Sheryl

Who made this diagnosis? As it is not something you can self diagnose, and what you describe (initial leg pain that eases up as you walk) does not sound like it. Buriram hospital (min government hospital in Buriram town) is a Regional level hospital so has specialists, may or may not include a vascular surgeon (which may or may not be what you need). Worth a try. If you have not had a recent test for diabetes (fasting blood sugar or HB1Ac), you certainly should.

Yes, the restriction on the "elderly" (which knowing Thailand will be anyone over 60/65) is worrisome for expats. They should have some sort of opt-out provision, or some way to authorize with additional (online) steps.

June and July are not too bad as the rains usually start in mid to late May. it is March, April and May that are the scorchers. Late February to late May to be more exact.

Back pain can have many different causes so there is no "one size fits all" solution. Pain from nerve compression is different both in origin and quality from myofascial pain but only those who have suffered both can subjectively differentiate and even then it's not certain. Myofascial pain can arise from issues in different muscles, ligaments and tissues so even that is not the same across individuals. And in some cases - of which there was recently one in this forum -- what seems like a back problem can actually be something altogether different like shingles. Exercises and stretches will certainly help pain of muscular origin and may, to an extent, sometimes help with nerve compression issues. But it needs to be the right sort of exerciser/stretch according to which muscles/ligaments etc are involved, and that varies. Minor aches and pains that come and go can be managed by oneself with simple analgesics, trial-and-error exercises/stretches, weight loss (if needed) and sometimes mattress/pillow adjustments, but chronic or severe pain needs to be professionally evaluated. The best way to go about that is to start with an ortho doctor specializing in spine then, if no clinically significant issues found, proceed to a physical therapist.

People who are adjusting their insulin dosage based on blood glucose readings would normally be doing so according to instructions from their doctor, and that would not be considered "self prescription".

Still in diabetic range. You need better blood sugar control, obviously. In terms of brands of meters, , AccuCheck is the most commonly used & reliable type here. The strips are expensive but easy to come by, pretty much any pharmacy has them. And the company provides good tech support. For periodic assessments at a lab or hospital/clinic, Hb1ac is better than fasting sugar for a number of reasons. The fasting sugar captures only your glucose at one point in time, before eating. It is fairly easy to "game" this by following a better diet for a few days before testing, and people may do this even without consciously realizing it. Hb1ac on the other hand is an average over several months and captures nto only glucose before eating but after eating as well. So a better overall picture of what is going on.

A post containing only response from Chat GPT has been removed. It is a good bet that anyone able to use this forum is able to use Google and Chat GPT so there is no value added. In addition, AI (and for that matter, Google) is far from accurate when used for this type of thing. There are AI applications specifically developed or in development for use in aiding medical diagnosis but those are far different from chatGPT and not designed for use by lay people. Google is useful only if you know what sort of medical search terms to enter and which links are reliable.

Varies with the antihistamine, and the patient. Some antihistamibnes have been linked to cardiac issues especially in elderly people or people wih pre-existing heart problems. At normal dosages, this specific antihistamine (Sominar, which contains doxylamine) rarely causes cardiac problems. The most common side effects are sedation, dizziness, confusion and balance problems (sometimes leading to falls). These are all more pronounced in the elderly Contraindicated for people with glaucoma, and people on other medications should research possible interactions. That said, it is considered safe enough that it is sold over the counter in the US. Can even get it on Amazon.

If for biopsy, it will have included MRI/US fusion guide. Would not have included a stand alone MP MRI. (Or it could have included MP MRI but not biopsy. Will not have been both). Due to the anatomy, and the need for advanced imaging to guide sample selection, a prostate biopsy is not such a simple matter and certainly not comparable to many other types of biopsy. General anesthesia, at least 1 night stay in hospital (often longer if urinary retention an issue) and use of advanced MRI equipment all involved. Prostate biopsies are also not without risks: bleeding, infection, urinary retention on top of usual risks of anesthesia. Which is why it is often preferrable to first do a MP MRI - it reduces the number of unnecessary biopsies (i.e. biopsies that prove negative) considerably. But at a cost as it requires a special, new type of MRI machine and specially trained technicians etc.

Market food prices have greatly increased. Both for fresh food and for the prepared food in little baggies. Of course they remain comparatively low by we4stern standards, but they are significantly higher than before. Pre-Covid, most plastic baggies of prepared foods in my local market were 20 baht. Now 30 or 35. Egg prices are now the highest on record, though sellers have offset this by often selling only smaller sized eggs https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2589810/egg-prices-at-new-high It doesn't affect my personal budget noticeably either, because local foods comprise such a small proportion of my costs. But if you talk to Thais and migrant workers living on much lower incomes, they feel it a lot. As in the US, inflation in Thailand peaked in 2022 (was over 6% for that year). From Dec 2023 - March 2024 there was some small drop in prices then inflation resumed at levels that are now averaging around 1% a month. The small drop occurring during those 4 months did nto remotely bring prices back to pre-2022 levels https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/inflation-cpi (click on either 3 yr or 5 yr on that link to see clearly)

Putting aside the about 1/3 of the electorate who will always vote for Trump when he's running, what swung this election was the (rightly or wrongly) massive unpopularity of the Biden administration, something that has been evident in repeated opinion polls ever since the administration first took office. Harris was viewed as part of the administration/an incumbant. No way she could have been seen otherwise given that she was the serving VP. Had Biden run, would have had this effect exacerbated by the further issue of his mental/physical fitness. Delusional to think otherwise. Even if there had been open primaries leading to a different candidate, one not part of the Biden administration, it would still have been very difficult for the incumbent party to win. I can't off hand think of a case where an administration's approval ratings were this low yet their party retained the White House. The take-home here: nothing to do with the campaign but rather with the extreme importance of heeding approval ratings from day 1. You can't the next election campaign starts is way too late.

AFAIK the inflation has not been unique to the US, but rather has occurred pretty much everywhere. Certainly has in UK. And in Thailand. So looking for US specific causes may be a mistake. As near as I can tell, prices soared during and immediately after COVID due to supply chain problems/bottlenecks followed by a spike in fuel prices initially after start of the war in Ukraine. However after these factors resolved, prices either failed to come down, or came down only slightly. Presumably because key actors felt that why charge less once people were already paying more. incidentally inflation rates in US have slowed considerably. https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_inflation_rate. Peak inflation was in 2022 - due to exactly the factors mentioned above, and happening worldwide. But a slowing of inflation rates, even to below normal average rates, is not the same thing as prices dropping back to what they once were. It just means they stop going further up rapidly.

Not legally unless you have a prescription. In which case limited to 30 day supply. Have you tried Sominar (available in Thailand over the counter, and non-addictive)

It is not a simple matter of accepting/rejecting the Bible. There is an intelligent conversaton to be had as to what the original Gospels probably actually said and what it means. The original versions/source materials are not available today so translation is very much an issue. There is an ancient Hebrew term meaning "young woman" that may have been erroneously translated as "virgin". It is noteworthy that several places in the synoptic gospels it states Jesus had direct descent ftom the house of David. This was a patrilineal society so would need to have come via his father. Joseph had descent ftom David. In short it is possible that the notion of a virgin birth was not a part of early Christianity but came in later, perhaps fueled both by mistranslations and by the evolution of Mary into a figure of worship -- itself a later occurrence -- in a cultural context which might have perceived a need for a woman to be a virgin in order to be sanctified.

Definitely warrants further investigation, but a multiparametric MRI would be the preferred next step, before proceeding to biopsy. Also if not done already, a fractional PSA (fPSA) is helpful (but not definitive) in differentiating elevations due to BPH (benign enlargement) and cancer. I have also sent you a PM

yes

An enlarged prostate is quite common in men starting from age 50 and usually benign. In a younger man, more of a danger sign but even then can be due to inflammation (prostatitis) rather than cancer. OP how old are you? Although there will be at least 1 urologist at Chonburi hospital, you may get a more senior one if you go through Burapha after hours clinic.

Might I ask what exactly you need a cardiologist for? If it is only for medication refills, most cardiovascular meds can be bought over the counter at a pharmacy here. If it is to evaluate a problem that you think is heart related, might do better with an internist in case the cause is something else.

Moved to Wellness subforum

Posts discussing illegal substances removed.

Cough with fever, you need to see a doctor. More than allergic post-nasal drip is involved. Brown Mixture is an effective cough suppressant, but it is not always a good idea to suppress a cough, and in any case, with fever, there is likely an infection of some sort that needs to be diagnosed and treated.

Eating anything with a lot of sugar will result in first a spike and then a precipitous drop in blood sugar leading to hunger. Do not eat such things close to bedtime. Best to eat something high in protein and with some fat, but not sugar, before sleep. That will maintain your blood sugar during the night.

Biopsy is NOT usually indicated based on PSA alone. I don't think you were well advised. What exactly was your PSA? And did doctor perform a digital rectal exam? A parametric MRI might preclude the need for biopsy. But Banglamung is nto the place for this. Nor the place to have any sort of biopsy, even if they offer to do it. It is a fine hospital for many things but not something this specialized, you need an experienced senior doctor. Strongly urge you to consult senior urologist at Burapha.

Please edit this to show source. Or - if it is AI, so indicate and I will delete it. AI is worse than useless when it comes to medical information for Thailand (not much use anywhere else, either). AFAIK there is no registered brand of this drug in Thailand, so only if a hospital went to the trouble of importing it themselves, might it be available.

Tramadol does not even require a script, it is sold over the counter in Thailand. Buprenorphine however is controlled, hospital only and as I explained, nto at all sure hospitals will have it since no registered brand available in Thailand as far as I can tell. So you risk not being able to get buprenorphine here.