Lesson #15: What it's Like to Visit a Doctor in China

I have to admit, a big part of why I wanted to come teach in China is so I could make a living but only have to work part-time. Despite all my efforts to improve my diet, exercise, take natural supplements, receive pain treatments, and visit all kinds of doctors, my chronic pain has not improved. In fact, it's gotten worse over the years. I came to China with that same chronic pain in my left hip and pelvis. I wish that I could say that after reducing my work load my pain has improved. Unfortunately, I can not say that's the case. Working part-time has definitely helped with my levels of fatigue, although there are plenty of days when I still feel like I have no energy to do anything. Something that I wasn't able to try back home was Traditional Chinese Medicine. Now that I am in China, I decided to give it a try.

I first let my school liaison know that I would like help seeing a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor. She arranged for another teacher at my school to accompany me after one of my lessons. Unlike in the United States, doctors don't just have "clinics" that you make appointments for in advance. Instead, doctors seemingly only practice medicine in public hospitals where no one is allowed to make appointments. Apparently the main hospital for Traditional Chinese Medicine is located in a different district from where I live in Wuxi; so after about 30 minutes, we arrived at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

Once inside, we headed to the registration area where there were about eight registration windows, each with long lines of people waiting in front of them. We picked a line, and waited our turn. When we got to the window, we paid for registration. Then, we had to sit in the waiting area for about 45 minutes. I wasn't sure why we had to wait. Back home, I would've expected for a nurse to eventually call my name and show me to the doctor's office. Instead, after waiting, we went through a hallway and arrived at the doctor's office. Instead of going in, we once again waited in a line at the doctor's door, since he was already with a different patient and there were other patients waiting their turn. As we waited in line, I watched as other patients pushed their way into the doctor's office while he was still with another patient. When it was finally my turn, we sat down. I explained my chronic pain with the help of the other teacher as my translator. In less than five minutes, the doctor thought he had a diagnosis and told me that I would need a CT scan. That definitely seemed rushed; and as we were still talking, another patient had come in and was pushing his way in to talk to the doctor. Then we went right back to wait in the long registration lines to pay for the CT scan. After that, we waited in a different hallway to have the CT scan done. That was definitely an advantage over visiting doctors back home. There was no need to wait and come back three days later (or however long) to get a test done. After the CT scan, we had to wait another 30 minutes to get the results from the doctor. Again, this was much more convenient than having to wait at least a week to hear the results like I did back home. After 30 minutes, we once again went to the doctor's office to wait in line to see him. As I expected, he said the CT scan came back completely normal. He then asked me to lay on the table to inspect my leg and hip. After the very quick examination, he said that he believed I have a trapped/pinched nerve that is causing my pain. He told me to avoid over-exerting myself with exercise or walking and to stay as warm as possible. He even told me that I should buy warmer clothes because my clothes were too thin! Next, he said that he would prescribe me some pain medication, but I told him that I don't like to take drugs. So, he said that he would give me a "plaster." I had no idea what this meant, but I was willing to try it. After leaving his office, we once again had to wait in the long lines at the registration windows because we needed to get the script for my prescription. Then we walked to the other side and picked up my "plaster" from the pharmacy. The "plaster" turned out to just be some kind of hot/cold patch like Icy Hot. Except, after applying this patch a few times, it began to peel my skin off with it! I had to discontinue using it, plus it wasn't really helping my pain. After all that, I found out that I would have to return tomorrow afternoon in order to get my CT-scan films. I don't know why people need them, but that is apparently the protocol here.

Front of the "plaster" box

Back of the "plaster" box

So the following day, I returned to the TCM Hospital with my co-worker. We went to the desk where we had checked into for my CT scan, and they handed me a bag with my films. Then, we walked back to the doctor's office because I apparently had to have him look at the films again. When we got there, he clicked on something on his computer at his desk and gave us a piece of paper, then we left his office right away. My co-worker told me that we would have to wait in the registration lines again! So after waiting in the long lines again, we were allowed to go back to the doctor's office so he could read my results again. Once again, they were completely normal. He asked if the plaster was helping, and I told him that I didn't notice any difference. He said that I could try a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment at the hospital, but that I would have to come there to try it. Unfortunately, the hospital is a little far to go there regularly, plus I was not going to ask the other teacher to miss more classes to come with me again. The doctor was very understanding and told me that he would write a prescription for three treatments, and all I would have to do is show the prescription to the nurse when I arrived the next time, so I wouldn't have to worry about communicating. First, he wanted me to try the treatment out. He walked us back to the treatment area, and introduced me to the nurse. She told me to wait a moment, then ushered me into the treatment room. I was instructed to lay on a table with cushions and a large opening in the middle with small holes. Once I laid down, I realized that the holes were there to allow the steam to come through from the bottom. My guess was that the Chinese herbs were mixed in hot water and my skin was supposed to absorb them. The next time I visited, I was actually able to see the compartment under the table where they place the pot of steaming water and medicine/herbs. The comment that the doctor made about the treatment going "under my skin" made sense. I had been a little worried about what kind of treatment it would be when he had said that! I lay on this table for 30 minutes. Then, the timer went off, and I was free to go. The steam was super relaxing for my muscles and/or nerves. It was like being in a hot tub or sauna, but it only targeted the area that needed help relaxing. I told the doctor that I wanted to continue the treatment, and he wrote me the prescription. After that, (you guessed it), we waited in the registration lines once again to receive my prescription!

I have since returned twice for the treatment. I would say that the TCM treatment helps my pain during and immediately after, but it unfortunately does not help my pain long-term. People have started asking me if I will be teaching in China again next year. The thought of being able to return to working full-time is just so overwhelming right now considering that I'm still in just as much pain as before. I continue to hope and pray that I will find a treatment that brings lasting relief.