An Experience of the French Health System
I retired to live in France in April 2008 just after my 58th birthday. We had taken over an old house with a large garden and I was physically working much harder than in my previous office job. After about 6 months I began to feel chest pains after an hour or two of exertion. The pain would go away after a short rest but then reappear almost at once if I restarted work. We had already registered with a local GP and I was due to visit her for a tetanus booster. I had been told by my UK doctor that I wouldn't need a tetanus because I had already completed a course 15 or so years ago. The French doctor's view was that tetanus was common in the area and so why take a chance when the injections are so straightforward? I've no idea who is right on this but it perhaps shows a more cautious French approach.
During the appointment for the tetanus injection I mentioned my chest pains. She already new that I was taking medication to reduce my blood pressure and that my cholesterol was a little high. When registering with the doctor she had sent me off for a comprehensive blood test at the local laboratory. She asked about my family history and I told her that both my younger and older brothers had both had hospital treatment for problems with their coronary arteries. She then said that she would make an immediate appointment for an ECG at the local laboratory. However, on telephoning them, she found they were shut for the day. She then telephoned the local hospital and made an appointment in 1 hours time with their cardiology department . On arriving at the hospital they carried out the blood and ECG tests and then advised me that they were going to keep me in for 48 hours observation. I was surprised because I was actually feeling fine and I remained fine through the observation. After that I was sent home with an appointment for a stress test after the weekend. The stress test involved a cycling exercise while hooked up to an ECG machine. Apparently this proved normal but another phone call was made to the regional hospital to book an angiogram the following week.
The angiogram involved an overnight stay in the regional hospital it was done about 3 hours after my admittance. The angiogram revealed one of the ateries was about 90% blocked so as part of the same procedure a stent was inserted and all now seems back to normal.
The whole episode from my complaint to the doctor to the remedial action at the regional hospital had taken a little over a fortnight. Although none of the earlier tests had shown any positive signs of a problem the cautious approach had been to pursue all the testing to a conclusion as soon as possible. I was impressed by the fact that the GP, local and regional hospital were able to agree referrals by telephone and offer the patient an instant appointment within hours or days. The French may have a reputation for bureaucratic delay but when it comes to matters relating to health I've found this to be far from the case.
eating for vitamins or minerals is no longer enough these days.
you have to take daily supplements for anti-oxidants
I myself take a capsule of nigella sativa oil each day, I see that oil have cured two of my friends who have serious cancer disease.