Sheryl

I can't recall specifically for hernia but there are AN members who have used hospitals in India. You need to research both the hospital and the specific surgeon carefully as in India, like anywhere else, quality varies greatly. The price you were quoted could not have been for open or laparoscopic as the 2 have very different costs. I expect it was for laparoscopic. It is not routine to require a CT scan first unless there is doubt about the diagnosis which is not usually the case. If I were you I'd consider going to Khon Kaen University Hospital, quality is good and cost will likely be similar ti going to India once you take into account airfare etc. Not that should not fly for at least 48 hours after laparoscopic surgery and a full 10 days after open surgery. And sometimes even when laparoscopic is planned they have to switch to open during the procedure (especially likely to happen in patients who have had prior abdominal surgery or re obese). In other words you might ave to stay longer than planned in India afterwards.

I meant that use by people who do NOT have coronary artery disease is of less clear benefit. You DO have CAD and there is no question but that you should continue the prescribed statins. The source is a peer-reviewed journal. However the authors repeatedly stress that this is a hypothesis of what may be the case. It is a controversial article.

They have the same action. Atorvastatin is somewhat more effective but also also has a higher incidence of side effects. https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/92/7/387/1696923 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10687671/ Simvastatin can not be given at a "high intensity" dose while atorvastatin can so for people needing very high statin doses atorvastatin is preferred. If your atorvastatin dosage is 20 mg or less, and you have good results on that, then discuss with your doctor if Simvastatin could be taken instead. Note that there is a 2:1 dosage equivalency i.e. 20 mg Atorvastatin = 40 mg Simvastatin; 10 mg atorvastatin = 20 mg Simvastatin.

Atorvin (made by Unison) Chlovas (made by Millimed) Lipostat (made by Siam Bheasach) Will run about 500 baht for 30 tabs

1. Use a very mild soap like Pears 2. Apply vaseline to the dry areas, it is by far the best thing for dry skin though a bit messy. Are you sure it is dry skin and not some other skin condition?

And the "they" that come are fully trained and equipped EMTs. Who will provide immediate stabilization right on the scene as wel las in the ambulance while in transit. Not the case here.

Moved to the Health forum. You have gotten some suggestions for psych but I would also suggest you see this doctor at Sripat https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/en/doctor/detail/26 what you describe sounds much like fibromylagia. Most Thai doctors are not familiar with it, and the "must be stress" is a default response when they can't find a cause familiar to them The above doctor is familiar with fibromyalgia. See what he thinks. Anxiety can do a lot but is unlikely to cause the sort of widesprerad nerve pain you describe.

Khin Kaen University Hospital (Srinagarind) Prof. Tanita Suttichaimongkol https://srinagarind.md.kku.ac.th/ Must say I am puzzled by "They found nothing serious in her stomach apart from an ulcer." An ulcer is serious, and would certainly account for burping, pain after eating etc. Did she have a repeat endoscopy after treatment for the ulcer? And repeat testing to ensure the h. pylori was eradicated?

Thsi particular train route is both very infrequent and very (unusually) uncomfortable. Unless it has recently changed, just hard wooden seats (sometimes with no free one available) and no a/c. It is also really slow. Forget what the schedule says, it will take a good 6-7 hours easily just to reach the border, sometimes 8. Allowing another hour for passing through both immigration controls (with a 1 km smelly walk between the two) and about 4 hours from there to Siem Reap, you are talking about a 12 hour trip i.e. a full day each way just for travel. The crossing at Poipet is highly unpleasant - place is filthy, full of beggars and assorted bad characters/touts; corrupt immigration officials. The taxi ride from Poipet to Siem reap also rather uncomfortable not to mention dangerous. But the worst of it will be reaching Cambodia from Bangkok. I really suggest you fly from Bangkok straight to Siem Reap, Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Thai airways all offer this route. 1 hour and you're there. There are packages available that include flight + hotel, and/or flight + hotel + entrance fee to Angkor. Might be worth pricing these. If by "our 4 guests will have visas on arrival" you actually mean they will be entering visa exempt (a different thing), yet another reason not to pass through Poipet/Aranyaprathet, that crossing is notorious for giving people coming visa exempt a hard time. No problem at all flying in.

The only drawback is you will have to file a tax return (currently not required if you owe nothing at all). And may need, at least the first time, the services of an accountant well versed in the DTA etc to know how to show the fact that the SS is exempt. If you have a US credit card that you can pay out of a US bank account, making more use of that for larger ticket items might help you stay within just your SS. Alternatively, transfer some extra funds as a cushion now before the new rules go into effect. in order to be extra sure I can live solely on my SS I have switched to use of US card when buying air tickets to abroad and for my (internationally based) health insurance. In both instances, though I do the transaction from Thailand the funds never enter Thailand at all, except/unless I use a Thai air carrier.

Depends on your condition. On the scene interventions of the type people are used to from EMTs in their home countries are rare here so there is less value to having an ambulance vs getting to hospital on your own if that is physically possible. I would say, if able to walk at least short distance, and if there is no contraindication to being moved (as in case with possible spine injury etc) Grab taxi (or equivalent - app that lets you input the destination) to hospital of choice is best as you will reach the hospital and thus start treatment sooner. good idea as well to think through ahead of time what hospital you want to go to in an emergency.

Unfortunately this is true. A service here in Thailand followed by cremation (possibly a few close relatives from US could fly in for it?) and then you travel alone back to US with the cremation remains for a fuller service is probably best option.

Sending the body is indeed very, very costly (and complicated). In fact would probably cost less for key family members to fly to Thailand to attend funeral than to do that. Sending cremated remains is very easy. You can even take with you as accompanied baggage, I have done it. This agency can help with everything including cremation or body preparation, the Embassy paperwork (you need a Certificate of Death Overseas from the Embassy and the Embassy in turn needs local death certificate etc to issue it) . They are every good and will not try to upsell you anything: https://www.amarinternational.com/contact.html Sorry for your loss.

@mikey88 also need to consider how ambulance would get into his place - if he is serious enough to need one, might not be able to get to the door. He should consider giving a copy of his key to a trusted neighbor , preferrably one who speaks both English and Thai.

Yes. Needs further study. Should note that multiple random controlled studies have shown that statin use by people with diagnosed coronary artery disease (found significantly decreased morbidity and mortality related to coronary events. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/217193 Statin use by people who do not have CAD is more controversial especially for borderline lipid levels.

He mentioned what he thinks needs to be diagnosed but not why he thinks that, nor whether he has already ever been diagnosed with these very specific problems. Makes a difference and he really needs to specify. If he is just asking because he has heard of others having this problem and want to rule them out then (1) he needs to be tested for more than these 2 very specific heart issues and (2) a heart check up package may suffice initially. If there is more to it he needs to start with a cardiologist. And he also needs to indicate if he wants government hospital (with the attendant delays, red tape but lowest costs) or private. Among the government hospitals, Rajavithi (first hospital in Thailand to do open heart surgery and major training site for it), Chulongkorn Cardiac Center and Siriraj Cardiac Center have a definite edge over Ramatibodhi for heart issues and cost the same. Ramathibidhi has comparative advantage for urinary & kidney problems though.

Of course he or anyone else, of any nationality, can call an ambulance anywhere in Thailand. But for those who do not speak Thai well (or at all) communicating may be an issue. The caller will need to be able to give clear information about where they are located (do NOT count on the ambulance call center being able to track your phone's location by GPS...most do not have that capacity). And remember that under conditions of stress, speaking a foreign language can become more difficult. There are 2 main ways to summon an ambulance: The general medical emergency number 1669. This can result in having little to no choice on what hospital one is taken to, and usually little to no English is spoken. Also usually nto much, if anything, in the way of on the scene first aid. The emergency line of a specific hospital. This, obviously, gets one taken to that hospital. In the case of private hospitals, especially Bangkok Hospital and maybe Ram, English speaking should be available. More chance of getting some meaningful on the scene first aid from these services but they are more costly. One can also call the general emergency number 191 but may be slower and also little/no English if all else fails call Tourist Police 1155, will be slower in that they will then have to contact the medical emergency number fr you, but they will speak English @mikey88 if your friend can afford care at either Bangkok Hospital or CM Ram suggest he put their ambulance numbers on his phone speed dial. It would also be wise for him to have on speed dial a friend or neighbor who speaks both Thai and English.

It is required IF and only if, the original visa was O-A. Not if it was non-O.

Again -- there is no "best" hospital. There are very good doctors to be found in most hospitals and there are sub-0standard doctors to be found in all, unfortunately. And many doctors are available at more than one hospital. As for the major government hospitals, they tend to have different areas of special expertise. OP needs first to provide more information as I cannot tell if what he needs is just a check uo package for peace of mind or a consult with a cardiologist.

There is a difference between an experience (and recollection of same) and how a person interprets an experience. Certainly any NDE that is limited to content from the person's past, or content that the mind could summon up from its stock of memories, can be explained as just continued mental activity of a dream-like sort. However a minority of NDEs (which themselves are a minority occurrence) include memories of events newly occurring after a person was clinically dead: things said and done during resuscitation attempts, for example. Which means that not just the mind's ability to remember/form dreams but at least some of the senses and ability to understand new sensory input, continued. It used to be thought that all brain activity ceased within minutes of respiration and circulation stopping. However it is now known that brain cell death is gradual process and that " if left alone, the cells of the brain die slowly over a period of many hours, even days after the heart stops and a person dies." https://med.nyu.edu/research/parnia-lab/cardiac-arrest-death Add to this that most sudden deaths are followed by attempts at resuscitation that may extend the period of circulation and oxygenation. Experiences during that time may not necessarily be experiences while dead. How all this relates to conscious experience is not really known. For that matter, the nature and basis of consciousness itself remains so far unexplained by neruoscience. It is not even totally certain that consciousness is a function of the brain though western science tends to make that assumption. We now know , for example, that some body organs also contain their own collections of neurons, particularly the heart where they are numerous enough that some scientists refer to it as a "little brain". Documented experiences of heart transplant recipients strongly suggest that this is capable of storing at least some subjective memories and impressions. Whether or not the heart's "little brain" can give rise to experience without first sending signals to the brain is unclear. Some meditative traditions hold that the "mind" is actually present in the entire body. Some (particularly Tibetan Buddhism) also have a tradition of waiting a few days before disposing of a dead body in the belief that conscious experience may still be occurring in it. Asking if there is life after the death of the body -- which pretty much means, is there conscious experience? -- is IMO a more than premature question given that we do nto yet understand the mechanism for conscious experience in living bodies.

Not if you are a woman living alone, you wouldn't. Very unwise. Calling the police and any nearby friends/neighbors (especially any that are male) would be normal. I imagine she did call someone as how else would the circumstances/reason she fled be known? But I suppose if there was what seemed like a ready escape one might take it, rather depends on the logistics of that which, other than the fact it led to a fall, are not described here.

However some annuities are funded through already taxed income (except for the interest portion) and thus only the interest portion should be taxable - I have one such. I don't remit it to Thailand though and certainly won't under the new rules, luckily my SS is enough for my in-Thailand expenses.

Yes, coconut water is an excellent balanced electrolyte solution. And tastes better than the packets. But nto as easy to stock up on/store at home. @bob smith forgot to mention, the activated charcoal will make your stool black, not to be confused with blood.

There is no "best hospital", all hospitals have both good and not so good doctors. You need to choose the doctor. Do you have specific symptoms or a history of heart trouble? If so, what?

I believe it was this one https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11612009/Sister-man-28-charged-thousands-Thai-motorbike-crash-urges-travellers-insurance.html The issue wasn't sobriety, helmet or license - it was that his policy had expired before the accident. He took out policy for only 31 days and the accident happened after that. Perhpas he extended his stay and forgot to also extend his insurance.