doctormann

13 minutes ago, ATLShawn said:

Anyone have multifocal, non-cataract surgery?  I had a Raindrop lens removed last year - no more monofocal for me.  That surgery cost a lot (out of pocket) and was nothing more than frustrating.  I have no issues spending the money for very high quality... only have 2 eyes and I'd like them to work well.

I'm trying to find a doctor and hospital preferably in Pattaya or Jomtien (maybe Si Racha).  I've been warned against a certain senior doctor (blinded a few expats from what I was told) and BKK in general for overcharging.  I've also been advised to go to Bangkok to a dedicated eye hospital but their recent Google reviews really suck.

I have tried to avoid the Bangkok Group Hospitals in the past, for the reasons that you say.  I was, however, pleasantly surprised with Jomtien Hospital - same group but much more reasonably priced for cataract surgery, at the moment, and I think that the 'special offer' runs throughout this year.  Whether or now the offer also applies to non-cataract surgery I cannot say.  The procedure should be the same, surely.

I had cataract surgery on my second eye, yesterday, and the results have been very good.  Acceptable vision already and this will improve as the eye settles down.  My surgeon was Khun Jittapan Chureeganon so it may be worthwhile you talking to him.  I did discuss multifocal lenses with him and I'm sure that he could fit those if you really wanted them.  Be aware though that they can be problematic and are 2-3 times more expensive than single vision lenses - in the region of 100,000 Baht per eye at Jomtien, compared to 39,000 Baht for the single vision lenses that I paid.

I know that the attraction of multi-focus lens surgery is that it obviates the need for spectacles - which is OK if it actually works properly.  There is definitely an increased risk of not working fully, in which case you would still need to wear specs, or contact lenses.  Specs can be a PITA but if you have been wearing them for 30+ years, as I have, this becomes rather less of an issue.

21 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Friend from Jomtien paid 150'000 at Bangkok Hospital for multi-focal plus laser (included?).

He is not rich and wish he would seek advice before running to the cash drain again.

German guy living in Udon was quoted 85'000 for monofocal.

He went to Khon Kaen RAM (still considered expensive private one) and paid 50'000.

Interestingly, Jomtien Hospital, where I am in the midst of having cataract surgery - one eye done and one to go - is actually part of the Bangkok Hospital Group but, for some reason, seem to have a different pricing policy and are much more reasonable.  My ophthalmic surgeon works at both places.

I was actually sent to the main Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya to have a thorough eye examination and for the replacement lenses to be specified.  The cost for this was additional to the 39,000 Baht surgical cost but still very reasonable at about 1500 Baht.  The RT-PCR pre-op tests were free.  I've just had my second one today, prior to my upcoming surgery on Friday.

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You should try this new site. Many people that could not do them before have used and it worked for them.

Agreed.  I could never get the old site to work because of new passport after last entry issues.  The new site works fine for me - got my approved status yesterday, 24 hours after submitting the application.  'Pending' status happened immediately - and I got an email with a TM47 acknowledgement.  'Approved' status came by email, with a printable slip attachment for inclusion in my passport.  Both TM 47 and slip are also available on the website and can be downloaded from there.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Turn off your VPN and it will work.

I just opened the site and it is working.

Yes, you need to turn off your VPN.

Site is working - submitted my report this morning.  Status now 'Pending' as expected.

1 hour ago, Ohyesuare said:

I've been getting these consistently for years now. Amazon ones as well. If you hover over the sender it'll always be a bunch of numbers and letters for the email and they'll never address you by your full name like official PayPal emails do.

I get the Amazon ones as well and nowadays quite a lot offers for Viagra and Cialis.  Mt SPAM filter is very good at sorting out the dodgy stuff - just check the SPAM box once a day in case anything genuine ends up in there.  Rarely happens.

Well, sorting out the PayPal problem was not difficult but, of course, this has not stopped the phishing attempts that I seem to get on a regular basis.  The latest one was today - telling me that my account was locked, which it isn't, of course!  A quick check on the real PayPal site - not the link provided in the phishing email - will tell you if there is a problem.

14 hours ago, Regyai said:

TBH

 

Much of this puzzles me. Why are you all doing backflips to validate this neutered pared down parody of a PayPal account?

PayPal has its uses as an alternative payment channel.  I rarely use it but it's convenient sometimes.  I've only ever had a personal account so I have no idea how trading accounts have been affected.

1 hour ago, userabcd said:

Don't think that vaccination ID number was envisaged or intended to be used by non immigrant foreigners in Thailand for financial reasons and PayPal verification.

 

I think PayPal and the government need to clarify this.

 

 

 

 

Quite.  I'm not saying that it's intended to be used on PayPal but it is an official ID and it does appear to be acceptable.  Those of us without a yellow book/pink card do not have any sort of Thai ID anyway.  Even your Thai driving licence only has your passport number on it.

48 minutes ago, Isan Farang said:

I entered the 13 digit number from my pink id card, and this was accepted. No further info was required.

Yes, if you have a pink card then the number from that would be the one to use.  Pity that PayPal didn't make it a bit more obvious though.

I don't have a pink card - my Amphur steadfastly refused to issue a yellow book for me so I can't get one!

9 hours ago, fdsa said:

which is the length of that ID? Does it consist of numbers only or letters too?
I wonder if I could just write something like 1234567890 in that field.

13 digits - numbers only.

Yes, i think that any 13-digit number would work as i don't think that they have any way of checking.

If you have a pink card - I don't - then the number from that would be the one to use.

30 minutes ago, doctormann said:

Yes, exactly the same here - they want a 'Population ID Number', whatever that is.  Passport number doesn't work,

Update:  I just tried entering the ID Number from my vaccination certificate and this was accepted.

Then got a pop-up saying 'Thanks, you're all set'

That ID Number is the one that I used to register on the Mor Prom app so I guess that it must count as a government-issued ID.

Is my PayPal account now OK>  We shall see!

28 minutes ago, KhaoNiaw said:

Got a "Final Warning" for verification for my Thailand Paypal account. But the verification link seems to require a government-issued Thai ID number. It's not accepting my passport number. Anyone else with the same problem? 

Yes, exactly the same here - they want a 'Population ID Number', whatever that is.  Passport number doesn't work,

5 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

They have always been the real powerbrokers mate, since the 1930's. They have used every opportunity to remove threats to their control, since I arrived 31 years ago anyway, and now they can pretty much do what they like as the only controlling influence there was is no longer with us. Remember in 1991/92 it almost went full blown Myanmar...

 

What some people fail to realise (not your good self of course), is that despite late 20th century and early 21st century modernisation, Thailand remains a very insular, inward looking, backward South East Asian nation that has gone from a rural farming economy through rapid industrialisation in less than five decades, resulting in a lot of fancy infrastructure and money but none of the fundamentals have followed such as improvements in education, social security, Policing, etc.

 

Those that have tried to divert money from the corrupt to make those improvements have been swiftly removed as from the very top down here there is no equality. Their culture dictates that due to the Dharma wheel and Karma, that you desrve what you get in this life from stuff you did in the past lives.

 

It is, in essence, a caste society, with money as the defining measure.

 

There's a reason the Buddhas are gold. 

Yes, a 'developing nation'; lots of glitzy shopping malls etc but scratch the surface and it's still very much third world underneath.

On 1/2/2022 at 11:45 AM, doctormann said:

Yes, i noticed that the 'promotion' has disappeared from the website.  I still have the intention to make an appointment to see their ophthalmologist just a soon as this NY holiday season is over - maybe this week but it depends on how busy they are.

The promotion is still running.  I went to Jomtien Hospital last Friday, 07 Jan, and the cost for single lens replacement was quoted at 39,000 Baht per eye - and I have this in writing.  I fully expect there to be additional charges for medication or whatever.

The eye examination was free but I felt was not particularly thorough - no check for glaucoma, for instance.  The consultation with the doc could have gone better.  I was trying to get some idea of what glasses I would need, post-op, particularly if varifocals would be appropriate, but I didn't really get an answer.  I also have some astigmatism and the standard replacement lenses will not correct for that so that would need to be included on any glasses prescription.

I did ask about multi-focal replacement lenses but these would, as expected, be far more expensive - about 100,000 Baht per eye.

I do have one major concern that remains unresolved.  I have been taking Tamsulosin for prostate issues for many years and I believe that this can cause issues with cataract surgery - floppy iris syndrome, which can be very serious.  I tried to raise this issue but the doc seemed uninterested.  This is not a show stopper but I would really like some answers.

Anyway, the current state of play is that I have a couple of weeks to decide if to proceed.  I go back for a follow-up appointment on 26 Jan so I shall try to get some answers then.

On 1/8/2022 at 9:49 AM, BangkokReady said:

Silly Rabbit.  You need the lights off to avoid ghosts!

Even better - red on the front and white on the back.  That really confuses them and yes, I have seen this idiocy, more than once!

44 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

I get an annual statement telling me what my occupational pension from the UK is. Last year it arrived opened and the resealed with clear tape. Written on the back of the envelope, in Thai script was the monthly amount I receive!

 

I don't know whether it had been opened by customs or at some stage in the postal process. I emailed my pension provider and asked them to send it by email in future. Hilariously they refused - apparently email is not secure!

 

As for TOT, a couple of years ago my line (phone and internet) simply stopped working. After a couple of months, and numerous visits to the TOT office (they kept repeating the mantra " call helpline" - but my phone line is dead!) I gave up and stopped paying.

 

I enquired about reconnection last month - they wanted B1600!

 

I don't bother with TOT any more. Any mail to or from the UK is sent registered from the Post Office (although I read somewhere they were packing that in).

I also heard that Registered Mail FROM Thailand was being discontinued but whether or not this has happened I don't know.

I believe that the EMS service will still be available - quite expensive though.

Past experience with Registered Mail to UK is that you can get lucky or it can get stuck at Suvarnabhumi, waiting for a flight out for maybe a couple of weeks.  EMS is usually very much faster - but COVID may have affected this.  I haven't needed to post anything to UK for a while now.

It's also quite normal for post to languish in the Heathrow (Langley) Mail Centre for a while before making it into the UK postal system.

6 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Fredscats

I assume these are lens option in Rupee's.  

As I understand it, India's prices are very good however you have to figure into it your travel expenses, lodging, and of course PCR tests to enter India, and re-enter Thailand.  In the end, I doubt traveling to India would be cost effective. 

It would have been a good option pre-COVID but probably not viable at the moment.

6 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

I went to the Jomtien Hospital web site and it said they were running a promotion through Dec. 31, 2021 of 39,000 baht per eye.  That of course was the standard lens.  I tried to check again after December 31, 2021 to see if it had continued.  The link to the promotion will not load.  

So when the nurse told you about 40,000 I think she was correct.  Now the question is will they continue that in 2022. 

Yes, i noticed that the 'promotion' has disappeared from the website.  I still have the intention to make an appointment to see their ophthalmologist just a soon as this NY holiday season is over - maybe this week but it depends on how busy they are.

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

I don't 'need' my bill the banks sms tells me, the reason i want to know about the bill being sent, is to gain evidence against the post office concerning no mail delivered, my UK bank sent 3 card readers last year they don't have a tracking number. I never received one or even 2020 xmas cards. I think I really do now need to involve the cops as what will happen to any new ATM cards sent to me or other mail.

I always get my UK bank - Barclays - to send out ATM cards using a courier service and they are amenable to this.  i had a replacement card reader sent out by courier as well.  DHL delivers to my door - usually takes no more than three days.

I rarely get any mail delivered by Thailand Post.  Occasionally we get some - usually a month or more old.

In my experience, Xmas cards never get delivered - you can speculate as to why but maybe something to do with the possibility of having cash inside!

Just now, Cake Monster said:

I have been using the Queen Sirikit Hospital in Sattahip for my problem Eyes for Years now.

Always have had the very best of care and attention.

The Doctors and staff seem very professional, and attentive.

The process of actually being in the Eye Care Room is a little daunting, and confusing at times, but after just One visit, it all seems so seamless.

 

I have used Queen Sirikit Hospital in the past, when I had bladder surgery there.  Couldn't really fault the degree of care and professionalism and the cost was extremely reasonable.  A lot of waiting around though.

I may well approach them for my eye problem but, as I understand it from at least one report on this forum, they are not doing any non-urgent surgery at present because of COVID.  I suppose I could wait a while but there seems to be no end in sight for the pandemic.  My problem isn't urgent but it is beginning to affect my quality of life so I would like it fixed asap.

23 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

you will nto get a better price than 40k at any private hospital.

 

Definitley at that amount it either does nto include the cost of the lens at all or the lens is standard. Multifocal lens cost that much just for the lens alone.

 

 

Agreed.  Actually, 40k seems suspiciously cheap.  Of course, this was not an actual quote, just what the nurse told my wife, so may bear little relation to the true cost.  I'm planning on scheduling an appointment after the holiday so I may find out more then.  I want to avoid nasty surprises,  i.e. additional charges that I was not told about in advance.