Went to see a doctor

Today I went to see a doctor because I have shingles.  Apparently it's from stress.  I've had it since 6 days ago.  At first I thought I was having hives but then today I did more research and it was shingles.  So this afternoon I went to see a doctor, he was a private GP.  I took a walk from St Olavs Gate 31 to Rosernborg Gata 1 which is about 1.4 kms away.  The private GP is called Bogstadveien Legevakt.  It was snowing so the walk wasn't very pleasant.  Plus I had pain on where the shingles are located, so it was very discomforting.  You wouldn't believe how much the consultation cost was, it was 700 nok (119 AUD).  Insane?  You bet.  Check out the prices here.  The doctor pretty much told me what I already knew, and he prescribed me some creams.  Anyway there was something wrong with the cash register and he could not issue me a receipt so he brought it down to 400 nok (68 AUD) which is better but still crazy.  I don't have my national id card yet nor my tax card so unfortunately I can't get subsidised healthcare until I do.  Anyway, after that I went to get the creams for it and both cost 200 nok so the total cost of visiting the doctor was 600 nok (102 AUD).  The moral of the story is, do not fall sick in Norway if you are not covered by the health system here, otherwise be prepared to pay a bomb.

This is the path I took walking from the hotel (A), to the clinic (B) and then to Majorstuen train station (C).


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There's a nearby pharmacy but that's only open from 5pm so I couldn't get them from there and had to get them from central.  So I walked to the Majorstua train station and dropped by Burger King to try out their nacho burger, that was a lot cheaper, for a medium sized meal it was 82 NOK (14 AUD).

At central station I went to the pharmacy and they didn't have the other cream, I also found out they charge an extra 12 NOK on Sundays for some reason, just for shopping there.  So I didn't get my things from there and walked to another pharmacy that's closer to the hospital.  A lady there couldn't find the other cream either but then she was helpful and rang the clinic I went to see earlier to ask if there was something else they could prescribe and I got a different cream, so that was good.  Had a quick walk to an Asian supermarket to get some instant noodles for dinner then caught the train back.

Next week I'll be moving to a collegue's friend's apartment until I move in to my apartment on 1st Jan, I finally found a decent place to live in.  I'll post photos when I finally move.  So far I've been quite depressed throughout this period and am wondering what the heck have I done leaving Australia.