I’ve really not felt well for quite a while.  Part of it is the depression and anxiety.  We all know how that can sap your energy.  But I really think there’s something more than that going on.  I know back home I’d have no qualms about asking the doctor to do a thyroid panel.  But over here…  well, I don’t know how that would be culturally accepted.  I guess it helps I do have a regular GP.  A lot of people use the various little health centers that are around town.  Me?  Too hit and miss for my taste.  My Korean isn’t good enough and sometimes the doctor’s English is pretty much non-existant.  As a side note, the majority of doctors speak at least a little English.  This is due to two reasons.  One, so many kids want to be doctors and their parents send them to language academies, like the one I teach at.  The other reason is that the vast majority of textbooks for medical schools are written in English.  Still, level of English competency varies greatly.  I’m luck to have found a pretty decent (if not a bit wishy-washy) with really good office hours.  So today I went in because I’m sick.  Again.  I work in a freaking germ factory.  And the parents insist on sending their kids to school sick.  I’ve had a cough for the last 3 weeks.  It’s mostly stayed in my large airways, so I wasn’t too concerned.  In the last few days, however, I could feel it moving down.  And I just knew I was on the verge of bronchitis.  Again.  For about the billionth time in the last 2.5 years.  So after shopping most of the afternoon, I went to the doctor.  Yay for Saturday afternoon/evening office hours.  He agreed that if I didn’t already have bronchitis, I was getting too close.  So he gave me a couple days of antibiotics and a handful of other pills.  Bronchodialators.  Cough supressants.  Pain pills.  Exepctorants.  I think that was it.  You can’t leave a doctor in Korea without a prescription for half the pharmacy.  However, before I left, I decided to bring up the possibility of hypothyroidism.  A lot of what’s been going on with me fits.  The depression, anxiety, fatigue.  And then there’s the dry skin, weight gain, migraines and a various host of other little issues.  Thankfully, he didn’t act like a jerk when I brought it up.  He told me once the bronchitis clears up, he’ll order the blood work and take it from there.  LOL.  He seemed more worried about the quality of my veins.  Thankfully, that’s something I’ve never had to worry about.  The techs always tell me I have nice veins.

So, we’ll see where it goes.  I had to ask to get the ball rolling.  And now I’m glad I did.