Whole lotta nothing going on

Wow, it's been 10 days since I last posted a we haven't done anything except fight this horrible flu bug....yes both of us.  We even cancelled our trip to Switzerland because we were convinced that driving that far from home (only 2 hours) would kill us.  We have coughed, sneezed, complained (him only) and ate soup until we're both about to go mad.  He finally went back to work Tuesday and what a blessed day that was because I had my first ever international doctor experience!  Seriously, you just don't go see a dr for something simple like the flu, bronchitis or anything that might eventually run it's course without medicine.  Yep, it's true what my Granny always said "That that doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger" but it damn near killed us both.  Then I got a bladder infection so no home remedy was gonna clear that up....trust me I tried eating yogurt, drinking 6 liters of cranberry juice, hot baths, lots of water and even drank warm baking soda drinks but nothing was gonna help without the use of medicine. I have a long history with bladder infections so I know the what it is!  My dr back home wrote me a script for the pain meds associated with the infections but not the antibiotics which I totally understand why but I'm dying here.   Mark's company has a doctor on staff that makes visits to the plant every week....think he'd have mentioned that before Tuesday and me dying but no.....so his assistant makes me an appointment but I need to go to his office.  I can do that and oh, BTW take a urine sample with you...ok, seems weird but I can do that.  I pack up my sample, my baggie of meds and head over to his office which is really close to the apartment....thank goodness because I'm still coughing, ect from the flu.  I get there and it's a beautiful office with this really nice lady sitting at the front desk.  She greets me by name and asks me to fill out some paperwork....yeah, I know I can't read German then I realize it's just a simple  piece of paper that she wants my name, address, date of birth and phone number on.....nothing else!  No medical history or anything!  Then she asks for my urine sample which I promptly hand her and she cringes because it's red/orange so I tell her that's from medicine that my dr back in the states had prescribed....I've lost her and the dr comes out at this point and he's totally confused.  Guess this isn't a common practice or treatment over here but hey I was looking for some relief.  He asks me to step into his office and have a seat so I'm thinking he's going to take my medical history but no he's just wanting to get to know me.  Whatever dude, have I mentioned that I'm dying here?  I explain my long history with bladder infections going back to childhood, what my dr has done in the past and here's what medicine I'm taking.  He looks at my little baggie of sleeping pills, depression meds and headache meds along with the urine changing wonder drug.  He's never heard of some of these so can I please explain why I take them...ok that's understandable but then he asks about half way in "How long are you staying in Germany and do you expect me to write for these pills"?  "Um, no my dr in the states has taken care of that so I really only need an antibiotic to help me with the bladder issue"  besides dude, my health insurance won't work over here so it's out of my pocket money but I didn't say that.  Now he wants to discuss why I take depression and anxiety meds plus sleeping pills because they just don't do that here.  Did I understand that allowing my body to function as normal was best?  Yep that's right, I can just dissolve into a crying puddle of goo while sweating profusely because everything is "new" and I'm not sleeping and oh yea, I have a migraine that hasn't gone away in years because that's what would happen if I didn't take my meds....trust me Donna on drugs good, Donna off drugs not a pretty picture.  Finally he gets that I'm not buying into the whole idea so he starts researching antibiotics on his computer that should help me without interacting with all my other meds,  Thank goodness, we're finally getting somewhere so he prints me out a script and tells me I need to find a pharmacy to fill it which I already know are hard to find but I can manage.  Then he walks me to the front desk and she starts checking me out.....no one else is in the building...no one waiting, no phones ringing, no sales reps waiting to bring in lunch, nobody!  It's surreal but I like it because I'm not going to get another illness while waiting in the waiting room with 100 other people coughing, sneezing, throwing up, ect.  And the visit only cost $35.52 euros which is amazing because they did "lab" work and everything.  Shocking wasn't even close to what I was thinking because we figured the office visit would be around $200Euro then the labs and medicine another $100 so I was happy.  I remembered a pharmacy was close to the bank so I walked down there but they were closed for lunch....go figure.  But there is a cute coffee shop, MoccaSins and they have a really nice staff so I head over there for a treat to wait until the store reopens.  I love (not) how stores around here close from12:30 or 1:00 for at least 1 1/2 hours or longer every day for lunch even the banks!!!!!  Just such an old concept for us Americans that believe we should be able to do anything 24 hours a day.  Do you remember when stores used to not open until 10:00 AM or closed on Sundays?  I do and I'm getting back into that mindset again.  So the pharmacy reopens and I head in there to again no one waiting!  What?  Seriously, I had the guy my script and he rummages in a card catalog type file box then hands me a box of medicine.  No questions,no name,  no small talk just here it is and that's $16Euro.  No directions on how to take it, nothing, nada, zilch!  So now I'm taking the antibiotics and starting to feel a little better so I totally live thru this week but I seriously had my doubts Monday night.  I'm a good nurse for others but I'm a horrible patient because I just want to be left alone but someone should also anticipate what I need and bring it to me cheerfully...ahem with lots of love, patience and tenderness not complain how bad they feel, how they are sicker than me or suck it up instructions....not helping. Seriously, hope everyone else is doing well and I promise no more complaining until at least the next time I'm sick!  Ha, ha!