mstevens

15 hours ago, Thailand said:

1/2 litre of pasteurized milk at bedtime does it for me.

Maybe one overnight pee break but often 10-11 hours sleep each night.

This is probably due to the tryptophan in the milk. It's an amino acid that helps you to sleep. For a while I took an L Tryptophan supplement (Now Foods L-Tryptophan, Double Strength 1000 mg Tablets) which was somewhat effective.

17 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Exercise before bed, don't eat for two hours before bedtime and practise intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting and not eating for a few hours before bed is great advice. For me, personally, I have found exercising before bed actually keeps me away although I am sure for others like yourself, it works well. My understanding is that research shows exercise in the morning is actually best for most people to help with sleep.

There are various reasons why you might be waking up at that particular time. Taking herbals or medication is one approach but ideally, you want to find out the root cause. Some people go on a regime or supplements or medication which resolves their sleep problems but the issue remains and they cannot come off the medicine. Ideally, you want to identify what us causing you to wake up at that time.
 
Could you be diabetic? The "dawn phenomenon" causes diabetics with uncontrolled blood sugar to wake up early.
 
The time you’re consistently waking up at might be a clue. According to Chinese medicine, 1:00 – 3:00 AM is the time the liver does a lot of its work. If your liver is overburdened (could be a liver issue or could be something else such as infection or toxins which make the liver work much harder), this can cause you to wake up between 1:00 and 3:00 AM.
 
Another possibility is “histamine overload”. It’s kind of complicated but if you have gut issues, your body cannot break down histamines effectively. Your “histamine bucket” gets full and overflows causing histamines to be released in the middle of the night and wake you up. Less likely, but it is consistent with waking up early.
 
I had this very same issue with waking up between 2:00 and 3:00 AM night after night. After many visits to see multiple doctors, they could not work out what was going on. To cut a very long story short, it turned out I had an issue with oxalate toxicity which was causing histamine issues, which were causing me to wake up early. Adjusting my diet and taking a histamine-friendly probiotic resolved it.

19 hours ago, Celsius said:

I also read the news from back home. Restaurants are complaining that the situation is now worse than during covid. It is not just Thailand.

I don't want to go off on a tangent here but let me say that here in New Zealand, all the economists say the economy is doing badly while cafes and restaurants are heaving. Many are full and you can't get a table. Friends in Australia tell me it's the same over there. It's a weird situation where the economy is supposedly in trouble but hospitality is on fire.

Go to one of the better hospitals, make an appointment with a hepatologist (liver specialist) and get them to test for everything liver-related, to include gallbladder and a full GI work-up. From there, you'll get a diagnosis and know how best to proceed.

Have you had your gallbladder checked? It sits just below the liver and you might be mistaking issues in that part of the body with gallbladder-related problems, possibly gallstones.

Also consider that it might be that your liver is under strain from something else in the body like mould, Lyme or some other long-term infection which could be producing mycotoxins that circulate throughout the body which your liver has to deal with and can become over-burdened.

There are so many possibilities and that is why I'd seek a hepatologist to do a full work-up.

14 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It is called victim culture, and is the polar opposite of the generations of the past. An advocate of wimp culture may called it repressed behavior, but these heros came back from the horrific experiences of WWII, and barely ever uttered a complaint. They just got on with their lives. There is a huge gap between a hero and a wimp. 

I thought it was American culture where it seems people sue or seek damages for even the smallest injury, slight or infraction, perceived or otherwise.

54 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

How do you know that?

If you think your doctor is that bad why don't you look for a better doctor?

Or do you think like that all doctors don't know what they are doing?

 

Many doctors have inadequate knowledge about nutrition. For many, it was but a few hours in their training. What you eat (and don't eat) has a MASSIVE effect on your health. If there is a shortfall with some Western trained doctors, it is the gaping hole in their knowledge of nutrition and applying it to their patients.

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

She asked me about my vitamin intake 

Daily 2 X vitamin B complex 

4 X 1000 iu vitamin D 

2 X Tribulas 

I X berrocca 

2x vitamin C 

1x magnesium 

2x zinc 

1x vitamin E 

There is an art to taking vitamins from the time of day when it is best to take certain vitamins to which vitamins and minerals not to take at the same time, and to the dosage.

My personal vitamin regime is Vitamin D and K2 (during the 5 coldest months of the year only), vitamin B complex, fish oil, Magnesium and zinc. NOT ALL VITAMINS ARE THE SAME so don't think it is best to go for the cheapest option. Some contain fillers. Some are less absorbable etc. With the likes of Magnesium, different forms of Magnesium come with different benefits. Magnesium glycinate is quite different to Magnesium citrate.

In your list, Berocca strikes me as redundant as you're getting most of what is in that from your other supplements. Tribulas I have no idea about. You may not need to take so much Vitamin C - but you could have a reason for the high dose. Vitamin D is a supplement that almost all of us should be taking.

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

If you follow a balanced diet, why would you need to take extra vitamins?   I can understand that if you are vegan, you might be missing out on your daily recommended dosage of some vitamins, but that's the only reason I can think of.

Many people have issues with their gut which affects the absorption of vitamins and minerals, hence for many there is a need for these people to take vitamin & mineral supplements. Gut issues are a bit like diabetes - many people suffer from it but don't know. Many people with gut issues are deficient in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Also, if you have high stress, this will burn through some of the B vitamins, burn through Magnesium and if you become deficient then there can be a cascade of effects.

Bottom line is that for many people, a balanced diet is not enough. And as I am sure you will agree, many people these days do not eat a balanced diet!

NAFLD is very common these days. While I am sure fasting helps, it's not for everyone. I'd suggest that you lose weight and amend your diet to include LOTS of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bok choy and more) which are the best thing for your liver. Eliminate fast food, sugar and excess carbs. That will all go a long way to resolving a fatty liver. It can take a period of time i.e. a year or two, depending on how fatty the liver is.

For NAFLD (fatty liver), avoid sugar and too many carbohydrates. When you hear fatty liver you tend to think of alcohol but these days more people present with a fatty liver due to a high sugar / high carb diet. Cut back on carbs and reduce or even eliminate sugar and this will go a long way to resolving fatty liver. It sounds counter-intuitive but actually good fats are great for a fatty liver so consume lots of olive oil, avocados, nuts, fish etc.

12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Out of interest, why do you participate in this "Thai" forum?

Many of us who lived in Thailand for a period of time still have strong connections to the country such as friends, former work colleagues as well as our wife's family. Some, like myself, certainly consider moving back to Thailand in the future. There are many perfectly reasonable reasons why someone living outside Thailand uses this forum.

I moved back to New Zealand for many reasons but one of the main ones was money and securing my financial future, something I felt would be tougher in Thailand despite the cost of living there being much cheaper there than NZ. I can earn much more in New Zealand than I ever did in Thailand and on moving back, I bought a house which increased massively in value so things have worked out well. Ditto for my Thai wife, she wanted to try life in New Zealand because she liked the idea that she could earn more here. (She now makes well over 100,000+ baht per month compared to 25,000 baht / month she was earning when we left Thailand.)  There's still plenty we miss about Thailand and we continue to enjoy regular trips there. We may move back there at some point in the future, but for now, New Zealand works for us.

8 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

May I ask what does it do taking a digestive enzime like this?

The short answer is that digestive enzymes help you to digest food and, importantly, absorb the nutrition, minerals and vitamins in that food. People with gut / digestive issues might eat a very healthy diet but not absorb the goodness in the foods leadign to vitamin deficiencies which can cause a cascade of health problems. There are many possible reasons for malabsorbtion but digestive enzymes (and betaine hydrochloride) are a BIG help for many digestive complaints.

4 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

Dr also said perhaps I should see a gastro dr bc I could have absorption issues in the bowel. 

Absorption issues can be related to all manner of gut issues such as bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), yeast / candida overgrowth (SIFO), leaky gut, IBS, IBD (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis), pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, gallbladder issues, liver issues, inflammation and a whole host of other conditions. One quick / temporary fix is to take a digestive enzyme with meals. There are many on the market. I favour NOW Foods Digest Ultimate.

There's an interesting Facebook group called The Copper Revolution: Healing With Minerals which I was a member of for a while. Lots of first-hand reports on there on improvements in health when taking copper. One thing I seem to recall from the group was that copper and zinc supplements should not be taken at the same time. I take 15 mg of zinc with lunch and 2 mg of copper with my  evening meal.

Have you considered tea tree oil? It is very effective against toe nail fungus. Apply a couple of drops to the nails with fungus twice a day until you start to see improvement. Note, it can take several weeks. There is no quick fix with toenail fungus.

Tea tree oil is very inexpensive and useful for various ailments.

Chamomille tea is a good choice, widely available and inexpensive.

You might want to try Tulsi tea. It's Indian and is made from holy basil (the same as "gra-pow" in Thailand).

Tulsi tea has many benefits, one of which is that it helps you to relax - which is ideal for those with hypertension. I don't know how widely available it is in stores in Thailand but you can definitely get it on Lazada. I favour the Organic India brand but I imagine most brands are fine.

12 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Need to not compare Aus prices to expensive private hospital prices.

Why not? Private medical facilities in Australia would be very much on a par with private hospitals in Thailand so it would be a like for like comparison.

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

There was no charge to go in the Nana Hotel disco and there was never a disco in the Plaza.

There was a time when there was no charge to go to the Nana Disco on the ground floor of the Nana Hotel, but for some years before it closed there most certainly was a cover charge. It went from 100 to 200 to 300 baht in fairly quick succession. The owner got a lot of flak about it at the time. Count me amongst those who thought that imposing a cover charge was the beginning of the end for a disco that for a long time was brilliant.

On 2/23/2023 at 12:39 PM, spidermike007 said:

Alot less tourism. Though it must be hard on alot of Thais, many who are no doubt unemployed, it sure is nice as an ex-pat. I don't expect tourism to EVER rebound to it's former levels. Too much has changed around the world, and too little of what should have, and could have changed and improved here, has not. 

I am currently outside of Thailand but friends who live there tell me that all of the tourist hot spots in Bangkok are over-run with visitors. One friend was in Pattaya recently and said similar, saying it was as busy as he could ever remember it. Photos online at Immigration show crazy queues and a quick check on Booking.com plugging some random dates in shows some hotels are full. The Chinese made up 1/3 of all international visitors before Covid and they are just starting to return. How many Chinese will visit over the course of this year? Next year? The year after? And flights from airlines which stopped flying in to Bangkok during Covid are coming back all the time. I'm sorry, but I don't know how you can possibly say tourism to Thailand won't rebound. Thailand is a fantastic place to visit and the world knows it. I strongly disagree with your comments. Record high tourist numbers are coming very soon!

2 hours ago, mommysboy said:

A banana will give you a good amount of potassium, as will a medium sized potato, and many other easy to eat/prepare foods, such as oats, beans, etc.  No need to get too 'elitist' about any one food.

It's nothing to do with being elitist and I have no idea where that comes from. I mention avocados as they are a food that most people like, are inexpensive and are very high in potassium. The bottom line is that many consume a diet high in sodium and a banana, a potato (or 2) just won't cut it. There's simply not enough potassium there to offset the sodium. If you have an issue with high consumption of sodium, you can offset it with potassium but you need foods that are very high in potassium or a high quantity of foods with moderate potassium. For example, leafy greens are high in potassium but you'd need to eat a lot of them.

4 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

bananas also good for sodium .. eat them green for less sugar

 

Because bananas have potassium. But actually, bananas aren't that high in potassium (about 300 mg for an "average" sized banana). If you have an issue with sodium and are struggling to reduce your sodium intake, increasing your potassium intake will be very helpful. Avocados are a great source of potassium. Alternatively, potassium citrate powder is very cheap and effective.