Cheap Drugs Are Good, OK!

One of my fears about travelling to Europe was what was going to happen when I run out of my UK prescription blood pressure and cholesterol drugs.

My friendly UK Dr had given me five months supply when we left plus I got some more when we went back in February, but the supply was getting low.

I can't believe how easy it all was.  We went down to the local pharmacy and showed him the drugs I was taking, no probs he said and sold them to me with no prescription required!

The Amlodipine, which is a calcium channel blocker, cost 1.25 Euro (0.98pence or $1.46AUD) for a month's supply and the Irbersarten, which is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, cost 13.95 Euro (£11.00 or $21.00AUD)  for a month's supply.   I still have heaps of statins left and won't need them for at least a year so I don't know the cost of them but I suspect they will be cheap as well.

Elaine is now on all sorts of drugs to control pain, but once again the cost is minimal.

Whist we are on a medical subject .... Elaine has been having a severe pain in her leg, which she was worried was a DVT so we spoke to the lovely Oncologist in Almeria who told her to go and see a local GP to get it checked.  We did this yesterday and what a lovely doctor we saw!  We were in there for over an hour.  He took a full history and did an ultrasound and he  diagnosed phlebitis, for which he prescribed various drugs and ointments.  It cost us just 45 Euros for that consult.  However, if it is no better by Monday, he gave us a letter to take to the local emergency hospital, where they will have to treat her.  Hopefully she will be better by then, if not it will be our first visit to a public hospital in Spain.  I have health insurance, but because Elaine has cancer she cannot get any health insurance.  If we do have to go to the local hospital she will use her European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which is available free from the NHS back in the UK.

The motorhome also has to go into hospital soon as it has developed a leak from the automatic transmission.  It is a a very small leak and appears to be coming from the electric wiring harness going into the gearbox ...

Through the local Mojacar forum I was recommended to go to a garage run by a German chap that happens to be a specialist on Mercedes, so whilst there I am going to get him to give her a full service and change the shock absorber boots that have split. The shock absorber boots is a big job as the front suspension has to be dismantled.  As the chap said if you were staying in Spain you wouldn't worry about it but back in England on the wet and salty roads it is best to change them to prevent damage to the suspension struts.

No 2 is the boot, which is a cheap part but a pain to change.  Never mind she is still our second home so we must look after her ...