Preface: Here to fore I had gone into full withdrawal from morphine addiction while on a trip to our home in Cebu City and ended up in Southwestern University Hospital where I was begging (in my mind) for a strong opiate/opioid only to be offered an injection of Nubain (nabulphine hcl,a strongly antagonistic opiate)...
The doctor left me lying on an ER gurney though, as in the West, there were curtains offering a bit of privacy. Rizza, my brother-in-law Nigel and Dad were off somewhere and then purgatory became hell. Student Nurses were told to look at the foreign junkie, opening the curtains without compunction they stared wide eyed at me in my hospital gown (yes they made me wear it) and a pool of mauve coloured feces congealing at the foot of my stretcher.
Let me give you an idea of the type of culture I was dealing with...If you go to Youtube and type in (I believe),"Philippine Scandals" you will see, amongst other choices, a video of an emergency procedure performed in this same hospital. A gay man somehow got an entire can of body spray shoved up his rectum (sounds like my last date). As if THAT wasn't bad enough on its own, he could not remove the can (I absolutely hate when that happens). He ended up at Southwestern University Hospital begging for relief. The Hippocratic Oath being what it is, the kind hearted doctors in Cebu put him under and then removed the can...while filming it FOR LAUGHS.
Back to my personal hell...Finally Dr.Nubain returned only to inform me that the single doctor allowed to prescribe opiates/opioids was nowhere to be found (or perhaps had told him he wouldn't write a script for a foreign junkie). Finally I told him I had a 75mg vial of Pethidine (aka Meperidine or Demerol) and only needed him to open it and load it in a syringe.I wanted it IVd but there is no way that was going to happen. A nurse came, after they sent Dad into the street to find a pharmacy that sold the right syringe. A nurse injected me in my shoulder and of course I was momentarily sated.
As we were leaving the doctor repeated that I should have gone to Succor (Our Lady of Succor), a cancer hospital since he assume it would be easier to get a proper script. This piece of advice came in handy down the road, but not yet.
Dad loves eating out and like every Bisaya I have ever met loves seafood. We drove across the city until we skirted the parking lot of Victoria Mall and pulled into a space holding 1 of the grimiest eateries I have seen in SE Asia. As one might very well imagine the region has some really filthy places to eat. Like most places its tables are wooden picnic tables where strangers sit shoulder to shoulder. It isn't quite as bad as the mainland, Thailand for example where people spit on the floor and wipe runny noses on the hands they eat with, but grimy none the less.
I had a bit of an appetite after 2 days of not eating but about 30 minutes into it began withdrawing again. I didn't say a word but after they were done eating told Dad he ought to drive mr over to Succor.
All 4 of us drove over and all 4 of us entered the ER. Not 1 patient was there but a pretty young doctor was and I nervously began explaining my situation. Before I reached the mid-point she cut me off sweetly and simply asked how many tablets I wanted and what dosage. I wanted to minimise the request naturally so told her 3o tablets, 30mgs each. She smiled and said no problem and in about 5 minutes we left.
Dad and Nigel left Rizza and I in the outpatient building waiting area as the hospital pharmacy was on its 2nd floor.Roughly 15 minutes later they returned and not a moment too soon as I went from bad to worse. It didn't help that they hadn't filled the script since Dad found the prices too high.
100 tablets of 30mg IR (instant release) morphine sulphate retailed, at the time, for 2800 Pesos (about 55 US) so that 30 tablets would be about 20 US Dollars. They charged perhaps 500 Pesos too much (10 US), about 1 US Dollar per tablet. I almost lost my composure. It was my money and if had cost 5 US per I would have paid it post haste.In fairness 5 US Dollars is 2 days wages for many Filipinos but when you are in withdrawal empathy does NOT rank too highly on your personal inventory.
It took him another hour to agree to buy them there but in the end he handed me the foil pouches they come in. Rizza opened them and I swallowed 10 (300 mgs) without drinking a thing.
That night we sailed for Mindanao and though haggard, and S kgs lighter, I survived the trip in fine spirits.
The doctor left me lying on an ER gurney though, as in the West, there were curtains offering a bit of privacy. Rizza, my brother-in-law Nigel and Dad were off somewhere and then purgatory became hell. Student Nurses were told to look at the foreign junkie, opening the curtains without compunction they stared wide eyed at me in my hospital gown (yes they made me wear it) and a pool of mauve coloured feces congealing at the foot of my stretcher.
Let me give you an idea of the type of culture I was dealing with...If you go to Youtube and type in (I believe),"Philippine Scandals" you will see, amongst other choices, a video of an emergency procedure performed in this same hospital. A gay man somehow got an entire can of body spray shoved up his rectum (sounds like my last date). As if THAT wasn't bad enough on its own, he could not remove the can (I absolutely hate when that happens). He ended up at Southwestern University Hospital begging for relief. The Hippocratic Oath being what it is, the kind hearted doctors in Cebu put him under and then removed the can...while filming it FOR LAUGHS.
Back to my personal hell...Finally Dr.Nubain returned only to inform me that the single doctor allowed to prescribe opiates/opioids was nowhere to be found (or perhaps had told him he wouldn't write a script for a foreign junkie). Finally I told him I had a 75mg vial of Pethidine (aka Meperidine or Demerol) and only needed him to open it and load it in a syringe.I wanted it IVd but there is no way that was going to happen. A nurse came, after they sent Dad into the street to find a pharmacy that sold the right syringe. A nurse injected me in my shoulder and of course I was momentarily sated.
As we were leaving the doctor repeated that I should have gone to Succor (Our Lady of Succor), a cancer hospital since he assume it would be easier to get a proper script. This piece of advice came in handy down the road, but not yet.
Dad loves eating out and like every Bisaya I have ever met loves seafood. We drove across the city until we skirted the parking lot of Victoria Mall and pulled into a space holding 1 of the grimiest eateries I have seen in SE Asia. As one might very well imagine the region has some really filthy places to eat. Like most places its tables are wooden picnic tables where strangers sit shoulder to shoulder. It isn't quite as bad as the mainland, Thailand for example where people spit on the floor and wipe runny noses on the hands they eat with, but grimy none the less.
I had a bit of an appetite after 2 days of not eating but about 30 minutes into it began withdrawing again. I didn't say a word but after they were done eating told Dad he ought to drive mr over to Succor.
All 4 of us drove over and all 4 of us entered the ER. Not 1 patient was there but a pretty young doctor was and I nervously began explaining my situation. Before I reached the mid-point she cut me off sweetly and simply asked how many tablets I wanted and what dosage. I wanted to minimise the request naturally so told her 3o tablets, 30mgs each. She smiled and said no problem and in about 5 minutes we left.
Dad and Nigel left Rizza and I in the outpatient building waiting area as the hospital pharmacy was on its 2nd floor.Roughly 15 minutes later they returned and not a moment too soon as I went from bad to worse. It didn't help that they hadn't filled the script since Dad found the prices too high.
100 tablets of 30mg IR (instant release) morphine sulphate retailed, at the time, for 2800 Pesos (about 55 US) so that 30 tablets would be about 20 US Dollars. They charged perhaps 500 Pesos too much (10 US), about 1 US Dollar per tablet. I almost lost my composure. It was my money and if had cost 5 US per I would have paid it post haste.In fairness 5 US Dollars is 2 days wages for many Filipinos but when you are in withdrawal empathy does NOT rank too highly on your personal inventory.
It took him another hour to agree to buy them there but in the end he handed me the foil pouches they come in. Rizza opened them and I swallowed 10 (300 mgs) without drinking a thing.
That night we sailed for Mindanao and though haggard, and S kgs lighter, I survived the trip in fine spirits.
