I’m have a bunch of GI problems, my main concern being the Barrett’s esophagus that nobody in Japan seems to take seriously. My local GI specialist didn’t even talk to me about it or prescribe any meds for it. Kept me like that for a year. I payed 8800¥ out of pocket and went to this big hospital in Tokyo that specializes in GI surgery and such and yet the doctor who saw me seems to not give two shits about it either. “Do you want this medication or this medication? Oh if you want we can do this test or we not. It’s up to you.” he says!! I’m not a doctor, all I want is a professional who will take responsibility for a diagnosis and a treatment approach.
At my wits end honestly…
33 comments
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Nobody cares about your health more than you do. Just saying.
One of my doctors here actually diagnosed me with Barrett’s esophagus, so it’s definitely not “nobody in Japan seems to take it seriously.” Maybe you just need a different doctor?
I’m confused?
They according to you are asking you what you would like to do. They are suggesting medication and asking what direction you wish to go in?
I don’t know what more you want. The doctors here in my experience lay out the choices and let you decide, you can ask questions about the choices and they will give you their opinion.
You could ask what they reccomend but you may not like their answer.
Are you from the UK? In which case you are use to being babied and told what will happen. Here it’s private so you shop around and choose for yourself.
There are three places that I would go for this condition:
[https://www.showa-u-kt-ddc.com/en/gerd/](https://www.showa-u-kt-ddc.com/en/gerd/)
[http://nakamura-a10clinic.com/english/](http://nakamura-a10clinic.com/english/)
[https://www.nms.ac.jp/college/english/hospitals/nms_hosp/gastroenterological_medicine.html](https://www.nms.ac.jp/college/english/hospitals/nms_hosp/gastroenterological_medicine.html)
Other choices are viable as well, but these have good reputations. St. Luke’s has it all of course but I’m not personally familiar with them:
[https://hospital.luke.ac.jp/eng/for-patients/appointments/index.html](https://hospital.luke.ac.jp/eng/for-patients/appointments/index.html)
Not really sure about Barrett Esophagus but I took my wife with her acidity and heartburn to a clinic. The doctor eventually had her colonoscopy done. We didn’t expect this at first but anyway we felt a little assured because of the diagnosis.
[Miyata Gastroenterology and Dermatology Clinic](https://miyata-clinic.com/) is the name.
Have you received that diagnosis officially, or is it something you suspect? If you have been diagnosed, they would likely have your treatment prepared and if you don’t find it is working, you could either tell them directly or go get another opinion.
FWIW – I have alot of GI problems too and I can understand your feelings. I had to go to 5 doctors to get a surgery I knew I was going to need. It was kind of ridiculous. Once I got to the right couple of guys (one diagnosed me and referred me to another who concurred), it was ok. But it was a hell of time getting that far and I went undiagnosed for about a year.
Basically…I was very persistant. Also, I had a GI doctor that I have a good relationship with and was is connected to other doctors so that helped eventually when I pushed hard.
As annoying as it is, doctors back home aren’t much better so I’d rather pay 2000¥ to be told I’m fine than $200 to be told I’m fine. It’s a matter of finding a doctor to take your seriously, which can be a struggle.
You need to go to a research hospital or a university-tied hospital for any serious care. The clinics really just handle the day to day complaints, but the research or university hospitals are literally there to gather data, so they’ll take you more serious from my own personal experience as someone with autoimmune disorder that has also affected my GI.
If you’re in Tokyo, I recommend St. Luke’s. I went there for my illness and I thought the care was decent.
Get your data on a DVD and bring it to another doc.
I have learned that you have to be a bitch if you want proper care in many institutions here.
ETA: I managed to get myself to a university hospital to do proper tests. I have abnormality proven in a swallowing exam but no visually present anatomical changes so I ended up with no actual treatment. I guess I’ll just have to wait for things to get worse. Whatever happened to early cure.
The Japanese medical system can be so frustrating.
I know it’s disheartening to have to do it, but you may want to consider going to other doctors/hospitals until you find one you connect with.
If you already had a diagnosis for your GI issues from your home country, having a formal certificate from your original doctor stating the diagnosis and your treatment could also be a big help.
If you are concerned about a specific issue, like the Barrett’s esophagus, google it in conjunction with the hospitals in your area. If they mention it on the website, there’s a good chance they do consider/treat it.
Regarding the “choose your own treatment”, I have taken to ask back “what would you recommend your mum/child/spouse do and why?” Most of the time it at least start a conversation that will provide more information.
If you are a woman (as I am), if you have been to your appointments alone and feel they are not really listening to what you are saying, bringing a male colleague/friend (that you will introduce as your colleague) generally helps. *eye-roll to end all eye-rolls*
Lastly, if you are concerned about something specific, clearly state that you are concerned about that and that you would like to be tested for it specifically.
Distilled wisdom from earlier posts on this sub: go to a university hospital.
Prepare for the downvotes from the Japan apologists for insulting a system that is designed to appear effective, but let so much shit slip through the cracks.
Another fun one in the same vein as yours. If you have any history of skin cancer, getting your moles checked is only covered by insurance for 3 moles every 6 months, and YOU need to choose which moles.
I didn’t go to school for fucking dermatology, so why is the potential prediagnosis of skin cancer on ME?
Absolutely ludicrous.
My husband has gut related medical issues and it’s a nightmare, honestly.
I have read up on that & acid reflux and one thing I found out is it is sometimes related to issues further down the chain. If you have diarrhea or constipation or painful bloating, I would look into r/SIBO and histamine intolerance.
You have to ‘shop around’ for a good doctor, I’m afraid. The quality of service and level of expertise varies wildly from clinic to clinic, especially in Tokyo. Read the Google reviews as an initial indicator and be prepared to travel a little.
Also, be prepared to educate yourself on your condition. Finding a doctor that will flat out recommend a single treatment course (and thus shouldering responsibility for the outcome) rather than giving you a number of options in a very noncommittal manner is rare. More often than not, you’ll be forced to make a decision that really should be made with the explicit guidance of a medical professional.
The best you can hope for is a doctor that takes the time to patiently walk you through all the options (albeit without taking a particular stance) and then using your layman’s knowledge and ‘read the atmosphere’ skillz to decipher which one they are slyly nudging you towards.
But if you think that’s frustrating, try taking a sick animal to the vets and talking about quality of life care.
Like a lot of people on here said, you have to shop around.
I’ve had this conversation with quite a few people, including Japanese people. It’s just the general consensus that not all doctors are good. One person I talked to went around to 5 different doctors until he found one he liked/trusted. I have felt contempt for so many doctors here, wherein in the US I mostly just hated the long wait time.
I suspect part of the problem is a language barrier. Although Barrett’s oesophagus is much more common in the West than it is in Japan, which may mean they see it less. Disclaimer: not a gastroenterologist but rather a haem/onc paediatrician.
The management of Barrett’s also depends on the severity of it, but in most cases includes endoscopic surveillance. Medications are for symptomatic control (they don’t treat the problem), so in that respect asking you which one you would like/prefer makes sense. A PPI (Omeprazole/Lansoprazole) is usually prescribed.
Again, really not a specialist but just weighing in with some basic medical knowledge
After being here for about five years, and seeing doctors of every kind in that time, I’ve been starting to notice a trend where male doctors seem to already know my diagnosis before I even sit down, while female doctors take the time to listen to me and understand where I’m coming from.
I wonder where these male doctors are acquiring this skill?
You should see this doctor. He is treating me for Barrett’s esophagus; it is one of his specialisms:
[http://internationalclinic.org/](http://internationalclinic.org/)
I have been going to him for 20 years. Excellent physician.
He trained in the west, so his doctor training is far superior to the Japanese medical exams.
Feel free to PM me.
Honestly, coming from the US where they shove you around like some lab rat ordering you to do this or that without much explanation, being able to choose what happens to me here based on the doctor’s choices seems much better? Maybe ask the doctor what they recommend instead?
come to my country, we have best doctors about a lot of thing and much cheaper to pay your medical bills. People from around the world come and we even have medical tourism
If it makes you feel any better American doctors also ignore GI issues and god forbid you need any medication that could be abused because you aren’t getting it
> I’m not a doctor, all I want is a professional who will take responsibility for a diagnosis and a treatment approach.
You need to educate yourself and advocate for yourself. That’s not only true in Japan, it’s much the same everywhere. Tell them what you want. Push for it. Insurance will cover most of the cost and you will either get a diagnosis or peace of mind.
Several years with chronic illness in Sapporo, mine were greet.
I literally live in Japan and suffer from acid reflux and have Barret’s. All that can be done is take medication to reduce acid creation and change your diet and lifestyle. What else are you expecting? There’s no cure for this just symptom relief
I have Barretts esophagus and was diagnosed here by a foreign doctor in Fukuoka who also happens to be a GI specialist.
Ten mg a day of Pariet a day and bi yearly endoscopies (which I have only been doing once a year recently) were the solution. That was seven years ago! I was also worried about whether or not serious surgeries or interventions would be required, but consider that maybe just the right medication and screening will be enough!
Maybe you can considering taking advantage of cheap flights to Singapore or Malaysia to check them out?
Had an incarnated nail for a while i went to a dermatologist just to get a bloody ointment for it and i dont need to get a very simple surgical procedure for that. Spoiler the ointment didn’t work so i did it by myself. I get your frustration and worst of all my problem was not that serious so yeah… japan’s doctors a very mediocre at the job
I have UC and am on my 5th GI for various reasons .. you can always go to a clinic without a referral .. I’m actually getting ready to change GI to a small clinic cause I’m tired of spending 3 and a half hours in a hospital every month … waiting.. waiting.. and waiting
Really depends on the doctor and the hospital/clinic. Some are amazing and some are absolute shit.
Asking a patient “which medication do you want?” is almost criminal. But at the same time you can study as much as you can about your condition and then tell the doctor what you want based on your own judgement. That’s not quite what medicine should be, but I feel Japanese doctors don’t keep themselves informed with the latest scientific info to make those choices.
My father was a doctor, so I have some empathy for how hard the job is. But at the end of the day, they are duty bound to provide the best care.
I do think it’s bizarre when doctors here ask you what tests I think they should do, what kind of medication I want, or how much medication I want. Like… Isn’t that your job? I’m not a doctor, I have no idea.
I found that Japanese doctors in my inaka area did not take my GI issues seriously because I was a foreigner. They kept prescribing me different antibiotics to the point where I had C Diff for a year or so (only survived because I started drinking a lot of water after I passed out once), but didn’t know until I came back to America and got properly diagnosed (and given a painfully high bill because I was uninsured).
I think it depends where you go because I got decent care for another issue in a bigger city.