I find myself in a weird predicament. Here in South Korea, the national health insurance substantially covers the price of ostomy supplies. I discovered this quite by accident back in 2010. Until then, I had been buying my supplies from the US, and they were quite pricey. I had a skin problem and sought out an ostomy nurse who could speak English - no small feat. I found a nice nurse who helped me, and at the same time did some paperwork magic and arranged for me to get my supplies in Korea at a greatly discounted price compared to America - I’d estimate about 1/100th the price.
Recently I was informed that I must “re-register” my Crohn’s disease with the health authorities. After a bit of confusion, after all Crohn’s is permanent, I learned more details. Apparently I get the super discount not because I have an ostomy, but because my ostomy is due to a disease like Crohn’s, cancer, etc. If I simply had an ostomy, due to a car accident for example, I would get a discount, but not nearly as steep. This is where the fun begins.
I’m told that since I’ve never seen a doctor in Korea for Crohn’s treatment, the doctor is going to require all kinds of tests, such as MRI, blood work, scope, which will be spread out over several appointments and procedures. I live six hours away from the hospital, don’t want to travel during Covid unless necessary, and I question the need for poking and prodding when I have no symptoms. (There is a possibility this information, relayed via a translator nurse, might be overly cautions and the truth is the doctor would re-register me after a five minute talk).
This finally brings me to my questions.
(1) can dormant Crohn’s be detected by these kinds of tests? It’s my understanding, based on outdated knowledge, that it can be detected at autopsy, but that seems a bit drastic
(2) I can appreciate, on a theoretical level, that a doctor in Korea with know knowledge of my past medical history, can’t know for sure that I have Crohn’s without a test. Maybe I’m a freeloade with a recreational ostomy who moved to South Korea to cheat the system.
Is there a (new?) test which can prove Crohn’s without requiring invasive probes?
I have also obtained many of my old hospital records and will bring them with me. Maybe the doctor will be reasonable and rely on these reports from my past medical history.
Recently I was informed that I must “re-register” my Crohn’s disease with the health authorities. After a bit of confusion, after all Crohn’s is permanent, I learned more details. Apparently I get the super discount not because I have an ostomy, but because my ostomy is due to a disease like Crohn’s, cancer, etc. If I simply had an ostomy, due to a car accident for example, I would get a discount, but not nearly as steep. This is where the fun begins.
I’m told that since I’ve never seen a doctor in Korea for Crohn’s treatment, the doctor is going to require all kinds of tests, such as MRI, blood work, scope, which will be spread out over several appointments and procedures. I live six hours away from the hospital, don’t want to travel during Covid unless necessary, and I question the need for poking and prodding when I have no symptoms. (There is a possibility this information, relayed via a translator nurse, might be overly cautions and the truth is the doctor would re-register me after a five minute talk).
This finally brings me to my questions.
(1) can dormant Crohn’s be detected by these kinds of tests? It’s my understanding, based on outdated knowledge, that it can be detected at autopsy, but that seems a bit drastic
(2) I can appreciate, on a theoretical level, that a doctor in Korea with know knowledge of my past medical history, can’t know for sure that I have Crohn’s without a test. Maybe I’m a freeloade with a recreational ostomy who moved to South Korea to cheat the system.
Is there a (new?) test which can prove Crohn’s without requiring invasive probes?I have also obtained many of my old hospital records and will bring them with me. Maybe the doctor will be reasonable and rely on these reports from my past medical history.
