Sheryl

It is melatonin. Personally 1-2 mg is nto enough for me. But may suit some. Much less expensive to get imported melatonin from iHerb. Range of brands and dosages.

+1. Not at all usual to charge for medical certificate. Where was this doctor located? And exactly what eye drops were given? (could likely buy at a pharmacy for much less)

I would take "must be used by Feb 18 2024" as the last date on which you can enter based on that visa i.e. its expiration. I am curious, if you entered on 5 October how is it that you are still here? Usually granted just 60 days on entry. Did you make a border bounce already not mentioned?

How long you can use the visa for re-entry depends on the expiration date listed on the visa. Not on the date you originally entered the country. What is the visa expiration date? (not permission to stay date, visa date) No idea about border bounce from KUL.

I can assure you that the risk has been thoroughly quantified by trained actuaries and that everywhere, health insurance claims payouts rise with age group. Quite dramatically so after age 65. Indeed, younger people are more likely to get in an accident due to risky behavior, but even accidents are more common (and have more severe consequences) in the elderly, which is why it is so hard to get a Personal Accident policy once old. Even a mild fall can break a hip in an old person, one that would leave only a bruise in a young person.

There are 2 Indian made generic equivalents available: Rivaxored manufactured by Dr. Reddy Laboratories. There have been quality control issued raised about this manufacturer https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2023/11/16/fda-reddy-india-manufacturing-violation-pharmaceuticals-biologics/ Rivoxan manufactured by Unison. I don't see anything online about quality issues with them. I don't know the cost of either. Apibaxan is also an alternative. It has both Indian made generic equivalents and a locally made one called Apixa CCP 5 mg

April International (based in France) is not a broker as such, and certainly not a "Wholesale broker" which is another type of entity altogther. You cannot buy a full range of insurance policies from April International (France). They are a non-profit association which "takes out group insurance contracts with insurance organizations for its members" (https://www-associationdesassuresapril-fr.translate.goog/fr/l-association/l-association-en-bref?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc) and then issues individual insurance policies to their members, and directly manages these policies. My insurance contract is directly with April France. The underwriter is Groupe des Assurances Mutuelles Agricoles. ALL April policies seem to be called "My Health". But the "MyHealth Policy" issued by April France differs in very important ways from that issued by April Thailand . April UK, April Hong Kong etc. These differences reflect among other things the very different regulations governing health insurance in various places. The Policies "MYHealth Thailand" "MyHealth Hong Kong" etc are NOT offered or issued by April International. They are offered by April Thailand, April Hong Kong etc. These are completely independent companies though there is some sort of relationship to the parent company. I am not sure quite how that works, but what is important to understand is that they are independent organizations registered in their respective countries and bound by insurance regulations in that country. A policy from April Hong Kong would be international in the sense that it would be issued out of Hong Kong, not Thailand ,but this is not what I mean when I refer to "international policies", I mean policies issued out of a Western country with a good regulatory framework. I don't know anything about insurance regulations in Hong Kong. As I have explained elsewhere, you cannot get a policy with April France online, as soon as you type in Thailand it routes you to April Thailand. You have to go through a broker and for that, at this point, I would suggest one based in France such as AOC. (AOC might also be able to provide info on other policies as well). VUMI has offices in many countries (but not Thailand)and I do not know where a policy issued for someone living in Thailand would be issued out of. This is certainly something to check before insuring with them. The exact name of the company with whom you have an insurance contact, as well as general exclusions to coverage, and channels for dispute resolution, are all spelled out in the insurance contract, usually in a section called General Provisions or something like that. You should insist on getting a copy of same before buying any policy. Cigna Global (based in UK and coming under UK insurance regulations) is not bad. Aseannow members have had very, very large claims paid by them without problem. However their admin staff are disorganized to say the least so you really need a good broker if insuring with them.

Suggested oncologists in n Chiang Mai https://www.bangkokhospital-chiangmai.com/en/doctor/prof-emeritus-dr-prof-emeritus-sumitra-thongprasert-m-d/ https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/en/doctor/detail/123 Same doctor, different hospitals. Sriphat will cost less but entail longer waits. https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/en/doctor/detail/67 https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/en/doctor/detail/126 Nationwide: Ther Chulalongkorn Univerisy Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer (in Bangkok) is top notch. https://qscbc.org/en/ https://qscbc.org/en/surgical-oncology-day-care-unit/ There are also many international caliber oncologists at various private hospitals in Bangkok. I note you ask only about chemotherapy. Has she already had surgery? Has radiation been ruled out? What type of Breast Cancer does she have? Is she HER2 positive or negative? If HER2 positive, is it hormone receptor positive or negative? And has she had work up for metastasis yet? These factors make a big difference and would further influence where I would recommend she go.

There are several things on the Lazada site that say "Melatonin" inthe name but contain no melatonin. All made in Thailand. AFAIK there is NO Thai made product containing melatonin. On Lazada site at present I see only one actual melatonin product, made by Life Extensions which is US company. iHerb has many brands. Delivery is fast and reliable. https://www.iherb.com/search sug=melatonin&kw=melatonin&rank=0&rawkw=melatonion&refererLocation=suggestion And has previously mentioned Lien shopping currently has Puritan Pride brand, my personal favorite.

Yes, you were with April Thailand and NOT April International. Big difference. Had you been with April international all correspondence would have been from France and emails would have had the extension @april-international.com April Thailand has a policy called "My Health International", which confuses many people into thinking the policy is from April International. It is not. I do nto know of any way to apply directly to April France from Thailand, have to go through a broker. Trying to do this online automatically routes you to April Thailand. The policy document itself (which should always be read carefully, in fill) spells out who the contract is with as well. With a Thai policy like this there is no ombudsman to go to. Only recourse would be the OIC. OIC will be of help only if what the insurer is doing clearly violates the terms of the policy. Policies with April France have recourse to the French Insurance Ombudsman. The General Conditions for policy with April France states exclusion only for "previously declared conditions which were excluded at the time of enrolment in the plan". No moratorium period and no later deciding something was pre-existing, unless it emerges that the insured failed to declare something they should have.

They may have opted to go straight to a lawyer (for example if seeking damages) but they certainly could have -- and should have -- first filed a complaint with the OIC. Lawyers cost money. Filing with the OIC does not

In that case not likely to be the drops. I take it no other new medications? While allergy to something cannot be ruled out without testing, this sounds much like nonallergic rhinitis. Which is especially common in older people. See https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonallergic-rhinitis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351235 There is usually no identifiable cause but there may be triggers....which may or may not be possible to avoid treatments that are often helpful include: saline nasal lavage (using bulb syringe or neti pot). A more convenient, but less effective, measure is nasal saline sprays which can be found at any pharmacy antihistamine nasal spray - unfortunately I don't think any are available in Thailand except in combination with steroid (see below). You may be able to but Asterpro nasal spray online though. I see it here https://www.ubuy.co.th/en/brand/astepro (I have used that site twice, once with no problem but in the other instance they shipped via a courier leading to usual customs issues, just to be warned) steroid nasal sprays - these are not advisable in people with glaucoma as prolonged use raises intraocular pressure Lastly there are decongestant nose drops and sprays that will certainly work in the short term but used regularly will make matters worse. You might gte this and just use on occasion, for example if going out to dinner with friends. Get one containing oxymetazoline, there are many brands. It is safe in glaucoma. just make sure no other ingredient as some preparations combine iwht steroid. And do not use every day, just form time to time.

Not at all "easy" to go to court. Actually with a Thai insurer you start by filing a complaint with the OIC. Foreign insurer policies contain clear appeals procedures. Which also do nto require going to court. LUMA is a Thai policy. It is similar in that respect to April Thailand. Not to April France or other international insurers.

Was this April Thailand or April France? (Sounds more like the former) If it was April France, and if you fully declared the past condition on your application and they did not apply an exclusion or moratorium in your policy then you could have appealed this.

There are generic versions as I advised previously. Brim Mac Brinidin Whether you can find it is another matter. If you can't get hold of your doctor at Jomtien, you might try at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

As I have explained this is not due to the Centrum but may be due to the eye drops he is using for glaucoma, which are beta blockers. Beta blockers can cause non-allergic rhinitis in some people. @george should se his opthalmologist and discuss alternative medications/treatments

@george This is very unlikely to be due to the Centrum. More likely the eye drops as it is a beta blocker and beta blockerrs do case non-allergic rhinitis in some people. When did you start the eye drops and when did the rhinitis start?

https://www.aoc-insurancebroker.com/

IHerb has many brands and no, it is NOT "banned", and sent through iHerb it will not get confiscated. IHerb does limit the quantity that can be ordered at one time and they do this based on experience with shipments to Thailand. Lazada and Shoppee have it on and off. Currently Lazada has only Life Extension brand liquid melatonin. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/american-life-extension-quick-acting-liquid-melatonin-citrus-vanilla-flavor-59ml-sleep-i5023787814-s21237470407.html?c=&channelLpJumpArgs=&clickTrackInfo=query%3ALiquid%2BMelatonin%2BLife%2BExtension%3Bnid%3A5023787814%3Bsrc%3ALazadaMainSrp%3Brn%3A763a2c01fc45089fbaefcfed2cf33ede%3Bregion%3Ath%3Bsku%3A5023787814_TH%3Bprice%3A736%3Bclient%3Amobile%3Bsupplier_id%3A1000227943%3Bbiz_source%3Ah5_internal%3Bslot%3A0%3Butlog_bucket_id%3A470687%3Basc_category_id%3A12211%3Bitem_id%3A5023787814%3Bsku_id%3A21237470407%3Bshop_id%3A456229&fastshipping=0&freeshipping=0&fs_ab=2&fuse_fs=&lang=th&location=ต่างประเทศ&price=736&priceCompare=skuId%3A21237470407%3Bsource%3Alazada-search-voucher%3Bsn%3A763a2c01fc45089fbaefcfed2cf33ede%3BunionTrace%3A2151e60617064199556271858e30c5%3BoriginPrice%3A73600%3BvoucherPrice%3A73600%3BdisplayPrice%3A73600%3BsourceTag%3A%23auto_collect%231%24auto_collect%24%3BsinglePromotionId%3A-1%3BsingleToolCode%3AmockedSalePrice%3BvoucherPricePlugin%3A1%3BbuyerId%3A0%3ButdId%3AwpA86wG6ZDp2YCAQEE%2BxF%2F6D%2FI%3Btimestamp%3A1706419956174&ratingscore=0&request_id=763a2c01fc45089fbaefcfed2cf33ede&review=&sale=2&search=1&source=search&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.0&stock=1&pdpBucketId=5 Line shopping has Puritan Pride (excellent brand) melatonin 10 mg. 500 baht for 120 capsules. The only thing you are likely to find in a pharmacy is Merck's Circadin, expensive and only 1 mg dose.

Sorry, I misunderstood - thought you were saying you were going not MedConsult, which is in Bangkok.

P.S. LINE shopping has it. I just now purchased 120 tabs of 10mg Puritan's Pride which is my preferred brand. 500 baht.

Melatonin is approved as a medication under brand nbame Circadin by Merck. (Overpriced and very low dose). Foreign made melatonn considered as "nutritional supplements" in country of origin have been sold here on and off for years and still is, subject to availability. Lazada currently lists Life Extension brand Liquid Melatonin I find with all western "nutritional supplement" imports availability fluctuates greatly.

Medconsult does not levy additional charges for this. However, it is a one doctor place, a British GP, not opthalmologist so not really who can advise on what medication to take. If you are going to have to have a consultation anyhow, it would make more sense to have it with an ophthalmologist at Rutnin (eye hospital), if any place has the drops they will, and if the drops are truly off market now in Thailand the doctor could advise on alternatives. https://www.rutnin.com/en/home/ However if you are going all the way into Bangkok, you might like to first check at some of the larger pharmacies there e.g. RungRote Pharmacy on Soi Onnut (about 75 meters in from Sukhumvit, on right hand side) Siam Pharmacy on Ploenchit Southeast Pharmacy on Sukhmvit between I think Sois 13-25 (you might be able to call them first to ask, 095 905 8829) or message them https://www.facebook.com/SEPharmacy/ as they speak English Chulalongkorn Community Pharmacy (Opposite MBK, cross the footbridge to Siam Square)

A post with serious misinformation has been removed.

You do NOT need to see doctor in person for this, it can be handled on phone. Make sure they understand it is for refill of existing medication.