Sheryl

Of these choices I would also opt for Dr. Rapheephan. But before seeing a doctor for something that might well be unnecessary: 1 - What type of birth control is she using? And for how long? 2 - Exactly how long do her periods last and for how long have her periods been of this duration? (by the way up to 7 days is within normal range) 3- Is that duration a period of full bleeding or is it just spotting for part of it? 4- are her periods regular? 5- has there been any change in the amount of blood (heavier or lighter, spotting?) 6- Are you certain this is all true, or might she be using menstruation as an excuse? (not unusual) 7- any pain associated with either her periods or with intercourse? If yes, when did it start? BTW one would not usually expect any blood tests to be done at a GYN check up. Exactly what "hormones" were prescribed to her 4 years ago and for what reason/diagnosis?

Not sure but I believe there are some exceptions to this e.g. when changing jobs or moving to new location. OP probably falls into last category and states he was already able to make the change at his local SS office.

Indeed they do not. Try again and put them on the phone with the local SS office.

There is no 6 month wait when you change hospitals. And from what you say, you already used your SS at that hospital? However the extra service fee in the Premium Clinic is probably not covered,, you may have to pay the difference. Return to main desk with the request documents (or those of them that you have - maybe just ID plus rental contract or utility bill) and have the local SS office on speed dial. It seems they just need to update the system at the hospital to show you are under SS there. They seem to be wanting proof you live in Hia Hin, though to my knowledge it is only un der the 30 baht system that one has to be registered as living in that locality, Many people with SS are enrolled at a hospital in a province other than where they have house registration (for example, may work in a different province and select a hospital convenient to that). Office may have been confusing SS and the 30 baht scheme. All this said, if you are actually living in Hua Hin now (as I assume you are if you changed your SS hospital to be there), at some point you will need to update your house registration/ID card anyhow.

I don't think this is true. Who told a 6 month wait?

Most large hospitals offer MRI. There are also independent imaging centers which do at much lower cost. e.g. https://www.mrithailand.com/en/ Do nto need doctor order to get scan there. The only issue with using imaging center is that it is not advisable to use contrast media outside of a hospital setting. But to check for implant rupture non-contrast MRI should suffice.

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Suggest Prof. Kwanchanok Yimtae at ENT clinic.

Some posts in violation of community standards removed. Moved to the Pet/vet forum You won't find a vet specializing just in birds but university vet hospitals can usually handle the full spectrum of animals as may a few private ones. Suggest https://www.vet.cmu.ac.th/SmallAnimalHospital-eng/

I did this before back surgery in 2019. Paid with no issue. They will know it is relevant to the hospitalization from the medical certificate as this includes diagnosis. Note that a medical certificate is required for all outpatient costs claimed . Also note that the outpatient visit must have been within 30 days before or after an approved hospitalization.

Sounds like just a glitch on their website. Nice of them to explain and offer to correct it manually for you. Not sure why the problem?

Sounds like spinal surgery. Which is not unusual at his age.

I have not had ablation but I have twice had day procedures that required use of an OR (epidural injections) which were covered without problem. There is nothing specific to an ablation I can think of that would be an issue assuming of course there is clear medical indication. Reasonableness of cost will of course be reviewed and might lead to some back and forth between insurer and hospital if estimate is considered unreasonable. And if hospital submits paperwork which does not show a clear medical justification, given how costly this elective procedure is, that would surely lead to some question.

I note that, in addition to wrong assumption that "unhealthy" living will allow a good quality of life, just shorter, many posters seem nto to know what healthy living entails. It does NOT require going to a gym and certainly not hours in a gym each day. It does NOT mean you can never, ever eat ice cream. And so forth. Other than smoking and unprotected high risk sex, there is not much that has to be absolutely avoided to have a healthy lifestyle. The key is moderation when it comes to "unhealthy" foods, alcohol and the like. As for fitness/physical activity, the most important thing is to be as active as you reasonably can be given your age and whatever physical limitations you have without going to wild extremes or unduly taxing yourself (especially if older or having underlying health issues - heavy gym workouts are not a good idea for people with cardiovascular disease, back problems, etc etc.) Simple walking is fine, some of it brisk if possible, and you do not have to hit the much vaunted 10K steps a day -- I certainly do not. But I do set myself an absolute minimum of 5K steps a day and I found that is achievable but does mean an effort i,e. it is more than I would usually get without trying. I use an app on my mobile phone to track number of steps and find it very helpful. I would suggest people first use it to figure out how many steps they are getting without additional effort and then set a goal that is higher than that but still in reach and something you can stick to long term. Even an increase of 1,000 - 2,000 steps a day will help your health. Aside from this, engaging in something that involves physical movement at least twice a week - could be gardening, swimming, etc, whatever you like and can do (even housework counts, and helps!) -- is a good idea. Ideal is to get 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate-intensity physical activity (brisk walking counts) i.e. about 20 minutes a day. However, any amount of movement is better than none. Regarding diet: if one is already at a good weight (and I would include in that category people who are just slightly overweight but not obese) and without diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, with a normal lipid panel, and eating a good variety of foods then that is good enough IMO. If obese, should try to reduce if possible and that is not just a matter of longevity but of quality of life as obesity definitely increases painful problems like degenerative spinal disease, joint disease etc. Not necessary to strive for an "ideal" weight but do try to get below obesity level if at all possible. If not possible, then at least become less obese. Every bit helps. Not necessary to follow a specific type of diet as long as what you eat is a balanced diet. The best weight loss program, like the best physical activity program, is the one you can actually stick to over the long term. Specific health problems may require some dietary modifications depending on what they are. Or you may take medications, Or both. Each case is different. Diabetics should definitely try to keep their HB1Ac below 7 (again not just or even mainly for longevity, but to avoid things like blindness, need for dialysis, painful circulatory conditions etc). To what extent they achieve that by diet and physical activity vs by medication is less important than that they do it. People with unfavorable lipid profiles (e.g. high LDL and/or triglycerides) same story. Periodic health screenings focused on those things for which there are effective early treatments or preventive measures makes solid sense and for an otherwise healthy person entails just once a year (less if young). Keeping up with vaccinations including those specifically important for the elderly (pneumonia, shingles, COVID, RSV) is easy to do and helps a lot. While this has all taken some time to describe, none of the measures described above are onerous or preclude having an enjoyable life. Be wary of zealots who try to tell you that nothing less than (fill in the blanks) is enough to be healthy. There are certainly things one should do, and a few things one should either not do or do only in moderation, but it in no way requires dedicating hours each day or living like an ascetic. Some people seem to like going to great excesses in the name of health but most of us do nto and these people can actual be a discouragement for the rest of us. Tune them out, but don't go to the opposite extreme. There is a happy medium. Illness and death are inevitable but the amount and severity of illness can be reduced with sensible measures that do not preclude enjoying your life. Conversely, completely ignoring your health is very likely to lead to a poorer quality of life than you would otherwise have.

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The Official Information Act 1997 in Thailand pertains only to government entities. I am not aware of any Thai law that would enable you to obtain internal emails from a private company. Police can of course get such if it is part of a criminal complaint (and they trouble to seek it) but as a civil litigant I do not think you can. If as you stated in your OP you are seeking only refund of premiums then >95% chance complaint to OIC will resolve it, subject of course to policy provisions. If you are seeking more of a refund than policy terms allow for, you will not get that through OIC and very, very unlikely to get it in court either. If contrary to your OP there is more in dispute than premium refund (e.g. a claims dispute) then resolution through OIC is more iffy but I would still give it at least 50-60% odds. The problem is that OIC is good at enforcing contractual terms of a policy but lacks any medical expertise (so too do most Thai health insurers which is often part of the problem to begin with). However just knowing you have lodged a complaint with OIC will often be enough to spur an insurance company to settle with you as they do not want OIC investigation. Contrary to what some posters here have assumed, OIC is not on a cozy basis with the insurers but rather very much in a regulatory role and they fear it.

It would indeed have been at the beginning of its use and very few therapists were at that point certified in its use. I have some doubts as to whether the one you worked with was. And, even if he was (open to doubt) he could nto possibly have had much experience with it. I have undergone EMDR myself with 2 different therapists and excellent results. Both were certified and very experienced, in fact one was an instructor in it. We did not go straight into EMDR, started it after a number of conventional talk sessions first to build rapport and give the therapist a feel for the issues. The EMDR process itself as I underwent it emphasized letting the client have control and proceeding very careful always mindful of the response. It is often best to start with memories/events that are lower on the trauma scale first and slowly move on to the more loaded ones, always geared to patient's tolerance and ensuring that the process does nto result in re-traumatization but rather in successful processing of the trauma in question. Elements of Cognitive therapy were mixed in, i.e. with each traumatic memory underlying beliefs about it were identified and replaced with more realisitic and constructive beliefs. I would urge you to give this another try. Done right, it really, really works.

I fully understand the bit about wanting to cancel. I actually advise people against getting Thai-based policies. Nonetheless your OP stated what you seek is refund of premiums paid, having cancelled your policy. No mention of a claims dispute, just refund of premiums, So my questions stand: what are the policy conditions for that? And do you have proof you notified company of cancellation and requested refund?

Any lab can do a simple dipstick test for nitrates. But sensitivity is quite low. In no way as accurate as a culture, and cultures require special facilities. Many commercial labs do not do this. Many labs (but not all) can also do a microscopic examination of urine for the presence of white blood cells. This too has very low sensitivity (<50%). One needs to look very criticall at what a "urinalysis", at either a lab or a hospital, actually concssts of. A lot of places are doing a simple dipstick test.

What type of test exactly did they do? As urine culture is definitely not on their webpage list. I suspect maybe a simple dipstick test for nitrates? (which for UTI in a man, not what is needed).

Culture and sensitivity is not a simple test. Many labs cannot do it.

A great deal depends on the skill of the EMDR-trained (and hopefully, certified) provider and the degree of trust and rapport between them and the client. EMDR was not even developed until 1987 and has been further refined since. I would suggest giving it another try, world of difference between how it was done back then and how it is done now. But make sure first your therapist is EMDR certified. You can find listing here https://www.emdria.org/find-an-emdr-therapist/ In Asia pickings are slim but if you are in the US, many providers to choose from.

A question for those fro mthe UK: What on earth is the difference between a "state pension" and a government pension? I see the distinction in the UK-Thai DTA but have no idea what it means, to me a "state pension" and a "government pension" would mean the same thing. ???

It is very much not a pension. It is not a pay out of your contributions (plus your employer's contributions on your behalf). It is funded through a tax on currently employed people. Today's working people pay for their elders' SS. Which is exactly why, with numbers of older people rising, there is such uncertainty about future benefits.

Infection confined to bladder or prostate will not cause/explain back pain. Back pain does occur in kidney infections but these are severe illness accompanied by high fever and often vomiting. Occasionally a kidney cyst will cause back pain. test for infection won't determine if you have a kidney cyst, and most kidney cysts do not warrant treatment. The back pain stopping twice when taking antibiotics is almost certainly coincidence not causation. The intensity and type of back pain often changes. If I were you I would drop this line of inquery and see a good physiotherapist re your back.