mstevens

I am not familiar with this condition and have not had it myself but I see it has been described as "fungal". If that is the case, I highly recommend you try this supplement:

https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/formula-sf722-reg

I have used it for other fungal conditions and it is amazingly effective. Read reviews online about how effective this product is for any fungal condition. Thorne Research is a high-end American manufacturer of supplements and this product really works. You can order it online from Lazada / Shopee.

6 hours ago, 2009 said:

I see Thais being very materialistic and try to keep up with the other Somsaks and Ting Tongs probably much more than I ever witnessed back West.

 

Cars, bike, gold, phones, designer things, house, land, making merit/donations, dowry, gifts, how much ice cream money their kid gets each day for school.......so much competition.

Agree 100%. In my country of New Zealand, in most company no-one gives a toss about what sort of phone you use and you'll actually get brownie points for playing things down generally, especially if you do have means. Drive an old (but reliable) car, wear old (but clean) clothes until they're totally worn and NOT playing the big man with money go a long way in this part of the world.  My Thai Mrs' sister used to ask her why I used to never buy the newest, fashionable clothes rather than dress down. To her, it was unfathomable that I chose to not to be flashy whereas in my country, that sort of behaviour is considered unseemly, pretentious and showy.

This page is quite useful as it has the latest rates from most Thai banks and many exchange services:

http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx

Still quite a few bars on Soi Cowboy have not reopened. Crowds picking up but nothing like they were a few years ago when it was shoulder to shoulder along the soi some nights.

I suffered from anxiety for a while and was recommended Ashwagandha. It's a herb which has properties which can help with anxiety. I did not have the sort of serious anxiety you mention but I have to say that Ashwagandha was really helpful when I was suffering from anxiety. It helped with a better night's sleep which came with vivid dreams and I just felt that little but more positive about life. I doubt it would help "resolve" serious anxiety issues but I imagine it would be helpful nonetheless. It's safe, cheap and easy to come by. You can Google Ashwagandha for more info. A quick search on Lazada and Shopee shows many vendors selling various Ashwagandha supplements.

2 hours ago, superal said:

I can imagine the amount of paperwork required by the FDA , typical of Thailand's many steps but that does not prove that , for example honey , is the genuine product . There are possibly no laboratories in Thailand that can test for fake honey ( below link is informative ) . It would appear that the majority of members on this forum are not aware of the extent of fake honey on supermarket shelves and that applies to the supermarket owners , distributors and buyers . The evidence is there for all to see .                       https://www.wired.co.uk/article/honey-fraud-detection

I cannot comment on that article, local Thailand-produced honey or honey imported from other markets, but I do know all about New Zealand Manuka honey. I also know two of the Thai importers of New Zealand Manuka honey very well, having have assisted them in getting set up to import genuine Manuka honey from New Zealand. I mention New Zealand Manuka honey because this is a product I know well and I have worked with companies which import it. It is a premium product priced very high so if anyone was going to produce fake honey, then this would be the likely product to choose. But fake manuka honey in Thailand is not an issue. And in New Zealand, MPI (The New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries) controls the export of Manuka honey very tightly. Did you know, for example, that you cannot export honey from New Zealand without a licence? You cannot send it in the post and no international courier will touch it without the extensive documentation allowing it.

I just cannot see any supermarket in Thailand stocking any fake honey. The supermarket operators are VERY fussy about who they source product from and have stringent processed any supplier must go through. It's a lot of work. Pitching a product to local supermarkets and the number of meetings, the paperwork, the checking of references etc is extensive. Believe me, it's very difficult to get any product on to the shelves of a local supermarket, costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time and effort. The system is robust.

You can get great genuine honey, both imported and locally produced, in Thai supermarkets. Don't sweat it!

13 hours ago, scorecard said:

Nice points but I wonder how much time and effort companies like Foodland (and others) put into confirming that in all aspects the product is as described on the bottle and whether the brand name is a registered/recognized/respected brand name in the originating country? 

 

E.g. Does Foodland (and the others) get a full analysis of the contents from a fully qualified and totally respected laboratory and same for many products? 

A retailer like Foodland does not test the products it sells in a laboratory. All of that sort of testing is done well before the product makes it to supermarket shelves.

If you wish to sell a foreign manufactured food product in Thailand, that product must have approval from the Thailand FDA and will be issued with a Thai FDA number.

Food importers (not Foodland, but the companies which import the various foreign food products) submit a huge amount of documentation to get said Thailand FDA number. This number is unique to each product.

The FDA approval process is very involved and requires product samples and a lot of documentation from the manufacturer in the country in which the product is manufactured. This all has to be checked, approved and stamped by the department of the relevant government agnecy that deals with food safety / export in the country where the product is made. This paperwork is very extensive and includes all sorts of things including lab tests and results etc.

Upon receiving application for a foreign food product to be sold in Thailand, the Thai FDA scrutinises this documentation. The process involves a team sent to inspect the warehouse / premises of the importer (to make sure that the place where the product is stored is suitable etc), check all other relevant paperwork such as company formation documents etc and eventually issue an FDA number for each and every product. It is a very rigorous process.

You can go to the local Thailand FDA website and enter an FDA number and it will tell you what that product is. I mention this because the #1 area in which fake products make it to the market involves the use of FDA stickers using the number for a different product.

Basically, if the product is sold by a reputable vendor and has a Thailand FDA number that number matches up with the product in the FDA database, then it is unlikely to be a fake.

I am always a bit nervous when it comes to olive oil as there is so much adulteration of olive oils in Italy. As such, I try to find olive oils from Australia, New Zealand where that is not an issue.

As far as honey goes, I'm not sure if it's Manuka honey you're after but if it is, the best brands are Comvita and Arataki. Arataki is the better bet as quality-wise they're considered equal but Arataki is much less expensive. Arataki brand Manuka is available on both Lazada and Shopee and I find UMF 10+ to be the sweet spot.

There are no limits per se. If you are buying foreign currency, they might only have so much, especially of it is not one of the major currencies like USD / GBP / EUR etc. If you are exchanging foreign currency in to baht, seems to be no limits.

10 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Wouldn't be the first time I seen some wheezing diabetic loud mouthed brit lying on the street in a puddle of his own p$$ who got his ambitions mixed up with his abilities.

I love this quote, brilliant! It's nuggets like this that make tuning in to this forum still worthwhile!

This <deleted> is happening all over the world. With Thai Mrs in New Zealand and thought we'd visit Australia for a quick break and change of scenery. Processing time for a tourist visa for a Thai in New Zealand to visit Australia is quoted as 8 months. We were told, "It should be processed in about half that time." No, thanks, we won't bother.

I always found locally grown avocados to be hit and miss, with a lot more misses. The imported avocados from New Zealand and Australia are good but often they have been in the supermarket too long and are already past their prime.

The best luck I had with avocados was to get one from the supermarket NZ or Aus that was not yet ripe. Within a day or two it would be good.

If you're waking up every night between 2:00 and 3:00 AM with a dry mouth and it's not related to the air-conditioning, it would be worth going to see a doctor and getting checked out for the following:

- Diabetes insipidus (which is not the "regular" diabetes melitus)

- Cortisol levels. If they spike during the night due to blood sugar or other issues, you can wake with a jolt, and it can be very hard to get back to sleep.

- Adrenal fatigue (can cause you to wake around that time and again, really struggle to get back to sleep)

- Liver function issues (your liver works hard when you're asleep and any problems can cause you to wake between 1:00 and 3:00 AM)

I had exactly the problem you describe of waking up at that hour and it took a year to get to the bottom of it. It was a combination of adrenal fatigue and gut issues.

Of course, it might just be an issue with the air-conditioning and the humidity in the room. I hope that's what it is as that is an easy fix.

18 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So in March the price was 318, and in September it will be 408. Cleverer people than me will be able to work out the percentage increase, but it's in line with huge increases of other things needed for everyday life in Thailand - like food. In the Real World prices rise by 2-3% (not including the current energy prices in some countries). In Thailand it's often 10 or 20x that.

Hate to say it, Barry, but in the real world prices are going up by a similar 30%. Inflation is running rampant all over the globe. In my part of the world many locally grown food items are up by 30% over the past year. Not imported food items but locally grown. It's not just Thailand.

1 hour ago, Lemsta69 said:

Auckland check-in staff weren't doing their job properly. lucky you.

Usually they're a bunch of overly officious sods at check-in at Auckland Airport. Maybe the pandemic has chilled them a bit.

On 9/9/2013 at 1:05 PM, Sheryl said:

Not approved for use in Thailand.

Highly inadvisable to treat with this or any other antibiotic for gut problems unless specific bacteria have been identified on culture. You will massively disrupt normal gut flora which may well make matters much worse.

Would suggest probiotics instead and if that fails consult a good GI specialist.

I know this thread is very old but my question is the same as the OP. In the subsequent years that have passed, has Rifaxamin been approved for use in Thailand? As the OP said, it's the best antibiotic for SIBO (and various other intestinal infections).

If you have any fungal issues, consider using this supplement: Thorne Research, Formula SF722.

I had ongoing issues with fungal problems - nail fungus, ringworm and various issues associated with Candida overgrowth from gut issues to white tongue. This supplement worked wonders. Google it and read the reviews. You can order it online from iHerb. It's available on Lazada although it's pricier than if ordering from iHerb in the States.

Just remember that many fungal issues are not just in one area so while you might treat say ringworm, as I did, with Cannesten cream, it might be that you unknowingly have yeast / fungal issues elsewhere. That's why something like this supplement or an anti-fungal like Fluconazole might be a better solution that a skin cream.

On 4/29/2022 at 2:48 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Pensioners pay the same to see a Dr as a millionaire, same for dentists, car costs etc.

Many GP practices in New Zealand offer lower fees to pensioners / gold card holders. Not all, but many.

13 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Avoid palm oil for cooking. It is very toxic. I use only rice bran oil, or sunflower oil. Rice bran is easily available here and inexpensive. Both are very healthy oils. So are safflower, avocado and olive oil.

Rice brain oil has its advantages for sure with zero cholesterol and you can cook at high heat and it won't break down. Just be aware that it is very high in Omega6s....so best not to consume too much of it.

Avocado oil is the sweet spot for taste and also not breaking down at high heat. A shame it is so expensive.

I use rice brain oil sparingly (only use it when I deep fry which is not often), avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil. Frying Thai style dishs in avocado oil works well, in my opinion. There is a slightly funky flavour with avocado oil which is odd at first but I rather like it - and knowing the health benefits of avocado oil / lack of downsides of many other oils makes it worth it to me.

Just curious, why does it take so long for orders from iHerb to get to Thailand? I have made a number of iHerb orders from New Zealand and they're delivered in 4 - 6 days. The dispatch centre is in California. Also, never any duty or taxes to pay here and the last order was for 10 items totalling over $300. Do you have to pay tax or duty when you receive an order in Thailand?

22 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Local Thai markets have these jeans for 200 b.  Good luck to Levi probably just another retailer with a bunch of empty stores.

Made the mistake of buying a fake pair of Levis at Pratunam some years ago. Complete waste of money and nothing like a genuine pair.

I have found that you need to be careful when the word "will" is used by Thais when talking about things they will do as part of a deal / transaction. Always insist that the things they say they will do are done before you commit / pay. Too often things are said to appease a potential customer when there is no genuine intention to see through on what was promised.