Hi!
So basically, I’m 30 and visiting Japan for a week and a half with my wife as my birthday celebration. However, on the plane ride over here, I experienced a very uncomfortable and nearly constant feeling of pressure in my chest for pretty much the whole 14 hour plane ride. I am pretty sure it’s a cardiac-related pain / discomfort because I also feel it when I drink caffeine (as of the past two weeks) – I think the air pressure difference in the plane might have agitated it but I don’t know and it is unfortunately undiagnosed.
I’m only in Japan for about 10 days, but I’m honestly a little scared of the ride home if I have to suffer through feeling like my chest is being stepped on for another 14 hours. Or potentially worse.
I got travel insurance from heymondo, though I’m not sure what I need or how much of it would fall under policy. Moreover, I have no idea how to find medical help for this before my trip back to the US, and I only speak the smallest amount of broken Japanese. I would really like a cardiologist to listen to my symptoms, check me out and clear me to fly / give me medication or whatever else they think I need. Preferably before my expensive non -refundable flight home but I can give that up if it means not dying.
5 comments
You can or email your travel health insurance and ask what hospital or clinic they recommend. You will likely still have to pay up front for medical care in Japan and then file a reimbursement with the insurance company after. But don’t worry about the cost – see a doctor.
The US Embassy in Tokyo [maintains this list of medical facilities in the Tokyo area.](https://japan2.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-doctors-tokyo.html)
If this is an emergency call 119 and ask for an ambulance. Your hotel front desk can help you too.
The travel insurance should have provided a contact number for medical services for the country you are traveling. A quick check of the Heymondo site includes info on 24-hour customer assistance.
https://heymondo.com/contact/
this doesn’t answer your question, and obviously I would encourage seeing medical professionals, but what you’re describing sounds like anxiety. Coffee / caffeine doesn’t correlate to heart conditions, but it can show and exasperate anxiety. Are you an anxious flyer?
Thanks all for the advice so far. My main concern is being able to tell my doctor about my symptoms and medical history. I have a couple of congenital conditions in aware of (bicuspid aortic valve, possible mild Marfan’s syndrome) I’m worried might be contributing to this. Would I need to hire a translator or would a clinic be able to accommodate me?
I don’t think it’s just travel anxiety or stress. I’m not a very anxious traveler and am usually happily playing games or writing something on the plane – this time I spent the whole trip from the moment we got in the air feeling crappy and just trying (and failing) to be unconscious the whole time.
Could also be heartburn. It produces very similar symptoms to the ones you describe – get a pack of indigestion tablets from a pharmacy and see if they alleviate symptoms.