sinus infection

so this year i've had a lot of sinus infections. most recently my sinuses have been so blocked that my ears hurt and i was getting dizzy... so i finally went to a doctor to try and figure out the root cause/trying to get a culture of what bacteria is causing the infections etc.

there's a nice hospital here, so i went there and saw an ENT. i think he's pretty set on doing surgery on me. i tried really hard to have him order the test that my dr in the states told me to get but he said, "if you want to go to the 5th floor, you can't just go to the 5th floor. you have to start on the 1st floor." i agree with the analogy - but i'd say that the test i wanted is more of the 1st floor. anyway, i decided that he is the professional/specialist and i should believe him.

so i took the paper with the tests he ordered (some blood work) and went to see how much it was. the total was 2,500 Rs. and the tests seemed a bit absurd to me. a clotting pannel (why do we need to know how my blood clots, i'm here for my sinuses) and a Renal Panel (again, i'm here for a sinus infection. my kidneys are fine!). so i go back in the room and ask about the test he ordered.

he told me there were extra tests - it tests the things i need and also some other things. so i ask, "but do i need those?!" finally he admits that i don't, and writes the order for only the tests that i actually need. those test cost about 500 Rs.

crazy, huh? he ordered tests that cost 5 times what the tests i actually needed cost just because he could! and most people wouldn't understand that they were un-necessary, and wouldn't question authority. i'm not so sure he likes me very much anymore (i'm pretty sure he gets a percentage of all the tests he orders). and i'm sure he's not used to having his authority questioned, and especially not by a younger woman.

oh well. i'll just keep asserting myself, and if i decided i really don't trust him, i can always find another doctor!

in other news, i started my new bangla class on monday. last saturday i went and met with the teacher and she explained what she had in mind for the class. after that i felt better. really i think the class will be good - but i also still think that its more than i can handle (based on the 2 pages of new vocabulary we got in the first 2 classes). there's no way i can keep up with that. and its really hard for me not to learn everything i'm given (or at least to try to learn it)...every time i'm told a new word i want to learn it...you just never know when you're going to need to know how to say, "infrastructure, similarity or complex" every time i don't learn a word i'm given i feel like i'm loosing a little treasure. i'm just gonna have to get over that - cause there's no way i can keep up with this much vocab!