Sick abroad with no insurance. Please be nice, I know I'm a dumbass

[ABroadAbroadandill]

Am on a European citibreak with DP. Arrived on Friday. I felt ill on the plane and again in the taxi. That night I woke up with excruciating upper abdo pain (in waves, almost like contractions) and worst black liquid shits of all time. Am alternating between freezing and boiling.

No nausea or vomiting. No back pain.

Haven't eaten since Friday. Still shitting through the eye of a needle.

DP has gone out to get diaoralyte, immodium and the strongest pain relief you can buy otc here.

I would've gone to urgent care if I had had insurance but just can't afford a big bill or risk them admitting me and missing my flight.

Does it sound like pancreatitis?

I had a bit of a binge Thursday night as was end of work before our holiday and also the eurovision semi final. 1 bottle of wine and a large gin. I don't drink regularly. I eat low carb/low fat and am a bit overweight but working on losing it.

I know I'm an idiot for forgoing insurance. Believe me, will never do it again.

😭

How does being young make you low risk of getting into an accident?

yeah - nothing happens in a weekend, you have to be away for at least a week to get in an accident, or fall ill, or be robbed, or lose something

I had not paid enough attention to know that there was a replacement for the EHIC and that it had not gone away entirely. Thanks for the information in this thread and application made for our summer holiday.

some travel insurance policies used to assume you had an EHIC and would access and reimburse costs at that “local” rate, and not any higher rates for non-EHIC holders. I presume that will still hold for the GHIC.

It really really isn't a good idea for the young not to get travel insurance, I've seen in the news this week at least 3 young people killed in accidents on holiday, I hope their families don't have to go through repatriation without insurance

Are you okay OP?

You are describing the symptoms I had when my appendix ruptured. Seek medical attention NOW

RTFT

That should say RTFT

I’ve always got it after some family friends lost a fortune (over £10k) when one of them had a heart attack and needed a private plane home, plus the costs of his wife extending her stay. They hadn’t taken out insurance as he had a pre-existing heart condition and so it was fairly expensive (as much as the costs of the flights). At least it was Europe and not the USA.

I consider it a non-negotiable part of the holiday, to be budgeted alongside flights and hotels and cars hire etc. can’t afford the insurance, can’t afford the holiday. the other benefit is that many travel policies have a dedicated support line if you do have an emergency and can offer help and guidance. If you’re not on a package holiday and don’t have a travel rep, that support can be invaluable if you’re ill or otherwise in difficulty and not speaking the local language.

People post some pretty stupid thing on Mumsnet but this takes the biscuit travel insurance is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of the holiday and the benefits of the protection you get. I my neighbour (who was a useless parasite) took this view about car insurance until one day he crashed into my parked car.

Well, I suspect he/she/they thought that people on here might send money instead of advice?

Ooh see a doctor asap black poo could be chrons

I made sure my sons and I had the GHIC as soon as our EHIC ran out. (One is abroad in Europe currently with the GHIC). I also persuaded him to take out his first annual worldwide including skiing travel policy last week for this trip sa now he is 23 he is no longe ron the travel insurance which comes with my bank account.

As I said last week his old iphone and lap top are not the issue. The issue is if he kills or hurts someone in an accident when swimming or whatever then he loses his house (he owns a house so does have assets someone could sue him for and loses everything). His policy was about £23 or may £29 I can't remember, and lasts a year. You don't have to get all the bells and whistles of the perfect policy but do get something.

I didn’t get that impression

Well, Myrtle, who knows. Maybe they were just asking for advice, but with those symptoms I wouldn't be going on Mumsnet I'd be off to the hospital. Anyway. They may not come back.

Definitely go to hospital sounds like a perforated stomach ulcer with the pain & bleeding.

How are you now?

Hope OP is okay and halls managed to get see.

If you can afford to pay for it yourself then self-insuring is a perfectly sensible option.

I don’t take out travel insurance unless going to the US, I’m OK paying if I need to.

How would that happen, the OP hasn't been back to the thread? Pretty sure no one is stupid enough to be PMing with offers of cash

??

No, they haven't been back. People sometimes do offer cash, usually on threads where somebody is hard up/run out of food etc

Didn’t get the impression OP was looking for cash.

I hope she’s okay.

Firstly you need to see a Dr, use a credit card or loan some money.
Loperamide is probably not a good idea as it sounds like you might have some internal bleeding.
Doubt it was the wine or gin tbh!
Let this be a lesson that insurance is essential when abroad. If you didnt bother with insurance assume you also didn't get a card?

Maybe she's in hospital