all i want at the moment is to get a new Epi-Pen before i got to thailand. is that really to much to ask? in Korea, it is!
my current Epi-Pen i have is expired and it is not useful if it's expired. since i am going to thailand and because it's summer now, there are going to be bees everywhere. while it would be fun to get stung, swell like a balloon everywhere and have to be rushed to a hospital where i don't speak the language, i think i will pass. sine i have health insurance here in Korea, I figured i should just get it now and not have to worry about it at home. so after having to show my Epi-Pen to my coteachers and describe my allergy to them, we found a post on Dave's ESL Cafe about this specific issue.
In the past apparently foreigners have been told it is illegal for people to carry them around. Well scrolling down I found a post from 2 weeks ago describing exactly what i had to do.
1. make an appointment at Samsung Medical Center. (which is only opened M-F, so i would have to miss work and take time off)
2. bring my old Epi-Pen and insurance information.
3. after the doctor asks a bunch of questions, i would get the prescription.
4. i then have to go to apparently the only drug center in the ENTIRE country that provides Epi-Pens.
the price is a little ridiculous. 70,000won for the consultation with the doctor alone and then the Epi-Pen would be around 100,000won. (so basically $70 to see the doctor and $100 for the pen)
So i go to the hospital website to make an appointment. I then get an email with a phone number to call and a woman to ask for. This is where everything went to hell. Something that should be so simple has turned into a gigantic pain in my butt.
Not only was the woman so incredibly hard to understand, but she did not listen to me at all. Here's a little of our conversation:
Woman: "What are your symptoms?"
Me: "I don't have symptoms. I need a prescription for an Epi-Pen because of my allergy to bees.
Woman: " Bee sting? When did that happen?"
Me: "No, I don't have a bee sting. I need a new Epi-Pen cause the one I have from the US is expired."
Woman: "Epi-Pen? Please spell it.
Me: "E-P-I dash P-E-N"
Woman: "Please hold" (and this is where i got hung up on the first time.)
After getting a phone call back and an apology, she informs me that i have to have a prescription to get an Epi-Pen and i need to see a doctor in order to get the prescription. ummm.... HELLO! THIS IS WHY I CALLED! she finally understood, has be pick a date and puts me on hold again. this time someone else gets on the line, doesn't speak English and hangs up on me again. by this time i'm angry. she calls me back again and then tells me that instead of coming there i have to do something different.
Woman: "You have to go to your area doctor to get prescription for Epi-Pen."
Me: "No i already called my area doctor and they said they don't do it and I have to come to the Samsung Medical Center to do it."
(THIS SAME CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER FOR ALMOST 10 MINUTES!!)
After i hung up, because there was no getting through to this woman, i was furious. You would think it would not be this hard to get an Epi-Pen if i have an allergy that requires me to carry one. my coteachers were very confused as to why the woman was useless. so my 5th grade coteacher called them back only to find they were closed. so i went home completely frustrated and extremely annoyed.
today i came into my office and my coteacher said the hospital finally called her back and they informed her there are two ways to get the prescription. go to my local doctor or go to the International clinic at the hospital. not exactly what i was told yesterday, but i was getting somewhere. Then she informs me she talked to another native teacher yesterday that knew about Epi-Pens. He recommened Yonsei University Hospital because it is cheaper than Samsung Medical Center.
so now i have to start the process over again. i don't have to make an appointment as it's walk-in hours on saturday. i would still have to go the the drug center to get my prescription though. since they are the only place. that just means a long subway ride. on the things i have to do to stay alive and healthy. yeesh!
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