An American Goes to the Doctor in Germany.

An American Goes to the Doctor in Germany.

I’ve had excruciating back pain for over a year now that manifests whenever I sit or stand for more than 30 minutes.  It’s a pinpoint type of pain that radiates from my eighth vertebrae.  I do okay if I’m walking quickly or lying down but that’s about it.  As you can imagine, it puts quite a damper on our travels around Germany.  We saw several doctors and I had so many tests done in America it would make your head spin.   We’ve been here for three months now and are starting to get the hang of things so we finally found a specialist and made an appointment.

Even making the appointment was interesting.  In Germany there are two types of health insurance: public and private.  There are a lot of complicated differences between the two types (and I won’t pretend that I understand everything about it) but the most important difference is that doctor’s offices love people with private insurance.  Nearly 85% of Germans have public insurance which, I’m told, means they have to wait longer to get appointments and can’t see a specialist without a recommendation from a ‘house’ doctor (basically your family practitioner).  They typically have co-payments that are similar to what we’re used to with American health insurance.

So you can see why we got some raised eyebrows when we just walked into the orthopedic doctor’s reception area and asked for an appointment.  The clerks at the counter found someone who spoke English and we went back and forth for a while about why I needed an appointment.  Then Mr. Meena pulled out his private health insurance card, all questions were dropped, and we got an appointment promptly made for two days later.  I think it’s quite unusual for us ‘tourists’ to have anything other than travel insurance, indeed.

We arrived for the appointment yesterday afternoon and were greeted by an overworked clerk manning the reception area alone.  I sat down and waited for her to be ready to check us in and then watched five more Germans arrive and line up in front of the desk.  Five impatient Germans (is there any other kind of German?) that stood very close to one another and let out the occasional ‘harrumph’.  I was quite relieved when the clerk called us to the front of the line – because I have no desire to do battle with aggressive Germans.  There was another scramble to find the English speaking clerk and then we were whisked away to the exam room.

Now this is when things started getting really German.  The first thing that I noticed was the full sized desk next to the exam table.  None of the mobile computer screens along the wall with a stool beneath them that I’ve come to expect.  Instead there was a huge desk with a desktop computer.  The next difference I noticed was that the exam table was in full view of the main bus stop two stories below – with only a thin veil of a curtain in front of the window.

After the initial questions were over the clerk casually asked me to remove my top as she finished typing notes.  Thankfully I was prepared for this (I even mentioned it here) or I would have been very confused and upset.  Not only did I have to undress in front of her but I didn’t receive a gown to put on.  I sat on the table with only my pants on while she exited the room – putting me in full view of anyone waiting outside.  I’ve never had to meet a doctor without at least a gown covering me.   Usually the doctor comes in and says hello before you have to get undressed.  I had to try to make intelligent conversation about the progression of my symptoms while I was baring all to the doctor and his clerk.  And possibly the people at the bus station if they happened to look up.  Throughout the appointment various clerks would come in and out of the room – once again putting me in full view of those outside the room.  Even after I was examined there was no mention of me getting to put my clothes back on.

I felt so nervous and exposed the whole time.  I daresay it was worse than going to the gynecologist (there’s no way I’m brave enough to do that in Germany, since I’m sure the free body culture would be more extreme there).

I’m just thankful that our cultural trainer had the foresight to tell me what to expect.  It’s the kind of thing you want to know about beforehand.  If I hadn’t of known I probably would have sat and waited for the clerk to leave the room before I undressed, because that is the protocol I’m used to.  And then I would have panicked a bit (okay, a lot more than I did today) without a gown.

Fortunately the doctor was quite adept and I’m hopeful that this time will be the time that we finally get real results and improvement.  Afterwards we went to the Christmas Market to enjoy some glühwein (I had regular wine) with Mr. Meena’s coworkers.  It was lovely, albeit freezing, and we got to teach his coworkers about Murphy’s law, duck duck goose, and how you get your groceries bagged for free in America (I’m not sure they actually believed I was telling the truth about that one).

All in all it was a success.  But I can’t say that I’m looking forward to doing it again.

Featured photo by Amy licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

10 thoughts on “An American Goes to the Doctor in Germany.

  1. For future visits, how about bringing along a shawl or something similar that can be quickly slipped on or off? That way you would only need to be "undressed" when it's time for the exam.

  2. After nearly 9 months of monthly doctor's appointments, and now bi-weekly ones (I'm pregnant), I've gotten a *little* more used to the way clothing is handled here. At the OBGYN, they pretty much ask you to remove your pants, and then you walk, pantsless, over to a chair type thing for the exams. It's kind of unnerving at first, and for the first few times, I just wore skirts because it was easier and I felt less exposed. In general though, I like the way the doctor's offices are set up here. I guess it feels a little more comfortable and a little less sterile.

    1. I agree, it does feel more casual and relaxed here. There's nothing inherently bad about the difference but it can be a startling adjustment at first if you're unprepared. It sounds like you're almost to the finish line though!

  3. Generally, when it comes to an orthopaedic doctor, I'd recommend to research well and maybe visit a clinic that specialises on that. Not only can they do all the MRT-stuffs inhouse, but usually they work with a very particular rahabilitation clinic for all the reha-stuff afterwards. My dad had a herniated disc and couldn't walk/feel his legs. He was carried in and walked out in the evening and he's 64. It requires regular work outs though, but he has been healthier ever since. As for the gyn: I bring my own gown, I'm not big on running around naked either. However I can definitely recommend the gyns, because if you ask for it, you get every precaution check-up you want.

    1. I like the idea of bringing your own gown. We want to take advantage of the good healthcare available to us here – as much as possible. The place we went to was able to recommend a rehab place but wasn't associated with one. I guess we will give it a try and see how it goes. Being in a small town we don't have many options (unless we decide to take the train).

      Thanks for your input, Sarah!

  4. OK that sounds terrifying. I'll take the advise of others here and bring some sort of wrap when I go. Thanks for the heads up. I also have chronic back pain and am fine usually if i'm laying down or in some sort of reclining position, but otherwise after about 30min to an hour the pain starts and just intensifies as time goes on. I feel like I have a poll sticking through my thoracic spine.

    1. I think it's much easier to handle when you are prepared for it, although of course it's bit intimidating, and I think taking a wrap is a great idea. My back pain is very similar to yours – I hope you can find some relief!

  5. At my gynaecologist they always did the talking part first, then I had to go into a little changing area (behind a curtain) and remove the clothing on my bottom half. Walking over to the chair half-naked can be unnerving, but you feel less exposed if you wear a long t-shirt. After the exam, I went back into the little cubicle, put on my bottom clothing and remoced the clothing on the top half for her to do the breast exam. For that she came over to right by the cubicle. Then I could put all my clothes back on and we went to her desk where we discussed any immediate concerns. At no point was I ever fully naked. So if you do need to go to the gynaecologist in Germany, it probably won't be as bad as you expect 🙂

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