Sheryl

Vegan diets can be quite healthy provided one is careful to get the necessary amino acids, which takes some planning. But they will be deficient in B12 so B12 supplementation is necessary.

There is a scarcity of hard evidence one way or the other on benefits of periodic fasting, though it certainly has its fans.

The problems you report are not usual with Irbersartan (Avapro), though that does not mean that there could not in your case be a connection, since some people do have unusual responses to various medications. To be on the safe side, since your complaints seem related to starting in a new medication, it would be advisable to have blood test for creatnine, AST and ALT (kidney and liver function) and most especially, serum potassium. This is just to rule out any serious renal or hepatic problems and also to see if your potassium levels are off, this sometimes happens with irbesratan and if severe, it can cause nausea, muscle complaints and cardiac abnormalities. The Health check-up dept of any hospital can do this and the tests are not expensive, results same day in a matter of hours. Doesn't matter if you eat before hand.

I take it this is the only medication you are on?

Do you take your own blood pressure? If not, I suggest you buy a home monitor and start to do so. If your BP is too low (which can happen on this med and other antihypertensives) this could cause the feeling of fatigue. It would also usually cause some dizziness, especially when sitting or standing up suddenly.

If liver/kidney functionand potassium level all check out OK, I would primarily be concerned that the fatigue and generally unwell feeling might relate to your underlying valve disease i.e. that your cardiac output has worsened). The discomfort you report on exertion would tend to suggest that. In that case, better see a cardiologist sooner rather than later. I can recommend the following:

1. Bumrungrad Hospital: http://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Visuit-Vivekaphirat US trained and board certified, many TV members favorably recommend him. Yiou can make an appointment online.

2. Bangkok Christian Hospital (Saturday mornings only): Dr. Taworn. Call to make sure he'll be there, tel 0-2625-9000, 0-2235-1000. He is a senior Professor of Cardiology at a leading medical school, trained at UCLA, and is top notch. You don't need an appointment but should arrive as earl as possible as it is first come/first serve and he is in high demand.

I don't consider the tadpoles a problem, I like them and am happy my premises are helping maintain the frog population.

(The dog unfortunately does tend to eat the adults, though)

I'm seeing mention online of bacterial formulations for he string algae, anybody know a local brand and where to get it?

If its a veritable forest back there you can get it lasered - not cheap - a mate had his done for about 50,000 all in, i think - had to go about 4 or 5 times but he says its never come back since. Maybe that's a bit OTT for most of us lads! :-)

Laser hair removal only works if the hair is darker than the surrounding skin. OP mentions blond hairs, which will not respond well to laser.

Laser is a good option for people with dark body hair though. While it does take 4-5 sessions to get all hair off, even 1 sesson will see a permanent reduction. So it can be done to the extent one wants. For men who just want to be less gorilla-like but don't mind some hair, 1 or 2 sessions might do the trick (provided the hair is dark in color).

Strictly controlled substance. Can only be obtained at a hospital pharmacy on doctor's prescription.

If it's green fibrous stuff (like fabric) in big clumps, I have it too, and never did before. I think related to the extreme heat.

I've just been manually removing it, but if there is an easy and non-toxic trick I'd like to know. Don't want anything poisonous for fear of harming the frogs and tadpoles etc who breed there.

I gather this is for other persons, not yourself.

People vary in how active they are willing to be in trying to manage their condition and also in how much change they are willing to make in their lifestyle, diet etc. That's something that has to be accepted. Diabetes is something where active self care is very, very helpful, but the person must be willing.

For Thai cuisine, some very basic rules of thumb would be: (1) eliminate all cakes, desserts (unless specially made dietetic ones) junk food etc; and (2) eat much less rice and more of the main dishes (and make it brown rice if possible).

Blood glucose meters can be bought at any large pharmacy or the pharmacy section of a large super store, and often the pharmacy staff will demonstrate how to use them. (If not, they come with instructions and often a CD, you can also find videos online. It's pretty simple.)

If the patient is prepared to make major alterations in lifestyle and diet, then testing 2 hours after eating and learning from experience which meals and portions suit is fine, but if not, then at a minimum should test every morning before meals (fasting blood sugar) until things have stabilized. There is also a blood test called HbA1C which can be done every few months which will show the doctor how well the blood glucose has been maintained.

No problem with the recommended diet, in fact it is healthy from many vantage points. It will also not cause dangerous hypoglycemia, but if medication has been prescribed, that may, and people on hypoglycemic medications should take care to eat regularly and not skip meals.

This is a good Thai language resource:

http://www.diabassocthai.org/

Abused, is a matter of opinion mainly by people who dont know what they are talking about

Actually it has quite a specific medical definition.

Abused, is a matter of opinion mainly by people who dont know what they are talking about

Kinda depends if you see young uniformed guys doing mass doses of it without even thinking of risks and pct id call it abuse. However if you have researched it and accepted the risk ect ect id say your own choice.

Drug abuse has a specific definition which as nothing to do with the factors mentioned. It simply means use of a substance for a purpose that is not consistent with legal or medical guidelines.

Hopefully anyone who does that, does so with an awareness of the risks and so forth, but regardless of that, it still meets the definition of abuse if it is used for other than approved legal and/or medical purposes. It is not a pejorative term in and of itself.

some pharmacies carry the legal ones some dont, some expensive some not, a matter of shopping around, Secondly it rather depends on what you mean by "steroids".

Corticosteroids (prednisone, cortisone and the like) are prescription

only, for good reason given the dangers associated with their use.

not so, prednisilone needs no script in thai, though many chemists havent a clue, got a 500 bottle on koh chang for 500b, asked at dr emergency and was told no need script goto pharmacy

You were misinformed.

Prednisolone is category S:

"S = Special Controlled Drug (ยาควบคุมพิเศษ)

A first grade pharmacist shall be on duty at the premises selling modern

drugs. Sale to public is on prescription only. Daily purchase and sale

record required."

Exception would be topical forms.

Not only was the doctor who advised you a script was not needed wrong, the pharmacy broke the law in selling it to you without one.

The anabolic steroids commonly (ab)used by body builders are either illegal or strictly controlled (varies with the drug) in Thailand.

Testosterone itself is legal and used for HRT. While it is true that excess dosages of testosterone will increase muscle mass this is not its approved therapeutic use.

The anabolic steroids commonly (ab)used by body builders do have varying degrees of androgenic properties (properties that mimic the action of testosterone) and this confuses many people into thinking they are the same as testosterone. They are not. (referring to things like trenbalone, stanzalone, oxymethalone etc).

As an absolute rule: avoid processed carbs. That means no refined sugar, no white bread, white pasta, white rice.

Complex carbs (whole grains) and fruit in moderation and as above post says, taper to BS results

Plenty of vegetables and protein

Yes, the "muscle building" kind is not legal OTC. Testosterone is, and if you do a search of this forum you will find discussions of specific formulations. There is not, unfortunately, a cream or gel form available, only oral and injectable.

Which is not to say that self-prescribing it is a good idea. At a minimum one should first be screened for prostate cancer. Testosterone will not cause cancer if the prostate but it can greatly accelerate its growth.

While things she applies to the skin are possibles, so is food allergy. Also possible that it is an allergic reaction to some small insect bites, would suspect that particulalry ifg the rash occurs after playing outdoors.

It make take some trial and error but with patience you should be able to isolate what it is.

In the meantime, application of a steroid cream (something containing hydrocortisone betamethasone or pretty much anything ending in __asone) will give temporary relief while you are working out the cause.

First of all, there are no Chiang Mai specific laws or regulations regarding pharmaceuticals. National laws apply.

Secondly it rather depends on what you mean by "steroids". Corticosteroids (prednisone, cortisone and the like) are prescription only, for good reason given the dangers associated with their use.

Testosterone and testosterone derivatives are for the most part legal OTC.

If you could specify exactly what steroid you are looking for, can advise better.

Most likely an allergy.

You can take her to an allergy specialist for testing but before making that investment I'd try some home investigations i.e. make note of things she has eaten, places she has been, and insect bites etc prior to the rash appearing and look for commonalities.

Stress is also a possibility so see if she seems to be or have recently been upset before the rash occurs

Getting the boy's passport turned over is the #1 priority.

Once she no longer has the option of absconding with they boy, you will be in a better bargaining position.

If she is hell bent on returning to Thailand then there may not be a way, practically speaking, for joint custody to work. Would you be interested in sole custody? Do you think (once she realizes that her plan to take the boy to Thailand won't work) that she would agree to let you have custody? How attached is she to the child?

Many advantages in large dogs but I can't see any in those silly little toy dogs. I have 2 of the bas*****ds and they kept me awake last night with all their yapping. I am constantly falling over them.

My real dog gets hassled by them all the time too.

http://bizarrocomics.com/2013/03/31/prestidigitation-prophet/

In Korat its hotter than a weightlifter's jockstrap.

The wife took this picture yesterday afternoon, because its something she never saw here before. Usually 41 to 42 on the dashboard temp display...

Here on the other side of the mountains, temp is the same but humidity 3x more. Every so often it rains bringing brief relief but most of the time just threatens to.

If you live in the countryside or a village you need dogs,( & Chickens) to keep the biting & stinging wildlife away, What the Dog won t handle a Rooster will & vice versa, + free dinner with the chickens & their eggs, (Dogs as well if you like that sort of thing...)

Now this is important news. What exactly do Roosters keep away? Are you saying they eat scorpions and the like?

I got mine for security. My house is the only one down a long lane, none others in seeing or hearing distance, and I was having problems with a mentally disturbed man from a nearby village.

Since getting a dog, never a problem again. If anyone so much as pauses at the top of the lane, I already know about it. He's just a Chihuahua but they make great watchdogs.

He also doubles as a doorbell, with the added advantage of providing early warning .

That was why I got him, but now that I have him -- my first dog ever -- there are lots of other benefits. Increases the amount and friendliness of interactions with locals -- everyone wants to stop and discuss the dog, you get friendly with other dog owners, and so forth.

Running what used to be mundane errands becomes an adventure. Taking out the garbage, for example, is now the "Exciting walk to the top of the road!"

And he's great company on long car rides.

And yet your avatar is a picture of a cat. Does the dog know about this?

Oh yes. He knows the Cat is the Big Boss of the house. (She's certainly the boss of me...). That's the pecking order: first the cat, then me, then the dog. As God intended.

Overuse of antibiotics is indeed common in Thailand. That said, your blood tests results would have provided an indication as to whether or not a bacterial infection was present.

Also worth noting that when viral infections are prolong, bacterial superinfection is not uncommon.

Won't really come back thicker. Whether or not you want to bother with waxing is up to you.

Any hospital will do, they all do a reasonable job of the testing. Interpretation of test results is another matter.

Wherever one goes, need to review the results yourself against the normal ranges listed and take the initiative to get further medical advise on any abnormal results. The advice given by the doctors in health check up departments is often of poor quality, with bioth important things missed and unnecessary treatments/drugs advised.

AFAIK the government health system does not provide free check-ups, so he would have to pay out of pocket.