Home Argh! UTI- medical attention overseas...

[mia1181]

Owie I have a UTI- yet again, for the millionth time in my life.

The problem is I''m in Japan right now. I''m really wishing I would have thought of this beforehand and got some preventative meds but alas it''s too late for that now.

So what should I do?
There''s no way I can have my doctor in the US call in a prescription for me here, right? That''s just crazy-thought isn''t it?

Another option I have is finding a drug called Cystex which is available over the counter and keeps the UTI at bay until I can get home and see my doctor. The problem is what if it gets worse? And then there is the matter of actually finding it, let alone a pharmacist that speaks English...

I''ve looked up doctors through my health insurance and of course none are remotely close... Should I make the journey? Or should I just go somewhere closer and pay out of pocket. Or will that be crazy expensive?

Anyone been through this before? Any help would be soooo appreciated.

Arigato!

 

[neatfreak]

I don''t have any experience in Japan, but when I was living in Italy I found that a lot of medicines that needed a prescription here were OTC in Italy. So I would just go to the pharmacy with a translation of my problem and they would give me the right meds.

Worth a shot! I would bet it isn''t that hard to find a pharmacist/doc who speaks English in Japan either.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Mia - Uggh, sorry to hear you are dealing with this on your vacation! I would suggest calling your insurance, if it's easy to do so. They may have a preferred way of determining which provider to visit for coverage in your situation. If not, are you staying in a hotel? Perhaps ask at the front desk if there is a walk-in clinic that you can visit?

Are you in Tokyo now?

Following NF's advice, here are some pharmacies in Tokyo that are listed as having pharmacists who speak English. http://accessible.jp.org/tokyo/en/useful/english.html Over-the-counter would be great!

These were listed on the US Embassy site. ThinkPark looks good, maybe call their English line first thing in the am and see how far you get.

American Pharmacy
Tel: 03-5220-7716
Maru Bldg. B1F, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6390

Hibiya Pharmacy
Tel: 03-3501-6377
Mitsui Bldg., 1-1-2 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006

National Azabu Pharmacy
Tel: 03-3442-3181
National Azabu Supermaket, 4-5-2 Minami Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0047

ThinkPark Pharmacy
http://www.thinkpark-pharmacy.com
Tel: 03-5745-3001 (for English) Tel: 03-5745-3070
Fax.03-5745-3071
Located inside Medical Mall DOKTORS http://www.doktors.jp in Osaki

Tokyo Medical & Surgical Clinic Medical Dispensary
Tel: 03-3434-5817
No. 32 Shibakoen Bldg. 3-4-30 Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011

 

[Lilac]

I wish I had advice on what you should do - I know just how painful UTIs are! I don''t have advice for your particular situation, but I will say I think you should do whatever possible to get to a doctor ASAP.

It depends on the UTI, but sometimes if they are fast-moving/growing they can get very bad very fast and can result in a kidney infection. I had that happen to me - I ignored the UTI symptoms for a few days and the urinary tract infection spread up to my kidney. That was EXTREMELY painful and requires much heavier doses of antibiotics (which led to many even MORE painful health issues). So my suggestion is to take care of this as soon as possible, even if it costs extra money. It''s worth it to not have to deal with more serious problems a week or two from now.

Whatever you decide to do good luck and I hope you feel better soon!!

 

[mia1181]

Thanks, Neat.

Do you think antibiotics would be available over the counter or do you mean the Cystex?

I''m actually surprised at how few people here speak English. The hotel and train station ticket office have been the only places where people can utter more than a few words. Up until now we''ve been just fine with pointing at menus and gesturing, and I thought we were going to make it out of here without language being a problem! There is a pharmacy right down the street though. It''s very small and local, so I''d less chances of English speakers, but as you say it''s worth a shot... Beats sitting on a train for an hour on our last day here!

 

[mia1181]

LV- Do you know off the top of your head if any of those places are near Shinjuku? We are right next to the Shinjuku station. I know you seemed to know Tokyo pretty well... I will look them up though. Thanks!

Lilac- Thanks, yes I know UTI''s can worsen quickly. I''ve actually waited a few out before in the past (shame on me, I know) but I worry about our 11 hour flight and what happens if it gets really intense or I get ill. Also this one is not the most painful one I''ve had but (sorry for TMI) my urine is very bloody. I definitely think I need to do something as soon as the sun comes up today!

 

[Porridge]

Oh how annoying! I feel your pain, UTI''s are the bane of my life, and on holidays too! What a nuisance.

I would at least try the pharmacy, but I''m sure it couldn''t be too hard to find an English speaking doctor? Google it maybe? Or a travelers website? I don''t know Tokyo at all so I''m no help. I would be concerned about the blood and the long flight too.

Also...and I hope I''m not totally overstepping the line here...but I found lubrication to be very effective in minimizing the occurrence of UTI''s. Also, special shower gel for that area seemed to work well!

Good luck, I hope you get rid of it soon.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Oh, no, I don't know. Sorry. There is a map on the ThinkPark site under the English tab. It says: "ThinkPark Tower Medical Center is connected with Osaki station on the JR line in Tokyo." Are you close to Osaki station?

 

[dragonfly411]

尿路感染症

I know those aren''t very big... but those are the Japanese Characters that translated in for Urinary Tract Infection on igoogle translater......

 

[mia1181]

Porridge- Thanks, no not overstepping any lines at all! I use the shower gel you mentioned, urinate after intercourse, wipe properly and well lets say I''ve been pretty naturally lubricated this trip. I am wondering if it was because I tried out the bidet/spray feature on our fancy Japanese toilet one time (darnit... I was curious!)? I actually think I have something abnormal about my anatomy down there, (I think I remember reading about women who have valve issues or something) but none of my doctors really want to do anything besides prescribe antibiotics and lecture me on urinating after intercourse

. I swear I do everything right and still get them! Even when my husband is out of town and we haven''t had intercourse...

 

[mia1181]

LV- Oh I just checked my old thread and saw you haven''t been to Tokyo. No I don''t think I''m near that station at all...

Dragonfly- Ooh nice! Thanks! Ha I even retranslated it back to English and it worked! I''ve played with google translate in the past where it gave me characters and then when I re-translated it came out all worng. I do have a translator app on my phone too although I have a hard time trusting it. I''ll copy this into my phone just in case though.

Okay so my current plan is to wait until 8 or 9 am (it''s 3am now and I''m not really in any pain) and go downstairs to the pharmacy and try there first. Then I will either call my health insurance or just go to a hospital I found on my health insurances website which is supposed to be nearby and supposed to be a provider. I also did a search for hospitals in Tokyo that speak English and this one was on the list so I am hopeful! Wish me luck!

 

[Clairitek]

I feel your pain. I was in Spain with a yeast infection (first time I''d ever had one and it took me days of scratching my skin off in my sleep before I figured it out) and they didn''t speak English in the pharmacy. I eventually got the point across and they gave me some ointment.

I would do whatever you want to get some antibiotics though. I''d hate for this to spread to your kidneys if it goes untreated.

I hope you''re able to get something soon! UTI''s are downright painful!

Just a thought (probably a long shot) but would it be possible for someone in the states to express mail you some medication and pain relievers from the US?

 

[princesss]

Ask the conceirge at your hotel if they don''t mind translating your request into Japanese, and take that piece of paper to the pharmacy. A little embarassing, yes, but much more likely to yield helpful results.

 

[waterlilly]

not sure if this is available, but might be worth a try finding in a local store that sells vitamins etc.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 2/23/2010 1:10:28 PM
Author: mia1181
Porridge- Thanks, no not overstepping any lines at all! I use the shower gel you mentioned, urinate after intercourse, wipe properly and well lets say I''ve been pretty naturally lubricated this trip. I am wondering if it was because I tried out the bidet/spray feature on our fancy Japanese toilet one time (darnit... I was curious!)? I actually think I have something abnormal about my anatomy down there, (I think I remember reading about women who have valve issues or something) but none of my doctors really want to do anything besides prescribe antibiotics and lecture me on urinating after intercourse

. I swear I do everything right and still get them! Even when my husband is out of town and we haven''t had intercourse...

I just mentioned this in the bidet thread in Hangout, but bidets are notorious for causing UTIs. We use to have a bidet in our house in Dubai, but I never used it because I used to get frequent UTIs even as a kid.

I haven''t read all your responses, so I don''t know if you checked with the pharmacies mentioned above, but like someone else said, a lot of antibiotics are OTC in Asia. A commonly prescribed antibiotic for UTI is Amoxicillin, and I''ve been able to get it OTC in India and Dubai in the past. Besides that, drink a lot of water and if you can find pure cranberry juice/tablets try supplementing with that as well.

If you begin to have a fever and pain in the side/mid back, then see a physician asap. I''ve seen way too many untreated UTIs progress to a kidney infection.

 

[princesss]

Date: 2/23/2010 1:37:51 PM
Author: princesss
Ask the conceirge at your hotel if they don''t mind translating your request into Japanese, and take that piece of paper to the pharmacy. A little embarassing, yes, but much more likely to yield helpful results.

On second thought, it''s probably going to be much easier to just ask the conceirge where an English-speaking doctor/pharmacist is! Less embarassment for both of you!