Sheryl

The recommended dosage of mebendazole varies according to the specific parastite present, but is usually 100 mg twice a day for 3 -5 days. When used as presumptive treatment for unknown parasites, single does 500 mg is usual

However albendazole is somewhat more effective and more commonly used these days, especially in Thailand http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7939948

Zentel is probably the most widely available brand name.

There is no such thing as a hospital where the care is uniform amongst all doctors. there will always be considerable differences in ability, interpersonal manner, how much time they take with patients etc. In addition, time pressures will vary by day according to number of patients and far behind schedule the doctor is or isn't. And, being human, doctors have their off days.

There may be hospitals with no top-notch doctors, but there are NO hospitals at which all the doctors are top notch. you'll find mediocre and even bad ones everywhere.

Which is why you should choose the doctor, not the hospital. Getting the best care will mean going to different hospitals for different thing according to where the doctor you wan t to consult is based.

Of all you mention the only things that are hospital specific (as opposed to doctor-specific) are cost and the patient mix. Well, both of those things are true, no doubt. costs have also gone up at all the other hospitals too, and health care is now far from inexpensive in Thai private hospitals. But certainly Bumrungrad is at the top end of the price scale. You will indeed find St Louis and Bkk Christian to be less expensive, in my experience St Louis more so of the two.

I am not going to respond to your issues about the nationality for your fellow patients. Aside from the prejudicial aspect, it is a just not a rational basis on which to choose where you get health care.

Sounds like what is really absent is sense of smell. Taste and smell are connected and without smell, your sense of taste will be blunted. (If you want you can easily verify by a simple test. get some ice creams in different flavors, e.g. vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. Close your eyes and have someone hand you spoonfuls one at a time and see if you can tell which is which).

Since you have had thorough neurological exam with negative findings, the loss of smell probably is related to your past nasal problem. Temporary loss of smell can occur after some viral illnesses. this usually resolves over time.

Not to add to your worries, but her "falling asleep' while driving may need further investigation, especially as you say she was not sleep deprived nor was it a long drive.

There are types of seizures that manifest as just zoning out like that. A neuro exam may be warranted. Unless your wife clearly recalls feeling very sleepy and is sure that she fell asleep, there may be an underlying cause that needs to be found and treated.

A complete list of the medications you are on, please (and not just ones to treat this problem -- everything). Sometimes this is a side effect.

And just how complete is this loss? I.e. are the senses just blunted, or really completely absent?

The drug is still under patent so no generics anywhere.

And it is not approved/licensed for use in Thailand, with or without prescription. Sorry.

All the dental clinics do it. cost varies not only with the clinic but also the method used, i.e. laser or bleaching. Bleaching is much less expensive, and you have control over the degree of whitening achieved (especially important if you have crowns), but of course takes a little longer. its not a big hassle though and you do it at home at your own convenience.

http://www.thaivisa....n-in-koh-samui/

Lots of misinformation in that thread.

Melanotan has not been shown to prevent cancer and does have significant side effects. And, of course, is not approved for use in any country that I know of, although it may someday be depending on results of clinical trials.

There is considerable risk in leaping to use medications that have not yet been adequately researched.

Sheryl,

I myself fully support ACA and the mandate, but from your comment I don't think you understand the purpose of that mandate which is: to pool risk in the US. So that healthy people pay for the sick people. If expats were compelled by US law to insure themselves in their country of residence that would not contribute to the pooling of risk in the US in the least. If the host countries want to enforce such a requirement that would make sense, but there's no reason to expect Congress to enact a US law for that purpose. France, for instance, requires proof of health insurance for visitors on a passport from poor countries, such as Thailand, but not from rich countries like the US.

Good points, but I think the pooling of risk is a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose. Purpose is to ensure access to health care.

up to 5.45am sun no tremors so thats 3days.

Good, but don't let that stop you from seeing a doctor. And let us know how it goes.

Not at local level. The Thai equivalent of a DVLA is the Department of Land Transportation. http://www.dlt.go.th/th/index.php but site is in Thai.

There is a requirement of "Being of sound mind and good health (not having physical or mental handicap(s) that will prevent them from operating a vehicle safely)" to get a Thai drivers license but no specific provision regarding ICDs. You'll have to get a medical certificate but these are readily available from any clinic and seldom entails more than having your vital signs taken (if that).

It is about melanotan as in the title. Entirely different from melatonin. Also different from melanin although it is thought to serve the purpose of increasing the amount of melanin in the skin.

Yes, Khon Kaen Univ Hosp is also a good choice if he doesn't mind travelling.I think it is about the same travel distance as to Bangkok.

In the event this does not pan out (some private hospitals have policies against the doc doing this, others maybe not a written policy but they definitely pressure the docs not to) , the other approach is when at the pharmacy counter, go through the meds and put aside everything other than narcotic pain killers (if any are provided)Tell them with a smile that you "already have these", make note to yourself of what it was, and have them refund that from your bill. While it would obviously be less work for all concerned to let you go through the meds first before the bill is tallied, I've yet top find a hospital that lets you do this.

I find the "already have" line works a lot better than saying you intend to buy it outside, or don't think you need it. Which brings me to another point, i.e. you will almost certainly be given a number of different meds, only 1 or 2 of which you will actually need.

Antibiotic, obviously needed and no need for a prescription, they are sold over the counter here, just note name and dose.

Vitamins obviously you can forgo or buy yourself. Paracetemol or NSAID pain killer ditto.

If however they prescribe tylenol with codeine or other narcotic pain killer and you think you need it, buy it from the hospital pharmacy as script or no script, you can't get it outside.

I'm pretty sure there are no laws with regard to driving. Wouldn't have even been thought of.

And I guarantee you no traffic policeman here has even heard of an ICD.

The Cardiac Center at the Nakorn Maharaj Chiang Mai hospital (main provincial hospital linked to CM University) can provide what you need. Dr. Wanwarang Woncharoen is well known for this. it may be possible to access her through "Sri Pat", a sort of semi-private clinic attached to the hospital (reduces what are otherwsue very long waits and red tape).

Mommysboy and Tropo, I don't know how bored you are or are not, but your Moderator is thoroughly bored with the endless debates that are going nowhere and starting to turn into a flamefest.

Thread closed

Even a private room won't run to 10,000 baht or anything close

To be fair, there are various costs that families incur in accessing free health care, such as the cost of transportation both for patient and attending/visiting family members. And in certain cases (not likely here) where special drugs not on the government list are needed, patients may have to pay for that specific item. There is often a long wait for sophisticated diagnostic tests such as CT scan or MRI with the result that some people get those done privately to expedite things.

But none of that is what the girl told him. Her story as given does not hold water.

OP, it may indeed be that you are mistaken in your assessment of this girl and that she was simply scamming you. But you should also understand that culturally, Thais do not place as much value on telling the literal truth that Westerners do, and in a situation where there is a genuine need for money they will consider it perfectly normal and legitimate to give a reason other than the actual one if they think it is more likely to produce the desired result, or that the real reason might be viewed negatively or put them in an embarrassing light, and in their minds that is not a scam.

In other words, it might be a gold-digging scam or she might have a genuine legitimate need for the money, just not the one she told you.

It is not approved for use in Thailand. AFAIK it has not been approved for use in any country.

Frankly I think you'd do best to make the trip into Bangkok, there is no comparison in quality of care there vs. upcountry.

But if you are set in getting treated in Korat, I believe the best option is the Fort Suranaree Military Hospital tel 044 234409. it is open to anyone despite being a military hospital. bring a Thai speaker at least for your first visit because while the doctor will probably speak English, the nurses and administrative personnel will not, and the initial registration procedure can be complicated.

If yo ucan, get a m edical summary from your doc in the UK to bring with you.

Re the various posts about problems getting insurance in Thailand:

Yes, it is true that it is hard to get insurance if you are over 60 or have pre-existing conditions. Even if you do, anything related to the pre-existing condition will be excluded. Obviously the preferred solution is to get insurance before age 60 and before you develop any chronic health problems. where that is impossible, options include:

1. Self-insure (and in doing so, do not underestimate possible costs not overlook the fact that you may need to use these funds for more than one major illness).

2. Get legal employment here for a year, which puts you under the Thai Social Security system (which provides free health care) and then be sure to maintain the small payments after you stop working, and you'll be covered for life.

3. If you had insurance in your home country, see if you can continue it with a provision for coverage of overseas care or at least medical evacuation back home.

4. If you make frequent trips back home, consider multiple short term travel insurance policies, these do not exclude for age. They vary in how they deal with pre-existing conditions, for example SOS global traveler medical plan allows for up to $10,000 for "sudden recurrence of pre-existing condition" and also seems to allow things related to pre-existing conditions as long as the expenses occur at least 6 mionths after becoming a member. (I am not totally clear ion all this to check with them if interested). And they certainly are not as draconian as local policies with regard to what constitutes a pre-existing condition, i.e. I don't think they would disallow treatment for a heart condition just because you previously had elevated cholesterol or BP (risk factors), only if if you actually had documented heart disease.

If/when the Thai government starts to require proof of insurance from expats on one year visas, my hope is that they will also establish some type of insurance plan linked to the public health system that foreigners unable to qualify for private insurance can purchase.

Yes, we are excluded from Obamacare penalties for not having US insurance. BUT, apparently if you travel too much to the US, you are not longer considered a real expat and the penalty can kick in. I don't understand the rules yet. We're talking about it on another thread in the jobs/economy forum.

I expect they will base it on tax status i.e. people eligible for the foreign income exclusion would be exempt (or, people meeting the same criteria as that used to qualify for the foreign income exclusion). As you may know there are 2 alternative criteria: (1) being out of the US for all but 30 days in a one year period (physical presence test) or(2) having established a "bona fide" foreign residence. People who meet the second criteria (which is clearly defined in the tax code) are not limited in how much time they can spend in the US, as long as they continue to have a bona fide foreign residence and no permanent place of residence in the US.

(I don't know that this is how it will be done but it seems logical to follow the regulations and criteria already developed for tax purposes.)

Since I have no idea what the condition is, I can hardly suggest anything.

Start by seeing a dermatologist and finding out what it is. Some types of hyperpigementation will spontaneously resolve with time.

There is no need for her to go to an expensive private hospital n or for you to pay anything. her mother is almost certainly covered under the "gold card" universal health care system and entitles to free care at a government hospital.

The girl's statement that there is not free health care in Thailand is simply untrue (well untrue for Thais -- for farangs it's true!). So yes, you may be being scammed.

You should get a check up from your cardiologist to rule out a cardiac cause and possibly a GI specialist if the heart checks out OK.

I would consider self insurance a form of insurance, no problem with that.

And it's not a "nanny attitude". The problems that result from people failing to ensure they have a means to pay for health care go far, far beyond themselves. It becomes a burden to family members, friends, neighbors and above all tax payers. Embassies and consulates also get dragged into it.

The Thai government has identified uninsured farang without the ability to pay their hospital bills as a serious problem which is costing the Thai government and its citizens serious money each year. So much so that the suggestion of requiring proof of insurance for long term visas has been mooted and I expect will eventually coem to pass.