Sheryl

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.

The advice is simply to see doctor. Just listed some of the possible causes of left lower adomen pain lasting for months in a woman, mainly to illustrate that (1) she does need to see a doctor and (2) while cancer is one possibility, there are also a number of treatable causes other than cancer. (Since it seems she is reluctant to see a doctor for fear of "bad news"). If you want to add to that list, feel free

Your sister in law evidently changed her tabian ban listing. No difference of opinion involved.

Do not take the cost of your recent accident as indicative of what care at a government hospital always costs. Bills for a single admission can easily reach 1 million or more in case of catastrophic accident or illness.

Highly recommended: https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/suttiporn-janenawasin

The hospital will tell her she needs to change her tabian ban listing. Local govt authority will not he reliable source for information on registration under the 30 baht scheme. But they can tell her how to go about changing her tabian ban listing.

The packages at hospitals tend to be poorly designed, and also geared towards Asian health issues (example: relatively high incidence of primary liver cancer which is rare in Westerners. ) At private hospitals, packages are designed with or by the marketing department. They often include things not recommended by any public health authority and likely to lead to other unnecessary and costly tests (e.g. routine abdominal ultrasounds which often turn up unimportant cysts on various organs). They also include completely misleading and unreliable tests e.g "cancer screenings" consisting of bloid markers not suitable for mass screening. Again leading to a lot of unnecessary other tests. One definitely needs to be proactive in deciding what tests to have. There are reliable websites that will tell you what a person your age should get e.g https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/webview/#!/ But to summarize for you: Routine urinalysis Blood tests: - Hb1Ac - Lipid panel (HDL LDL, triglycerides) - complete Blood Count (CBC) - creatnine - BUN - liver enzymes (ALT/AST) - PSA All the above should be available at a lab at reasonable cost. Try to ensure lab is ISO certified. You also need the following which are not blood or urine tests and have to be done at a hospital: - colonoscopy inless you have already had one in past 10 years. (Allows early detection of colon cancer and removal of pre-cancerous polyps. ) And I'd suggest either an Exercise Stress Test or Echocardiogram plus EKG to assess cardiac function. The first is usually less expensive and will also assess your cardiac fitness. These 2 things are available separately as packages in many hospitals. Assuming normal results, they do not need to be done often. Colonoscopy every 10 years. Cardiac screening, if asymptomatic and no risk factors like elevated lipids or diabetes every 5-10 years or so.

Not just this. The way the requirement is likely to be structured, based on past experience (e.g. the O-A visa) is unrealistic and unreasonable. - limited to Thai companies, despite the facts that most will not enroll people over age 65, and that many retirees hold excellent foreign policies that cover them in Thailand (and remit hundreds of millions of baht each year to Thai hospitals) - requiring outpatient as well as inpatient cover, utterly unnecessary and substantially increasing premium cost - requiring an unrealistically low level of total cover (related to the above). - no self insurance option for those who cannot get insurance. Net result is the requirement will solve nothing, but place an immense - and often insurmountable -- burden on retirees. I have US $1million (36 million baht) cover from a foreign company with direct payment arrangements with scores of Thai hospitals. In the past 5 years alone, this insurance policy has paid out over 1.8 million on my behalf to Thai hospitals. (I've had an unlucky 5 years!). But it would not be accepted under the rules in place for extension based on an O-A visa and I much fear same would be true of any new requirement based on non-O. Add to that, my age and at this point pre-existing conditions would make it impossible for me to get a Thai policy. So despite being very well insured I'd be denied extension of stay. Thousands of other retirees in same situation. The 800 is already frozen. Completely for 5 months of the year and then 400 for the rest of the year. But not all retirees use the 800k method, 400/800k will not be enough for a catastrophic illness, and then there is the problem of what to do once the money is gone...for someone likely at that point to be very old, weak and having lived in Thailand so long that they do not have ties back home to help them to repatriate. Not really. The cohort of people already here with retirement status will die out naturally over the next 20 years or so. Indeed even within 5-10 years, their numbers will be much reduced. This group includes many very old people i.e. 70+, 80+, 90+ years old. If they don't already have insurance, they in most cases simply cannot get it at any price. (and those that do have insurance may hold foreign policies that won't meet Imm requirements, see above). These elderly people have made lives in Thailand, having come here based on a set of rules then in place. Many have been here for decades and would have great difficulty repatriating. People newly getting a retirement visa, on the other hand, tend to be younger and would know the requirement in advance of committing themselves to settling down here. A strong case can be made for grandfathering any new insurance requirement.

That is exactly what I meant by "krienjai" . Indeed it could be something serious, and if so it will only get more serious with delay. It could also be something not serious, and easily treated -- but likely to bevome serious if she kerps delaying. If you think care not being free is not the real issue but an excuse I suggest you agree to pay for initial care at Ban Lamung and accompany her there. Once there is a diagnosis and you know whay is needed to treat it/cost implication, can press her to make the house registration change. Thais tend to be terrified of cancer and assume it is always fatal and to resist being diagnosed for anything they think may be cancer. While cancer is a possible cause of her pain it is not the most likely one. There are many, treatable, causes as I described above. Might help to tell her this.

Did the doctor indicate if yhe enlargement is on the thyroid or a lymph node?

No implications for the landlord doesn't make her respondible for your gf in any way. Landlord just has to spend about a half day with your GF and her son at ampur or municipal office (whichever is redponsible for tabian ban; landlord will know). Problem may just be that your GF feels "kriengjai" to ask. OR she wants/expects you to fund care in a private hospital. (status isdue,). Note however as per my post above to he added to tabian ban she first needs to go to her home province ampur to get removed from her current tabian ban. Obviously do this only after ascertaining landlord is willing to add her.

She could travel to her home province to get it checked out. Thais do this all the time. If she won't ask the landlord, you should. If landlord is in country all it needs from their side is a single visit to the ampur (together with his blue book your GF and her son and their Thai IDs). Make this request before your GF travels back to her home Province because before getting added to the landlord's book she needs to he removed from her current book as a person cannot be listed in 2 places at once. To summarize: 1. Ask landlord if he will add her and her son to his blue book (tabian ban). 2. Assuming landlord agreed, or you locate someone else in the area willing to do this, go to home province and ask ampur to remove her & son from current house registration so that they can be listed. 3. Go with landlord to local ampur to be added to his blue book. 5. Seek medical care either in home province before Step 2 or in Pattaya after Step 3. By the way self pay costs at government hospital aren't much until/unless specialized care or extended/ICU hospitalization needed. If the issue is that she wants you to pay for private hospital care (or is perhaps lying altogether just to get cash), agreeing to pay for check up at Ban Lamung (based on receipt, and double check that receipt is genuine) might solve this. She likely needs a gyn exam and possibly ultrasound and some blood tests or swabs. Unlikely to total more than 1 000 - max 2,000 baht. Once problem is identified, depending on what it is, treatment could be costly and at that point need to insist she change her house registration. But ideally make the registration change first. In a woman, the symptom you mention could be due to: Urinary tract infection Pelvic inflammation, usually due to STI Cervical, uterine or ovarian cancer Ovarian cyst Fibroids Among other things. So she does need to get it investigated.

Moved to Health Fotum. Yes, she is correct unless it is an emergency. Can be solved by changing her house registration to where she actually lives. This can be done even if a rental, but needs the landlord's cooperation. If that is not feasible could also ask a friend in the area to add her to their registration.

I have edited the title of your thread to specify Udon Thani. May help to attract replies from people living there.

Medicare does not, unfortunately, pay for long term care. A huge problem in the US.

That is sometimes the case. In others, they can afford it but would have to cut other expenses, or it just seems to them like too much to pay for health care- an impression often based on comparison to what has been received in payouts to date. People make the huge mistake of assuming their past health history is an indication of what will happen in years to come, despite now being in old age. Premiums sky rocket in old age becomes claims sky rocket in old age Insurers are keeping up with their anticipated outlays.

Well I assume they accepted it, as my payments did not get interrupted! I think I filled in my SSN where it days SSN (despite the "for SSA use only) and under remarks, explained that I did nto receive the form. I'm going to the use next month. Plan to give it until a few days before my departure then if still nto received, download it.

Yes, never got it last year. Downloaded form myself and mailed it while in US. Looks like may need to do the same this year. Incredible that in this day & age both IRS and SSA insist on using snail mail to communicate. Especially with people living abroad. Mail in my area is slow snd hit-or-miss but that is not unique for rural Thailand. For that matter, mail service within US has deteriorated.

Still have not received one

It will vary by hospital despite having the same surgeon. I can't give you an exact amount but could range anywhere from 100k - 250k. Bumrungrad will definitely be more expensive than the other two hospitals mentioned and Phyathai3 probably the least. Personally I'd try Phyathai3. Location a bit inconvenient (other side of the river -- near Bang Phai metro stop) but friendly unpretentious private hospital mainly utilized by middle class Thais. Prof. Bavorn is definitely the top foot surgeon in Thailand and worth travelling for.

P S. I neglected to mention, and not clear if doctors told you but bile duct stents canmot remain in long. Even if they don't clog/fail before then, they have to be replaced after 3 months to avoid serious complications. Much better to just get the stone out so that no stent needed. Both stent replacement and lithotropic stone removal entail similar procedure. But the latter, combined with gallbladder removal later on, are a definitive cure. Stents are just a stop gap measure.

Neither of these meds relate to your hiatal hernia. The Sitafloxacin is an antibiotic. The Ursolin is a drug to dissolve bile stones. This drug, if it works at all takes months to years to do so. It is highly unlikely to do anything for the large stone obstructing your bile duct but may help prevent new stone formation in the gall bladder. For hiatal hernia, best management is weight loss, sleeping with head elevated, and no food for 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Normally results would be immediate. Unfortunately in his case, one of the obstructing stones was huge and could not be removed without additional equipment most hospitals lack. The doctors did the correct thing in that situation by inserting a stent but failed to inform him that there are non-surgical options in at least one Bangkok hospital for getting the stone out. So understandably described as an unsatisfactory result. His bile duct is still blocked by a large stone with just a temporary fix in place. Also unfortunately in his case, he suffered some (hopefully temporary) cardiac complications from the stress of the procedure and, possibly, the anesthetic if one was used.

It is pretty urgent to get that stone out as soon as you are recovered and physically stable enough to undergo the procedure. The stent could fail at any point and then it is a critical situation. Subsequent gall bladder removal is necessary but no rush. The stones that caused this mayhem came from you gall bladder. (Don't however do that in the provinces. With your cardiac history need to be in top notch hands).

I am not clear what s the status now? Stent still in place, or removed? Are you still having the attacks of abdominal pain? Gall bladder removal is indeed recommended in a case like this but not until after the bile duct stone has been removed and patient recovered from that. I would suggest OP see about doing that in Canada. They have to get that stone out, it is essential. The stent is just a temporary fix. There are methods other than surgery for getting out a large bile duct stone, but not available at all hospitals: Mechanical lithotripsy: breaking up a larger bile duct stone by capturing it and then crushing it in a wire “basket” that is inserted through the endoscope. Once the stones are crushed, they are removed using special tools through the endoscope. Intraductal electrohydraulic lithotripsy: a very fine probe is inserted through a tiny scope that is passed through the ERCP endoscope. The probe, which is connected to a generator, provides a shock wave that breaks up the stone. Once the stones are crushed, they are removed using special tools through the endoscope. Both of the above are done with the same endoscope passed through the mouth that you just experienced, but additional equipment is needed to then break up the stone so that it can be removed. In Thailand, I know they have this at Chulalongkhorn. I am not sure if any of the private hopsitals have it. You might try messaging Bangkok Hospital (Bangkok branch), MedPark, Bumrungrad and Samitvej (Sukhumvit branch) and asking them if the have capacity to do "ERCP with mechanical lithotripsy to remove very large bile duct stone". If you find one that can, let me know and I'll suggest a doctor. Or, you could go straight to Chula but that means really long waits and crowds to see the doctor, may be hard in your present state. If you go that route, use their "special medical clinic" after hours route and this is the man you want https://spcweb.kcmh.or.th/users/users/getDoctorClinic/31ceadb76fc9937a40b229367d199d0a-010333- Prof. Phontep Angsuwacharakorn. He is only there on Fridays. You call 02-256-5193 to make appointment. They will give you a confirmation code, write it down as you need to show it when you register on first floor. If they try to give you an appointment in the far future, pleading urgency often works.