato then told me that I would need to fill in some consent forms before I could have an upper GI endoscopy examination which I was already aware of through my past experiences. I was told that after the examination had finished I should revisit Doctor Kato to look at the results of the endoscopy. I was then told to wait outside the doctor’s surgery for a nurse who would explain to me how to fill in the forms and help me to prepare for the impending examination.
The nurse appeared and took me through each of the forms I needed to fill in and confirmed all the important points such as the type of endoscopy examination I was going to have and also the procedure that was involved which again if I was to compare Japan to the UK I would say that in Japan there is far more procedure and explanations given here than in the UK. I think another important point to make is that within the space of 1 day I managed to secure an examination that would probably take me weeks if not months to secure if I was in need of an upper GI examination the UK. Judging by the back log of patients waiting to have specific treatment in the UK, it worries me to think how long I would have to wait in total. One definite advantage of living in Japan is that you can get good medical treatment when you need it and you are not having to wait weeks and months to receive it.
So with a reservation in position to have an upper GI nasal endoscopy for the 5th of January I bade the nurse farewell and off I went to pay my hospital bill. Having an endoscopy examination is not something I think anyone relishes having done, but I just knew that having such an examination was part of the process of elimination journey I was following to try to find out exactly what is wrong with me.
That’s it for this evening, I will regale you with my time spent in the gastroenterology department next week. Until then, have a good weekend and as always, stay very safe.