MissChris

Compare it with what we're used to here in Australia

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR282.loop.shtml#skip

@KarenBravo: I understand you might be allergic to freeloaders, but the original poster gave no indication he is one. Why need to scorn so badly a person who is just not as well-off as you apparently are? The comments like that are the main reason why the Phuket forum is not very lively these days...

I actually LMAO at KarenBravo's post.

Just don't rummage through the rubbish with too much abandon...had a bad dose of some bug & son simply dropped all the towels & stuff into plastic garbage bags. Still chuckling at the surprise someone would have got opening them with gleeful anticipation. Not a good look.

What's wrong with growing some of your own veggies & brewing your own beer? Goodness, in Phuket you could probably operate a still...

Latest on statins...

I checked with a newly graduated doctor. I find they tend to be the most up-to-date. Her comment was that statins don't work because people think they can eat as many fats as before, if not more. Needs the lifestyle change too. No getting away from the salads, the exercise...whether you're on the statins or not

So?

Let us know what happened

Are you saying that statins are falling out of favour because of side effects or because doctors are generally accepting that high LDL is not related to heart disease risk, and therefore they are being prescribed in error? Neither of these is true.

Dunno. Usually in these cases research shows risk vs benefit are not acceptable. Also cost can be a factor. I'll check & get back to you...

One of the things I was on about is that Tagamet is the Trade name - owned by one drug company. Cimetidine is the generic name - used by all manufacturers of that drug. The public was subjected to a lot of 'infomercials' and asking their doctors for Tagamet. It was extremely expensive at first.

I don't think Tagamet (cimetidine) is used in therapy for Helicobacter pylori. Proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole (Nexium) are used with antibiotics, usually tetracyclines, for a treatment regime.

Sorry to get all technical...

For instance, if you free a person that has had their legs trapped by debris for more than a few hours, you will kill them. Not common knowledge, but, a professional will know that.

It's true. Crush injuries (or rhabdomyolisis - similar to myopathy that can be caused by statins for the cholesterol mob) can be caused by any part of the body being trapped, most commonly the arms & legs. Australia had a big train crash in 1977 where many died of this 'crush' injury. It was poorly understood then. Lots of research done since.

I find it disturbing to see news clips of people pulled from rubble, handed like a bucket brigade to the nearest ambulance. Shock is another problem both in this instance & where people are still trapped. They are often given IV fluids in situ, tourniquets applied & then removed. Strong pain killers are part of the mix too...

Needs training by experts. Not rocket science.

Phuket sounds like it needs an earthquake plan stuck behind every door. Apparently this is the case in San Francisco and other places on the San Andreas fault. Perhaps some US expats can expand.

Yes, they can't get commissions for prescribing drugs, but they sure do get lots of freebies & toys. For example, drug companies give away computers; provide expensive wines & cheeses for 'Journal Clubs' run by & for doctors; pens, stationery with logos on them...

Then there's the mad scramble to go to Conferences in The Maldives & other exotic places.

I once told my GP I thought it was tacky when the eye chart I was reading had a drug name on the last line. He had the grace to look embarrassed.

The only applications for prescribing habits of doctors, provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia, are from drug companies, who then target the doctors who do not prescribe with their Trade name. The only way around it is to get the pharmacist who is filling your prescription to ask you if you want the cheaper brand. Doctors are completely a law unto themselves when it comes to prescribing.

I will repeat myself: statins are falling from favour. Watch & you will see...just like the old days when everyone was on Tagamet for their 'ulcers'. The person who worked out that they were mostly caused by a bug called Helicobacter pylori (an Australian) also won the Nobel Prize.

PS Just because you have high cholesterol levels, doesn't necessarily mean you are going to have a heart attack or stroke. Lots of people live happily with extremely high levels. It tends to run in families. I think it's just the latest fad to get people to take statins.

Like heaps of people on proton pump inhibitors, like Nexium. Great for heartburn. Not so good every day.

your body can produce vitamin D by getting sun.

I wonder if the Thais wanting to stay out of the sun, increases the chance of D deficiencies (?)...........

Precisely.

As well, you shouldn't wash for a few hours after getting sun on your skin, because the oils that are needed for absorption are washed off. We have overdone the sunblock, although I doubt it would be a problem in Phuket. The poster who loves Thai soapies and wants his home-made burgers delivered is probably a worry. On many fronts.

I work with a woman from Zimbabwe. Her skin is the equivalent of Factor 15, so living at higher latitudes (she has worked in the UK for many years), she had extremely low levels, much to her surprise.

There must be lots of good stories about Phuket.

Yep! A colleague of mine just returned from his first visit. Stayed in Patong (gasp!). He came back tanned, fit, happy & can't wait to go again.

We girls bailed him up first & gave him all the warnings. He wasn't going to risk the hard time we gave the last bloke who returned & confessed to not using a condom with a bar girl...

Yes. But, this would require work on my part. I am fat, lazy, and like Thai soap operas.

Can you come over and prepare this for me, while I relax, watch Thai soaps, and scratch myself?

Looks like a great business opportunity for someone...

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00094qk.php

3.9 magnitude

You guys need to go to the cholesterol thread. FAST

Statins are rapidly falling from favour. All sorts of side effects, including myopathy. The longer you take any drug, the more likely something will go wrong, in any case.

Advice from dieticians in Australia is to aim for 5 vegetables & 2 fruits a day. Try making your own green juice. I also heard that the three most useful vegetables are carrot, tomato & onion. You need leafy green ones if you are getting older for your macula as well.

If you're using margarine (or butter) regularly, you have a problem. It's a TREAT.

I agree that Thai food is preferable. However, it still has high levels of carbohydrate and limited variety of oils.

Just to worry you - the latest drama is about vitamin D levels. Lots of people are finding out they have very low levels.

While you're sprinkling the camphor around, drop some catnip over your neighbour's fence to entice it away

Love it!

I've been using various types of fora for about 14 years. They are a strange creature. It is possible to be extremely offended by a post because it's out there in front of a lot of people, rather than just those in earshot.

My lazy use of 'google is your friend' is not meant to be rude. It's taken me ages to learn to do a quick trawl there first - and not necessarily here. I should shortcut most of those by going straight to Wikipedia in many cases.

WRT the references to us Aussies: at the Byron Bay Bluesfest, we had a Finnish band playing. One member told us he had researched our history and learned that we (at least the non Indigenous people) are descended from convicts. He stopped, looked around at the beautiful day and said 'You can't have done anything too bad. Could have been transported to a far colder climate.'

What's a LMGTFY link?

You lot are such a tonic...rofl

I've found the spray bottle got rid of my cat's 'friend'. It was scrambling to get over the 2m wire fence & I got lots of shots in. Must have been soaked before it got away. It was only a little spray bottle - amazing how far they will squirt and how much water they deliver to the right spot.

Never came back

Went there recently with son's Thai fiancee. Left her to order. One dish was softshelled crabs. Delicious. Cute, so I found it better if I didn't look at them first...

We go regularly. Once time, son was convinced that the orchids were fake (as if someone would bother putting up so many to dust) and was embarrassed to find pinching a leaf AND a flower resulted in them being squished. Slow learner

Public awareness is good, but if you took the time to read the reports on TV and elsewhere

and understood what causes tsunami you would understand

When the ocean floor shifts vertically the water drops down to fill the space and then

underwater landslides happen which forces the water back up again and causes tsunamis

The ocean floor shifted horizontally this time

Weather i was here or not last time makes no difference

It's not possible to be there watching whether it is a shear or vertical earthquake. Ergo, getting the hell out of range is the only option till there is info on the net. Don't think I'd be heading for the Big Buddha, but I'd be following the tsunami warning signs to high ground.

There must still be a large number of people irrevocably scarred by the last one. I don't blame them. A bit of a traffic jam is not a lot of inconvenience for the terrified so long as they don't write off lots of people in their haste.

Greetings from the Byron Bay Bluesfest. (NSW is a province of Phuket...I think)

Sorry about the double post...funny connection here...

If you don't like the tone of the Phuket Forum, noone is forcing you to log on.

I find that there are very helpful people here who are quick to assist a query. There is a wealth of information which would be difficult to access elsewhere.

Who cares if people argue here? As long as there are no trolls.

Sometimes I get a real belly laugh - can't believe I missed killing Kenny!

Even if you live in paradise, things get to you. Such as missing favourite foods.

I'm off to the Bluesfest, Byron Bay (NSW Australia). Second day. All sorts of old fogeys on including Canned Heat. They played 'On the Road Again' first up.

Greetings kawapower - hope the Kawa is fun too.

If you don't like the tone of the Phuket Forum, noone is forcing you to log on.

I find lots of people who use it are very quick to help anyone who asks. There is a wealth of knowledge which it would be hard to tap elsewhere. Sometimes I get a great belly laugh. Can't believe I was so slow about killing Kenny!

Why can't people grumble here? Or argue? As long as there aren't trolls running rampant, it's a great place to vent. It doesn't matter whether you live in paradise, there are always things that get to you. Such as the occasional longing for familiar foods.

Have fun, you guys. I'm off to the Bluesfest in Byron Bay (NSW Australia). Day 2. All sorts of old fogey bands, like Canned Heat. Yep! They played 'On the Road Again' first up.

The police officers i spoke told me that they don't really like to new Mazda'a 2 as they are to small.

No open space in the back where they can put the "arrested" people.

Have they ever sat in the back of a Mazda 2? Such a 'boy' thing: gotta have a bigger car. There is PLENTY of space in the back of a Mazda 2. I've sat in one heaps of time. I reckon you could get at least 6 Thais in there plus a couple in the boot if you took the cover off. Farangs...3 max.