bradiston

The end result is enslavement to a debt you probably will never be able to pay. People say "But it's voluntary." Yes, volunteered slavery when there is no alternative. Like "voluntary exile" or anything else purporting to be voluntary when it's not. The arrogance of people who say "Well, you didn't have to sign", when you have no choice. Oh yeah, there's always a choice they say. If there was a choice, who in their right mind would sign up to these insane terms? The lenders prey on the desperate. They know their customers.

My blood pressure has never been a problem, and at the BPH they check it every time you visit. A heart rate monitor just monitors BPM, and an ECG monitor checks for the regularity of the heart beat, amongst other things. But a print out of either is essential for a medical professional to be able to assess your heart's performance/condition. I just tried setting up an account on the Fitbit app. Google,who bought Fitbit, wants permission to use all your medical data gathered by the device. I bailed out at that point. They've got to be kidding. But as I said, there is a user written app that Fitbit users recommend. But you can hardly try before you buy. So it's just a shot in the dark as to whether this thing is going to be of any use. I'm seeing my doctor in a few days. I'll press him on what it is he's looking for. Right now, it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

And how about uploading the heart rate data?

A number of Fitbit devices do continuous heart beat monitoring. But from what I've read, you need a 3rd party app to download the data to an external device. And believe it or not, the ECG functionality only works in a limited number of countries, none in Asia. Still I shall press on.

Sure, but to take an ECG reading you usually need to place at least one finger on some part of the watch which acts as a data gatherer, for around 30 seconds. But I take your point about the link to an app. I'll pursue that. And my neurologist, however good at neurology, made a complete mess of my insurance claim, which, as it turned out, was pointless in any case. I won't go into details but he really screwed it up. It's possible I'll lose all cover, whereas before this I was 16 months through a 24 month moratorium on pre existing conditions.

I've come to realise there's no way a smart watch can do what I want, which is continuous heartbeat monitoring. But I did find a method for doing this. It consists of a patch applicable to the patient's chest. Totally unobtrusive. I've no idea why this isn't used more widely. Like many new(ish) technologies, they're expensive at about $500 each, (but 7,000 THB on eBay) and only single use, over 2 weeks. So monitoring a month might set you back ~15,000 THB. That's without the analysis service. https://www.irhythmtech.com/providers/zio-service/zio-monitors https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/tiny-patch-powering-big-data-is-changing-the-way-we-monitor-heartbeats.html For me, at that price, a last resort. Maybe in future the price will come down. Anyway, that's me signing off.

I use kamagra jelly and have a large supply of it from overseas. It seems to suit me.

It's pretty constant but you don't notice it necessarily. The doctor showed me my print out. It was normal for a short time then flat. Another scan they do is like a pregnancy scan. Not sure what it's called. Echo cardiogram maybe. But it shows you your heart beating on screen. From the test they can get readings of the volume of blood being pumped. Mine was way down but improved with the meds. They say now it's satisfactory at around 60%. If you feel knackered most of the time, I figure it could be because your heart isn't pumping efficiently. But all these tests you need to go in for. Maybe once every 6 months is enough. I've lived with afib for about 10 years. Just look after yourself and it's hardly noticeable. I don't drink or smoke. My doctor said Viagra was not a problem. It increases the blood flow, especially to parts other meds can't reach, as we know! I'll keep looking at these watches. Not sure if they'd be any use to me though. Thanks to everyone who answered. It's cleared my rather muddled thinking!

Err, really?

Well, obviously you can wear a watch all the time. However, from what I'm beginning to find out, asking a device to continuously monitor heart beat may not be possible. It seems several that do do ECG require you to place a finger on the bezel. So that's far from continuous. It's on demand. Not sure where this is all going.

It's no way a long term solution in any case. They need to be looking at a proper national savings and loans fund IMHO.

Hmm. That's more or less what I did. Came down to just 2 brands. I'm leaning towards a Google Pixel 2 watch. But i really would prefer a Huawei ceramic. Looks amazing and is probably as good if not better than the rest. Don't really care if the US doesn't approve it. FDA? Only for selected brands of their choosing.

Im not interested in all that stuff.

The EEG measures brain waves. ECG your heart beat. I want the watch to record my heartbeat when the anomaly happens. It's all I can do. It might not tell me anything more than what it feels like. But it's worth a try.

Read above. I'm not an idiot.

I think checking for an irregular heartbeat needs only one sensor. It becomes totally obvious after a few beats. But I experience what I call an "anomaly" which is like an electric shock, my heart appears to stop and restart, and I'm there thinking wtf. It's been happening for a few years. Seemed to me that the EEG could definitely shed some light on it, but it seems I'm in great shape from the readings they got. The neurologist wanted me to stay in for 24 hours wired up to the EEG machine but I explained it was an intermittent unpredictable event and I might be lying there for several weeks before it recurred. So the smart watch seemed an ideal solution. At least, worth trying.

And the print out?

Because the cardiologist suggested that the anomaly I experience in my heart rhythm was linked to a problem in my brain. But the EEG gave a perfect print out. So have to look elsewhere. There's no way of recording what happens when I experience the anomaly except with a real time non stop ECG monitor.

Well that's what they're saying in the reviews. "The one thing users must be aware of is that the ECG functionality is only supported on Samsung Galaxy-branded smartphones."

The linked list includes Huawei which I guess will never get FDA approval. The only remaining one is Google Pixel Watch 2. I read some fairly moderate reviews of it but it will probably do for my purposes.

Thanks but the ECG only works with Samsung phones.

I've suggested elsewhere the Thai government looks at setting up a loan scheme for saving, house purchase etc etc. The Philippines has one, with over 4 million signed up. Been going for 50 years. Low rates guaranteed, between 4.5 and 5.5%. Government regulated. But, you need a regular salary, as with any mortgage. So lifting the population out of poverty should be the first priority of this government. And 10,000 THB is really not going to do that. So think again Billionaire Bob. Stop laughing hysterically for a minute and wake up to the mountainous problem you've inherited from half your fricking cabinet.

Why do we get the Glazer family news shoved into a serious topic about debt in Thailand? Not the first time.

Oi vey!

"Many senators cited his media-shareholding court case as the reason for their decision." Oh no they didn't. It was 112 that unstuck him. They were just too sxxx scared. Even went further, as we all know. Accused him of trying to overthrow the whole damn caboodle. Hysterical nonsense.