Sheryl

Rheumatologists are the specialty which deal with most autoimmune diseases. However symptoms related to the vagal nerve can also be hormonal, GI, or even psychological, in origin. And you cannot, on your own, determine that your symptoms are vagal in nature. Much less that the cause is autoimmune. It is impossible to advise you without knowing exactly what your main troubling symptoms are, and where in Thailand you live. Please post these details.

If she is Thai she should go to the hospital where she is registered under the "30 baht scheme" , bringing all records with her, and follow through there. Care will be free. If the issue is that her registered hospital is in the provinces, she can get registered at a local hospital by bringing proof of residence (rental contract, utilituly bill etc) to the district office. This is a new option in Chonburi and many are not aware of it. Hospitals in Thailand -- even those within the government system -- do not share a database of patiient records. Indeed, many government hospital patient records are not computerized at all. A hospital has no way of knowing her past history, test results etc unless she physically brings those records with her. She needs to go in person to the medical record dept of each hospital she has gone to, and get complete copy of her records. Then put in a folder and bring with her to each visit.

Hot flashes are vasomotor in nature and not accompanued by elevated temperatures. OP has actual fever...very high fever at that He needs to see a doctor. Urgently.

360 degree laser has advantage of getting even tears that cannot be seen. Prognosis is very good, and in skilled hands risk is quite low. You will not be at increased risk of retinal detachment due to having the procedure. You are at increased risk of detachment if the tear is not corrected. That said, quite small retinal tears do sometimes heal themselves. It needs a highly experienced specialist to determine, on a case by case basis, which tears can safely be just monitored rather than immediately treated. Basically your choices are: 1. Follow your doctor's advice. 2. Get another opinion. If you opt for that, do it at Rutnin in Bangkok, preferrably with Dr. Roy. Rutnin had very advanced equipment which might enable them to identify exactly where the tear is. Possibly then you could avoid the 360 laser (but no guarantee). Regarding your concern about pain, you should share this with the doctor ask about an injected local anesthetic rather than just the numbing drops. (The injection is not into the eye but below it) Can also request an oral sedative beforehand.

As above. Brokers in Thailand cannot advise on international policies much less sell thrm. You need an imternationsl broker. The one I use is https://www.aoc-insurancebroker.com/

Every place can do ERCP. Did you specify ERCP with lithotropy? Both of thd doctors mentioned at Med Park have experience removing large stones with lithotropy. and have published about it. They are https://www.medparkhospital.com/en-US/doctors/dr-panida-piyachaturawat https://www.medparkhospital.com/en-US/doctors/dr-santi-kulpatcharapong Assuming Med Park has the equipment, you should be fine with them.

Yes, it should be settled between the hospital and the insurer. But there is not an agreement to just pay all covered costs. The hospital submits an estimate when requesting pre-authorization, and the GOP given will have been for a specific amount. The hospital needs to justify to the insurer why the total exceeds it. Should have notified the insurer as soon as it became apparent approved total was likely to be exceeded. Next time, be firm and don't pay anything (unless there is a deductible or specific costs you know the insurer will not cover). Tell hospital they must resolve the matter with the insurer. Even in the supposedly top internatiomal hospitals in Thailsnd, I find the third part payment offices to be pretty weak/not very competent. And they will often try leaning on the patient for payment as the first approach since it saves them work. If they underestimated costs in the initial estimate they gave the insurer, that is their problem. If something unexpected occurred that upped costs, they should have contacted the insurer at once to revise the GOP.

Ok found her @how241 Mske an sppointment with this doctor https://bangkokpattayahospital.com/doctor/siriporn-srirojanakul-m/ (Call for her hours)

The hospital is not important. The surgeon is. You will not find the same levels of expertise and experience here as can be found in Bangkok and costs will likely be more. Have it done in Bsngkok is my recommendation. 250k package at MedPark for hip replacement (if that's what you need) and the highly recommended Prof. Aree has hours there https://www.medparkhospital.com/en-US/doctors/prof-dr-aree-tanavalee

Cost of living in general, and health care costs even more so, have increased exponentially over the past couple of decades in Thailand. More than would reasonably have been forecast 20-30 years ago (though any reasonable person would have prepared for some inflation). Meanwhile currency exchange rates have altered unfavorably for some nationalities. And of course the UK Old Age pension is frozen for those living in Thailand. A perfect storm, especially for Brits. Granted, there was often a lack of contingency planning and definitely a failure to anticipate health care costs as a significant expense as one ages. We see people on this board all the time talking about retiring in Thailand on a fixed income based on budget calculations that assume 0 inflation going forward and totally omits health care. Not realistic. Anyway the result is a lot of elderly farang having to live very close to the wire here, barely making their rent snd food needs and with certainly no way to handle a major health expense. Yes, they should have gotten health insurance when they first arrived...but if they had, by now they'd be unable to afford the premiums.

I tried to find her snd seems no longer listed. Are you sure she still works there?

Rather than go down the rabbit hole of all the many and very different things this might be, see an infectious disease specialist amd find out for sure. Sooner rather than later.

As above. Dr. Panon is absolutely tops and I'm not sure it would cost more than 75k with him. But might be around that, or a bit less. No private hospital is going to be under 60k so if that is more than she can afford, don't bother asking and stick to government hospitals. Is she Thai? As if so can get it for free under the government system. Larger government hospitals (including rhe Red Cross hospital you mention) can all do it. Esssential that she bring all records with her especiallly results of pap smear/thin prep and colposcopy& biopsy if done. It is not always necessary to perform LEEP for abnormal cells. Depending on exact test results, and how reliable the patient is for following up, sometimes a "wait and see" approach with regular monitoring will suffice. I would not assume that because 1 private hospital in Pattaya said she needs this, that she necessarily does. I would however have 100% confidence in Dr. Panon's advice so really suggest a trip to Bangkok, all records/ test redults in hand, to consult him. Consultation will be just be around 2,000 baht. Then if it seems LEEP is necessary can proceed to Chulalongkorn as mentioned above. https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/doctor/detail/panon-kasemsarn

You must see a doctor. A physical examination and other tests (many of them not available at a stand alone lab) are needed. Suggest seeing an infectious disease specialist. Thete is one at BPH https://bangkokpattayahospital.com/doctor/nontalee-thongsong-m/ And two at Samitivej Chonburi https://www.samitivejchonburi.com/en/doctor/153/doctor-detail.html https://www.samitivejchonburi.com/en/doctor/175/doctor-detail.html There may slso be some at Samitivej SriRacha Phyathai Sri Racha and Pattaya Memorial. These do not list their dictors online so I could not verify. In the meantime keep a record of your fevers snd if possible lay off the paracetemol and ibufrofen as these will mask fever. Depending on when and how long you have been taking them, possible that the fever is actually constant rather than intermittent. And definitely test for COVID. Before going to hospital.

That is good. And blood test (thyroid panel) is indeed correct next step. All sounds good. At some point will may need an ultrasound of the thyroid, they may need to refer her for that. Does the swelling interfere eith swallowing etc?

Got the form today! First time in years that it arrived.

Because she is eligible for free care under the government system, and he is concerned that she might need quite expensive treatment once diagnosed. He has indicated a willingness to pay for initial consultation etc which is likely to cost not too much, but understandably wants to get her registered under the government system in case anything major is found. Perfectly reasonable and showing concern for her welfare IMO.

Sounds like you had either an elevated creatnine or BUN blood test (both of which can definitely be due to dehydration) OR had an abdominal ultrasound done which showed a cyst on the kidney, common incidental finding rarely requiring intervention. Anyone with no prior known kidney disease who has an elevated creatnine and/ or BUN on a checkup for which they completely fasted before hand, should just repeat these two, inexpensive, tests when normally hydrated, before doing anything else. These 2 specific tests do not require any sort of fasting beforehand. If they are still elevated when you are well hydrated, then yes, see kidney specialist. But much of the time it is just the effect of dehydration. In fact, none of these blood tests require that you abstain from plain water. Thai hospitals go to an extreme because they think if told they can have water, patients will drink coffee, sweetened liquids etc. This extreme leads to people being dehydated when tested, which can effect a number of results and is not desirable. Particularly happens to farangs as we sweat more in this climate. Continue to take plain water - only plain water, nothing else, as needed prior to these tests. Your results will be more accurate. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/fasting-before-blood-test Abdominal ultrasounds should not be done as part of a routine check-up, no public health authority in any country recommends that. If there are specific symptoms, or as follow up to abnormal blood test results, is of course different.

I was referring to what was required on the landlord's part. Elsewhere I described the entire process you mention, which is indeed the way it has been, and what I intially told OP. But reliable board members are now reporting that this has changed, at least in Chonburi (an area with large number of people migrating in for work). No reason to disbelieve them and good news.

That or, as I suggested, the whole abdominal pain thing was actually a "test" which you passed by showing active concern. Need to probe to find out what is really going on here. If you can't find out why she is bringing up marriage at this time, and whether she really has/ever had this medical issue, then have to question if there is sufficient communication to even consider marriage. But as they say, "up to you". \Marriage will definitely not solve the 30 baht registration issue, nor her medical problem if in fact she has one.

I believe most members buy locally. See discussion here: https://aseannow.com/topic/1172945-stoma-bags/ If you do have to have supplies shipped to you, make sure they are sent by regular mail and nto a courier. Use of a courier guarantees problems with customs (believe it or not, they will insist you need a medical equipment import license or the like). Make sure also that the customs slip filled out by the sender states it is for personal use. A categorization like "personal hygiene supply" would be good, unless others can suggest something based on direct experience. And keep the value small, several smnall shipments are better than a larger one.

If you are seriously inclined to marry her, I suggest you post the question about debt liability in the Marriage and Family forum. She should in any case not incur medical costs as she should register under the 30 baht system. However, what possible connection is there to her medical issues and need to get herself and her son registered locally for the 30 baht system? Suggest you probe to find out what, in her mind, getting married would achieve and why she brings this up now. I suspect there is some wrong assumption on her part in there somehow.....either that, or else something entirely other than a medical problem is going in and perhaps there is not & has never been really a pain in her abdomen. Thai women are fond of making what they call "tests" to see what a man will do in certain circumstances, in the belief that this then tells them something important about him and their relationship. Can cause huge amounts of confusion.

Nothing in the law allows you to import medications if you have a prescription from a Thai doctor. This is just a customs official making up his own rules (not unusual in Thailand). If sent by regular mail small quantities of medications usually get through, often without even an import tax. No guarsntee, but so far this had largely been people,'s experience. Use of a courier like Fedex or DHL on the other hand, guarantees problems and they will insist on FDA licence. Never use a courier. Indian companies that regularly ship to Thailand know this.

Most labs with ISO certification will prominently display that fact on their website and in signage at the lab. I know that Bria in Bangkok is solid and also that MedConsult in Bangkok uses an ISO certified lab. Hospitals will likewise prominently list their ISO status and this would extend to their laboratories. I have yet to see a private hospital whose check up packages for older people are well designed for Westerners and lack tests not recommended for mass screening. The whole point of my post is not to rely on such packages. You can slways opt for the most basic package (usually marked as for younger people) and then "add on" items lacking. Government University hosps like Chulalongkorn have packages that contain nothing unnecessary, but to which a person over 45/50 should probabky add a few of the optional tests. So again, you still have to do your homework.

Should be easy enough to add her name to the lease. Jusr ask the landlord. Or, are any of the bills (utilities etc) in her name? If as others have said, Chonburi area hospitals now allow registration without tabian ban listing, then should be straight forward enough to get her registered at local hospital. But you still need to get her to overcome her fear and seek medical help.