My First Doctor's Appointment At The Caja

I had my first appointment with a Caja doctor, and everything went swimmingly. I had heard horror stories of having an eight o'clock appointment and not getting in until eleven or later. Everything with my appointment went off like clock work. My appointment was for 8:00 AM. I weighed in, had my blood pressure taken, saw the doctor and was out at 8:45.

My new doctor's name is Dr. Carolina. She looks like she might be 25 years old but, of course, she is older and so sweet. She is a general practitioner but wants to go into internal medicine when she can. She has to work in the Caja for at least a year first. She asked me a little about my history, but told me she would talk more in-depth after she got my blood tests and mammogram back. We went over the medicines that I take on a regular basis. She was able to prescribe everything except medicines for menopause until she gets back the mammogram. In the mean time, she told me to just go to an outside pharmacy and purchase my Estradiol. No prescription needed! After our visit was over I went to a check out window where they stamped all the prescriptions she had written for me three times with dates and other information. I took these to the pharmacy in the CAJA, and they were all filled for three months for FREE! When they handed me the bag full of my medications I had the urge to run just in case they made a mistake in giving them to me at no charge!

Dr. Carolina also gave me prescriptions for blood tests and the mammogram which I was to take to another building called CISA and make my appointments. It also turned out to be a very easy process. Luckily I ran into my friend, George Lundquist, who speaks Spanish. I would have been in a little trouble with this part of the process if he had not been there. In the end, I now have appointments in November for all my free blood tests and mammogram. In January I return to my doctor to go over all the results and finish my physical.

Yesterday I ran into my new doctor in the grocery store. It made me so happy. It was such a warm feeling like being back in my small home town of Greenville.

Doctor's Office and Free Pharmacy

Pura Vida!

How To Make A Doctor's Appointment In Costa Rica

I did it! I guess it is silly to always be amazed when I accomplish things here, but I always am. It is a different country with a language I understand very little of. It has different customs and the medical system is Social. It is the opposite from what I am familiar with. So, today I walked into the Ebias, found the window for Ebias number One which is the area I live in, and made my first doctors appointment.

I thought I could just walk into any doctor's office, hand them my Seguro Social (Caja) card and make an appointment. Wrong. First I had to find out what area I was actually in. I called my neighbor, Manuel, and he told me I was in Ebias number one. From there I found out I had to go to the Seguro Social office, find the number one area, and make an appointment with a doctor. Then there's the problem of trying to ask if there is a doctor that speaks English. The guard at the front door did not speak English, so through my terrible broken Spanish he finally understood I was needing area one to make an appointment. The girl at the window for my area did not speak English, and I could not get internet service on my phone for Google Translate. Somehow, again with my words not sentences in Spanish, she figured out what I wanted and started making the appointment for me. As she was almost finished she called a very pretty and very young girl over. She was asking her something, so I asked the girl if she spoke any English. She said yes, some. I told her what I was trying to accomplish, and she said it had been understood and my appointment would be on Thursday with her. She was the doctor! I would have guessed her at 18 years old. Seriously, the Ticos really age well here.

I am not sick. I need to first see a doctor so I can start getting my medications through the Caja for free. It has not been the smartest thing on my part having not taken care of this 5 months ago when I first got on the country's insurance program. I think I was just exhausted from all the other legal things that have to be accomplished when you first move here. I've spent money I did not need to on meds. I am really excited to start getting them FREE!

If you did not read any of my past blog posts my full coverage medical insurance with free medicines and free doctors appointments is $44.00 a month. That's correct, $44.00 a month! I may not get in to see the doctor as fast as I want, or may not get into a surgery right away if it is not an emergency, but it's free when I do. If there is an emergency, and you cannot wait to make a doctor's appointment, you just go to the emergency room and are taken great care of. I can live with this!

I will let you know how my first appointment goes and the thrill of receiving free prescriptions.

Pura Vida!

Effects of The Rainy Season in Costa Rica

I am still pinching myself and in awe that I actually live in this beautiful country called Costa Rica.

We are deep into the rainy season. October is supposed to be the wettest. Last week we had 3 full days of non-stop rain. No sunshine that long is not fun, and I am one of those people that needs the sun. The country, however, is lush and green from all the rain. I have not heard last weeks rain totals, but the week before was 43".

Now for a little warning. I noticed at the beginning of last year's rainy season I was coughing. Then I came down with bronchitis. That is not unusual for me. I had it chronically as a child, but out grew it. I did get it occasionally the last few years in the States, but it seemed to be viral not just me with bronchitis. Now this year...shortly after the rain started I began that little hacky cough off and on. Then I came down with a light case of the flu followed by a 5 week hard episode of bronchitis. I am beginning to think the rainy season may be the culprit. We all know with a lot of wetness comes different molds, and some people are very allergic to mold. Some nights, not many but some, I step outside to let the dogs out and it is so foggy/cloudy in the mountains that I almost feel like I'm breathing water, and my lungs are not in favor of that. So, I will see how it goes next rainy season. I am going to beef up my immune system during the months of April and May to get ready. My warning would be if you are a person with lung issues you may want to think about this before moving to Costa Rica. Since I am in the mountains where the air is cooler and the clouds, when it rains, are at the same level. There may be other areas of the country you would want to consider.

As a side note, my daughter, son-in-law and his whole family were here in August. We spent five days in a beautiful mountain top villa overlooking the Pacific in Manuel Antonio. We had the most wonderful time and visit. On the sixth day my daughter, son-in-law and two friends that came with the family came back to my house with me. I immediately fell sick with the flu. Before they got out of here to avoid the plague my son-in-law hooked my Roku up and loaded Netflix on it for me. My I just say, that may have been the best gift I have ever received. It saved my sanity during those weeks I was shut in trying to get over bronchitis.

View from our villa pool

Look who came to play

The girls snorkeling in the Pacific off the catamarin

The whole family on the catamaran off Manuel Antonio

That being said, I still love it here. I love the lushness, all the incredible birds, nature nature nature, and the sweet Costa Rican people. I still recommend it as a great place to retire.

Plants growing on the trees

Living level and above the clouds

Pura Vida!