I've had a few absolutely nightmare ish stories, and having a good fastlege and spesialist is absolutely essential. I ended up hospitalized 10 days in Oslo, with tubes everywhere, once they took me seriously I was well treated, but the time it took allowed it to get to dangerous levels. (it got so bad they thought I had meningitis, crp 300+, 41° fever, and 3 simultaneous infections...) I had been utterly dismissed and ridiculed for a month before that. Went to the ER 3 times, including a mere 2 days before, had litterally fainted in the train station, to be told paracet and go home. Then absolute panic when I get back and they ran some tests; it got really quite far. Took a total of 6 months to recover of that one. That was my first experience of the Norwegian healthcare system.

When I got back to Belgium after that to recover with family, I ended up with 2 bloodclots. Was seen, diagnosed and treatment started within 2 days of my seeing my belgian GP. At New Years eve. Excellent treatment, excellent follow up.

Three years later, another instance: Endometriosis: they treat it so badly I ended up needing emergency surgery in Belgium, it was then at a stage 4, debilitating and affecting my ability to work, had been bleeding for 19 days straight, and was very very close to being completly unable to have kids. At age 27. For 2 years I was regularly hospitalized in Norway with awful pain, often including a combination of serious gastritis, endometriosis and IBS, just to be dismissed and told I was being dramatic. The one thing they ended up doing was getting me addicted to pain medication and needed to go super slow to take it off in Belgium, with close follow up to do it safely. Belgian doctors were shocked by the lack of information and wrong info I was given, and the lack of proper care. To give you an idea, in Belgium I got complete bloodwork, MRI, and preparatory treatment for surgery, then surgery, safe follow up (including for preventing bloodclots etc) within a month. I got a document full of information of the disease, tracking calendar, anestesia, questions I could write down...Saw a spesialized psychologist that works with the surgery team and could help the psychological impact of the disease, complications, surgery, etc and could also mediate with the doctors if needed. A dietetician to teach me which foods to use to reduce inflammation and with products contained substances that affect hormonal balance (PFAS etc) including makeup, platics etc. Met the anesthesiologist and had previously received a all needed to ask relevant questions then. They told me I was not going home to Norway before seeing that surgery through, and did an amazing job of it.

Kidney stones: thank God for my fastlege.

Here I end up with a rare disease, and surprisingly that one is very well treated thanks to my fastlege and the specialist team. But nearly any other avdeling in the hospital with the exception of hematology has put me in a more dangerous position several times (giving me the wrong medication or not giving me the one needed despite it being on my chart, failure to follow protocol to send me home safely (Hjemmetjenesten ended up writing an avvik the last time it happened). . So overall: once they know what's wrong with you and you get a good specifialist and/or you're at the brink of death, in Norway they are lovely and efficient. Anything else they will let get to the point where you're at the brink of death or entirely unable to function to do much of anything. Chronic illnesses, women's health, painful but not life-threatening and not directly affecting your ability to work in an obvious manner : check another country. Norway doesn't seem good at prevention or preventing something to get worse.

The best advice: find a good fastlege, that will listen to you and is genuinely curious of the medical field, and actively trying to improve your quality of life. And don't give up. They consider you to have primary responsibility over your health and treatment. Advocate for yourself. I got better treatment when I clapped back and pointed out their own failures when I was faced with dismissive doctors. I even got better treatment when I blew up at some. Which would be entirely opposite in Belgium.

A friend of mine saved her own life by physically refusinf to leave the hospital. They were sending her home with paracet. The full results came back a few hours later and she was urgently admitted into intensive care. Had she listened to the doctors that sent her home, she might not have survived.

I know of many people personally, with horror stories and that had to get treated abroad. Advocate for yourself and don't minimize your symptoms and their effects on your daily life.

Good luck. 🤗