market trader

Congratulations on the success of your surgery, I hope all continues to go well.

I have found very little regarding this doctor on the net, except his phone number and email address.

Did you just go to Sripat and ask to see a gastro surgeon or was he recommended?

I presume you had a battery of tests first?

Would you mind telling us what the total cost of this surgery was?

Once again good luck and speedy recovery.

I had colonoscopy and CT scans done first at RAM. Was not really impressed by surgeon there although can't really say anything bad but was hoping to get by with laparoscopic procedure and RAm surgeon said he did not have experience. Checked at Sriphat and Dr. Suwan does do laparoscopic so went to see him. He reviewed all of the RAM test data and told me he would try to do laparascopic procedure but after taking a look inside, might have to change to open surgery to be able to look around and assess other organs, etc. That is what happened. Surgery took four hours.

Total cost at Sriphat for 10 days private room, all surgical, medication and nursing cost was 136,000 baht

Zipper remark just refers to the current appearance of the surgical opening which runs from just under my breast bone to 10 cm below my navel.

I don't know if he does hernia repair.

Thank you for sharing the information.

Does this doctor also do hernia operations? Also like Uptheos would you mind telling us how much it cost both for the operation and your hospital stay. I think its good if we have an idea how much various proceedures cost in Chiang Mai. Thanks

Maybe a new donut shop has opened up.

I think I have the only wife in the world that actually puts the toilet seat back up when she leaves the bathroom.

Sure looks like a budgie to me. Don't forget these days they come in a wide variety of colours

Pit vipers and cobras frequent my village as it's among rice fields. Plenty of mosquitoes, but they are mostly of the species not carrying viruses or other pathogens.

Don't get to feeling to confident about your mosquitos

Lanna is by far cheaper and far more competent!

I wouldn't even park in Lanna, unless I really had too!

I know of too many cock up's..

I suspect many old hands can share the successes and horror stories of many hospitals, and not only in Thailand.

I've been here over three decades and i have adult children and grandchildren born in Thailand.

For many years we lived in Bkk, and had several serious issues with the big B, and at two other so called 5 star venues. (One example, 3 year old granddaughter given the medicine for 2 days for another patient, head nurse for the ward scolded by the doctore, then head nurse abused my son for talking direct to the doctor, full MRI scan 24,000Baht, 2 weeks later another doctor said, 'why MRI, a modern ultrasound (about 600Baht) would provide better information for this ailment'.

Also, my son got injured severly in a rugby game (16 years old) and was taken to and operated on, against his wishes, at the P........... hospital.

His coach insisted on going to this hospital and insisted on the operation being performed immediately, my son tried to insist that he call me to come to the hospital, but was prevented from making a call. Coach signed all the documents without any authority or any questioning by the hospital staff.

We discovered later this was all connected to a health insurance scam (the coach knew that my son had top level BUPA cover).

I'm surprised and disappointed to read that a hospital would allow an unrelated person to sign documents for an operation without your knowledge and acceptance.

Bangkok post is reporting that a Canadian and an Australian man were found dead in their hotel room. Empty alcohol bottles and a white powder were found in the room. I could understand one person being found dead from an overdose but two??

Thanks Harry I don't need my car until tomorrow afternoon - how do I call the battery people? What makes you think it is a case of a new battery and not just a case of re-charging it? I don't see how I could have left anything on to flatten it though. I did buy a new battery about one year ago...

Actually it could have been two years ago, thinking about it. Would a battery for a Honda Jazz need replacing after 2 years? Thanks for any help!

New batteries are usually good for from 5 - 7 years depending on the quality.

rubbish

not in a hot climate and with airconditiong which poses a heavy drain. Possibly in a cold climate though only top quality ones last that long. In australia a standard battery will give about 2 years though a heavier duty one at nearly three times the cost is used by people like taxis to give about 5 years.

Rubbish to you also. The battery in my car in Chiang Mai is 7 1/2 years old and still working fine.

Here is something you can try. Turn your ignition key to on. Then turn on your headlights. If headlights come on problem is not your battery. If headlights don't come on then most likely your battery is dead.

Thanks Harry I don't need my car until tomorrow afternoon - how do I call the battery people? What makes you think it is a case of a new battery and not just a case of re-charging it? I don't see how I could have left anything on to flatten it though. I did buy a new battery about one year ago...

Actually it could have been two years ago, thinking about it. Would a battery for a Honda Jazz need replacing after 2 years? Thanks for any help!

New batteries are usually good for from 5 - 7 years depending on the quality.

I am certainly no expert on auto mecanhics. But I think that a battery that is only one year old would not be the cause of your problem. I have left cars for over 6 months without starting them and when I did start them up again the battery was always fine.

Yes Jingthing, I was told the same thing by an eye doctor at Bumrungrad. I go annually to have other more serious health issues checked and have added a visit to their eye doctor to my annual checks. He says that I have the beginning of cataracts and that eventually I'll need surgery, but meanwhile just keep checking annually on the cataracts and other potential eye problems.

Later, I found out that they replace the lenses when they do cataract surgery. So at the next visit, I asked him if that means I wouldn't have to wear glasses for my astigmatism after cataract surgery and he said yes. Whoopie! I asked if he could do the cataract surgery "early" so the astigmatism would be fixed and he looked at me like I was nuts. He said "just keep wearing your glasses"

Transam -- are there any results of double-blind scientific studies of these magic drops, published in peer-reviewed journals? On-line testimonials aren't the results of scientific studies.

Lets just say l have read some on the stuff and if my sis back home can locate it, l will try it.

Well I haven't read any of the Literature on it but if you can't get it here and from the sounds of it it might be a problem locating it back home. I would be a little leery of it.

Miracle cures should not be that hard to find if they exist.

What is the price range on it.

The only thing that these miracle cures do is miraculously put a lot of money into the pockets of the companies that are touting them.Just today I watched a video. Cure cancer with eggplant. Of course at the end of the video they want to sell your their eggplant extract. I am sure that the only thing it will cure is the bulge of money in my wallet if I buy the product.

Ram have gotten greedy and they especially rip off on the drugs. Half of us could retire in style on their daily markup on paracetamol alone. However if you have a serious ailment and your short term goal is not testing death then perhaps it is worth a few hundred dollars more. There are cheaper brake pads, cheaper hookers and cheaper doctors, they do the job but rarely do you get satisfaction. Avoid Ram for minor ailments and use them only for what is important.

You think the Ram is a rip off on drugs. Well I would like to relate a little story on drug and hospital costs. I have a non curable but treatable form of blood cancer that requires maintainance drug treatments periodically. Last year when in Canada my health care card expired on my birthday and 2 days prior to my birthday I went and renewed it. On the day of my birthday I went to the hospital for my treatment. However they told me that my medical card had now expired and I would be billed for the treatment. Cost of the drug Rituximab $8935.00 (268,000 bahts) Hospital cost to administer the drug intravenously $2250.00 (67,500 bahts) One week later I received the new card and the hospital reversed the charge. A few months ago I as advised by the government that they would no longer pay for maintainance therapy and I would have to cover the cost myself. Considering that my wife and I had been living 1/2 Canada 1/2 Thailand I decided to go to the Ram and see how much they would charge. I saw Dr. Rattiya the oncology hemtologist. She said the cost of the drug was 110,000 bahts and the hospital would mark it up by 20% for a total of 132,000 bahts. She told me cost to administer the drug would be under 4000 bahts. Now compare the total cost. Canada 335,500 bahts. Ram 136,000 bahts. In my mind I am getting a bagain at the Ram. As a side note I have called Dr. Rattiya 3 or 4 times and she ALWAYS calls back within an hour or two. So in addition to bargain pricing I am getting excellent service.

The Vicar mentioned he did not like the layout of Big "C" stores.Funny I thought it was only me who didn't like it.

I'm surprised to see such widespread condemnation of aspirin as a blood thinner. USA doctors are still prescribing it. That is, the low dose aspirin. I got out of the habit of taking one everyday not long ago and my doctor suggested I restart.

Me thinks, you have a doctor who does not keep abreast of current research and recommendations.

You say you would like a house in fields or forest without neighbours. But yet you also want internet. Obtaining internet in populated areas can quite often be a problem. Therefore maybe internet in an area you would like might not exist.

A friend of mine, who is an retired American nurse who specialized in care of the elderly, sent me this information just a week ago.....

"I just researched hospitals here who provide rtPA, an incredible drug that will totally reverse the effects of a

stroke ie: paralysis, brain damage, etc, if the patient gets to the hospital within 4 hours of the stroke. So far

Sriphat and RAM have it...so if someone thinks they're having a stroke, those 2 are good choices. Just FYI."

So, if you or someone you know seems to be having a stroke -- don't ignore the signs. Get to either RAM or Sriphat hospital emergency rooms immediately and ask about this new drug, rPA.

Is this medicine rtPA or rPA. Where I live English is a little poor. Most doctors do speak English a little but I would like to be sure of what I am asking for.

Thanks in advance

Its....rtPA.....Not exactly a new type of medication. It has been available since the early 1990's . Given by intravenous injection.

Actually its not the immigration office. But a seperate building behind it.

I had a house air conditioner repaired one month ago. They did a perfect job. I don't know the name as it is in Thai. But if you have someone that can speak Thai here are the phone numbers.

081-8837961 --- 053-805538

For sure you 1 copy of your main passport page. 1 copy of your visa page. 1 copy of your departure card. Plus one passport size recent picture of yourself. Then of course the important 1900 bahts. The form to apply for the extension you can find just inside the immigration office. I believe it is form #7

Market trader

Thanks for the heads up on that. I generally have my machine checked over when I go back for a visit. I didn't go last year so this year I will take the older one even though it is bigger. I think it has been 3 years since I had it looked at last.

Not familiar with the Devilbiss how is it for cost and does it have the automatic pressure and humidifier? I actually don't mind the bigger machines for traveling. Gives me more room for books.

Devilbiss with auto adjust and humidifier plus 3 year warrantly $464.00 USD. Increasing to $545.00 with 5 year warranty. As I mentioned in earlier post just click on....wwwcpapsupply.com...You will see a large assortment of machines, masks and supplies. They ship worldwide.

Thanks Hello Dolly for the info as being allowed a CPAP machine as a separate carry-on piece of luggage. I usually pack mine with my computer, cameras and all the other electronic junk i travel with.

I also use Resmed S9 but the pre-set version as i couldn't afford the extra 600 AUD for the variable. There is also a travel power supply unit which is very useful , about the size of a laptop power supply . Those filters only last about 3 months . I wash mine and re-use although Resmed advises to buy and use new ones.

The power supply must be new in the last three years. I got the top of the line about 9 years ago and another one 3 years ago. I had a insurance policy that paid for them. Both of mine are variable. They both work great and should last a lot longer. For my money ResMed is top of the line. If I had to buy a new one I would make the sacrifice. The only problem I ever had was with the humidifier. The machine still worked but I had to use the on and off switch on the back of it.

I would be very suspect of a 9 year old machine still working great. Especially if you are using it daily as you should. The baffle system that provides the air starts to wear down after 3 or 4 years. You may not realise it because the machine is still providing air. However if you carefully monitor the volume of air the machine is providing you will usually see that it is slowly decreasing the volume of air below the recommended level for you. Currenly I have 4 machines. 2 Resmed automatic both in semi retirement because air volume not up to necessary level. 1 new Devilbiss auto which works just as good as the Resmeds did when they were new. I also have a ZZZ Pap machine for when I travel. This is the smallest CPAP machine in the market and weighs only 1.75 lbs.

does the BOT publish household/consumer/credit card debt statistics?

In view of the fact that 90% of Thais don't have a credit card publishing statistics would be a waste of paper.

"Members of the gang of thieves were identified as: Mr. Torres Rodigrace Carlos Enrike, age 35, nationality Columbian; Mr. Franco Jose Ardan, age 40, nationality Columbian; Mr. Andres Felipe Restorpo, age 26, nationality Columbian; Mr. Sanches Garati Mac Jaimi, age 35, nationality Peruvian; Mr. Lopez Salazar George, age 39, nationality Mexican; Mr. Degado Pinsion Oscar Ivan, age 31, nationality Columbian; Mr. Lucus Zunica Juan Carlos, age 32, nationality Mexican; Mr. Evan Kerrero Risc, age 35, nationality Mexican"

I trust their visas and work permits were in order.

BTW Columbian isn't a nationality it's what they call people from British Columbia.

These chaps were Colombians I guess.

I hope the Pattaya police have a few more big busts in their town too.

I trust you were joking about Colombians being called people from British Columbia. If you weren't joking I would expect a full apology is in order. Plus the forum should banish you to one week of geography lessons.