Sheryl

Not necessary to use private hospitals (though in some cases wsit lists can prove dangerous...I know somrleone who need voronary bypass urgently and govt hospital wait was 6 months. He would have died long before that). But do not be deceived by your low costs to date. Govt hospitals are slways much less glthan private but bills can still top 1 million if very specialized surgeries and ICU care etc involved.

You need much more than a small pot put aside and don't think only about your known condition. There will be other things, often unforseen and especially as you age. A single hosptalization can reach 3-4 million in a private hospital and 1 - 1.5 million in a government hospital if specialized treatment and ICU care involved. These are the amounts you need put aside and readily available to be truly self-insured...as well as a plan of what to do when it is depleted.

Moved to Health Forum. Everyplace charges much more for multifocal lenses, they have to as the lens implants themselves cost much, much more than monofocal. Note that not everyone can adjust to the multifocal lenses. Research this carefully before taking that costlier option. Most people opt for monofocal lenses and just accept the need for reading glasses. 80-90 per eye for monofocal lens is about average for a private hospital. Government hospital will be around 20-30 depending on whether there is a foreigner surcharge.

Whatever is the minimum now, it will go up over time (inflation etc) so factor that in. And your needs will change as yo uage, as well so consider household help when older etc. Make sure to include health insurance in your calculations and not just current premiums but premiums as you age.

Whatever it is, you have an allergic response to it which makes it hard to see the original bite, if there was one. Could be a bite from something to which your body has an exaggerated response, or could be a contact dermatitis. Did you not go outside at all before the new lesions appeared? If not, may need to carefully check your bed, bedding and condo for any critters. Especially spiders and bed bugs. If you did go out -- and especially if you did so in shorts, as all these lesions seem to be on leg - then either you had contact with some plant to which you are allergic or were bitten by something ditto. In either case, next time going to that place try wearing long pants and applying insect repellent. A steroid cream (every pharmacy has) might give more relief than antihistamine. But of course you need to figure out how to avoid whatever is causing this .

The lesions do nto in any way resemble the rash that sometimes (but not always) appears in dengue.

If you truly have chronic kidney disease to a significant extent, it will preclude getting health insurance if you are not already insured. But what extent of "chronic kidney disease" are you talking about? What stage, what creatnine level?. Many people get misdiagnosed here based on unreliable eGFR calculations/ unreliable self-diagnosis. Management of chronic kidney disease varies greatly depending in stage, and any underlying cause (diabetes, hypertension. lupus etc).

Mind running constantly sounds more like anxiety. And while oxetine may help some, it is unwise to self prescribe psychotropic meds.

I think you mean San Paulo?

Should be, for sure. That list is probably from a lower level hospital. But the list of tests thst can be done in a hospital is not the same thing as their checkup package and remains to be sern how readily you can add on to that.

Lipid panel (HDL, LDL, triglycerides) Creatnine and BUN Hb1Ac TSH ALT/AST (liver enzymes) CBC

Agree that they don't really look lite mosquito bites. If they persist suggest you see a dermatologist. Are you aware of having been bitten by something?

That estimate might have included removal and biopsy of X number of polyps. Important to always verify with colonoscopy price if it includes polyp excision & biopsy or not. Promotion/package prices usually do not, it is is extra which makes some sense since will not always be needed and they have no way of knowing this in advance. But some hospitals try to always estimate on the high side when giving verbal estimates since people get upset of total comes to more. Note that CEA is not suitable for screening purposes and should not be so used. Same goes for most other "cancer markers" that private hospital checkup packages often include.

Colonoscopy is still the gold standard. It still has much higher sensitivity and specificty than other tests, and allows for the immediate removal of pre-cancerous polyps which stool tests obviously do not. Also, the type of stool test you mention (Stool DNA (SDC2) methylation) is not yet widely available in Thailand and quite costly. Of course, for people unwilling to undergo colonoscopy, or with medical contraindications to it. Stool test -- even the much more widely available and cheap test for occult blood, but preferrably the Stool DNA (SDC2) test - is certainly better than nothing. But as OP is about where to get colonoscopy, this does not seem to apply to OP.

Wait is usually less at Chulabhorn which is why I suggested it over Chulalongkorn. Also they at last report did not have dual tier pricing as fewer foreigners go there. Among govt hospitals in Bkk, Chulabhorn Cancer Center probably best for this

There is a difference from having a check up at a hospital which offers check up packages, and having a few, less common, specific tests done. The OP sounded like he wanted the latter. Now it seems he may want the former, @CallumWK please clarify what you are seeking. An overall checkup or specific tests related to a known (or suspected) health problem? Note that the few, very specific tests you originally mentioned might not a appear in a check up package and may have to be added on (forget the PHI, that isn't a test anyway but a calculation based on 3 other parameters, only 2 of which -- PSA and free PSA -- are widely available even at large hospitals. Free PSA usually only done if overall PSA is elevated). If what you want is an overall check up then indicate your age, any known medical problems or significant family history. All private hospitals, and most larger government hospitals, offer check up packages of one sort or another.

Flaming/bickering posts removed.

If by Somdet you mean the Red Cross Hodpital, they would be able to fo PSA anf Hb1Ac. I have no idea ehst HCI is? You will have to see doctor first to get the tests ordered.

25 - 35K at a private hospital...with periodic promotions at lower rate. Not sure how readily one can get this at government hospitals in Chonburi nor which (if any) govt hospitals there have the capacity (many provincial and community hospitals, and even some regional hospitals, do not). In Bangkok, can get it at Chulabhorn Cancer hospital (government) , under 10K last I heard. https://chulabhornhospital.cra.ac.th/

You cannot go into a government hospital and just demand a blood test. You have to consult a doctor there and the doctor has to order it. Lower level hospitals (e.g. community hospitals) may have limited lab facilities and nto be able to do the tests you mention. Simplest thing to do is to just use an independent lab. Where are you located?

The MoPH sanctions it, yes. But government hospitals have considerable autonomy in how they implement this and many - indeed, most if one counts all the community level hospitals nationwide - do not have different pricing tiers as it is simply not worth the administrative hassle for hospitals that very seldom ever treat a non-Thai. In practice only hospitals in locations which regularly see foreigners bother to do this. And when they do it is usually just 2 tiers, Thai and foreign. I don''t know of any government hosputal applying the multiple tiers. Many, many things in that directive are not applied in practice.. Including the specific charge rates.

Inaporopriate/unhelpful post removed

It is NOT recommended -- by any public health or medical authority -- to remove healthy ovaries in premenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy unless the woman has specific risk factors for ovaraian cancer. The disadvantages of a "surgical menopause" far outweigh the advantage of preventing ovarian cancer in the small percentage of women who go on to develop it (about 2% overall, highest incidence being well after menopause). In women past menopause, it is more of a toss up decision and there is a lack of consensus. Some doctors believe it is best to remove in that case while others recommend keeping the ovaries in if no special risk factors, since even after menopause they continue to produce small amounts if hormones which, among other things, help protect against osteoporosis. Cancer can occur in virtually any organ of the body, this does not warrant the removal of healthy organs.

Note that most "cancer screening" in check up packages consists of unreliable tests recommended by no public health authority and apt to yield false positives (leading to unnecessary further tests) and negatives. There are no accurate screening tests for most cancer. The only cancer screening recommended would be: complete blood count (which she would get anyway), thin prep (formerly known as pap smear) mammogram, and perhaps colonoscopy. If she has a history if smoking, then low dose CT of the lung. Do NOT get the various blood tests many hospital tout as "cancer markers". These are used to track progression of cancer in some people who have it but are not suitable for screening. Not sure what you mean by "hormone levels". TSH (thyroid) makes sense at her age but hormone testing for menopause is complex and not very accurate/useful. Beware of the more "comprehensive" packages as these contain the unnecessary things mentioned above. Private hospitals design their check up packages for marketing purposes and they are not evidence based. What makes sense at your wife's age are: Complete Blood Count (CBC) Hb1Ac Lipid panel: HDL, LDL, triglycerides BUN Creatnine Liver enzymes (ALT, AST) TSH Thin Prep if she has not had one in last few years Mammogram EKG Chest Xray (if none in past few years) urinalysis stool for occult blood You will not find a package like the above anywhere that I know of . Best option is usually to take a lower level packaged as for younger people and then add on what is missing. + Maybe colonoscopy but that would have to be arranged separately.

Government Hospitals: in areas with few foreign patients, usually same price for all..not worth their while to set up separate price schedule for foreigners. (Of course, many Thais don't have to pay at all as they are covered under national scheme. ). In government hospitals with many foreign patients coming in, most have ways of charging them more. Might be an overall "surcharge" (e.g. 20% at Siriraj in Bkk) , might be higher room rate for foreign inpatients (e.g. Sripat in Chiang Mai), or might try to divert foreign patients to after hours clinic, which cost much more than public channel. (Thais also pay more to use those.) Even with the above, government hospitals remain less expensive than private. Private hospitals: it varies widely. Many charge everyone the same (high) price but some -- especially in touristy areas -- have double or even triple tiered pricing. Worth noting that overpricing in private hospitals is a frequent complaint from Thais and intermittently in the press as an issue (again -- for Thais. ). Periodically government attempts to do something about it, to date with little to no effect. Mark up on drugs and medical supplies is especially obvious and egregious. One can largely avoid the former by not getting medications from the hospital, buying from outside pharmacy instead.