mstevens

Yes, really. Regardless of the name, it is owned and run by Americans.

Owned and run by Americans.

Sounds to me like they were simply being thorough. It's the complete opposite in my part of the world where if you were to go to see the doctor with a simple bladder infection then they would take a piss sample, test it and if it was ok they would declare you fit and send you home - without having made the necessary investigation to establish the problem. Comparing your experience at Bangkok Hospital and what I have experienced with doctors at home, I'd much rather have gone to Bangkok Hospital!

Have you tried the supplement NAC? Do your own research on it, but amongst its many benefits is that it's a "biofilm buster" that breaks down mucus. I imagine it could be beneficial. You can order it online from iHerb and it's not expensive. I have used the NOW Foods brand NAC. A quick search online shows it selling for 440 baht at iHerb. At that price you've nothing to lose!

There are reasons why Thailand has long been known as a place to avoid illegal drugs. Disappointing to see the way this fellow has been treated but at the same time, Thailand is not a place to do anything with illegal drugs, irrespective of the quantity. The "price" you pay can be extremely harsh as this Kiwi has found out.

Probably says more about you than Udon...

Chuwit is a very wealthy businessman, and principled. It will be his own choice and almost certainly self-financed.

Is free wi-fi widely available at the airport? We're flying in to Bangkok next week and sister in law will pick us up at the airport. She lives near the airport so we plan to call her when we are at baggage claim so she can leave home to come and collect us. Is there free wi-fi available in the arrivals hall / baggage claim area? We'd prefer not to use our phones from home as the charges to use it overseas are "pang". I have seen the long queues at the telecom stores to get a local Thai SIM card and after a long flight we'd rather wait until the next day, hence the question.

I don't know which exact inhalers you're using but when I used Ventolin inhalers in the past and with the Symbicort inhaler I currently use, the inhaler seems much more effective for the first 60 - 70% of use. After that, it's almost like whatever is in the inhaler has become degraded and you may need two puffs instead of one. The Symbicort inhaler I currently use has 120 doses and I need to use it just once a day, one puff in the morning and I am good until the next day. I have mild, well-controlled asthma. By the time the inhaler is showing around 35 or so doses left, I find it is much less effective. By the time it gets to 0 I need at least two puffs for it be to effective, even though there is clearly still some left in it. These days I don't let it get that low. When it gets to around 20 or so remaining doses I bin it and get a new one.

A lot of coffee can be "mouldy" and ultra-sensitive people can react to it. If that is the case, look for a non-mouldy coffee. Bulletproof brand coffee is probably the best-known / most widely available mould-free coffee. As a long shot, you might have SIBO or SIFO (bacterial / yeast overgrowth) which can cause histamine intolerance and that in turn can cause food sensitivities whereby your body reacts to food that you used to tolerate just fine.

Imported products in supermarkets have always been expensive in Thailand. One thing to factor in is that inflation around the world is raging and the impressions of the average consumer is that they are running way hotter than the supposedly "official" inflation rate. Here in New Zealand, salmon is up 50% in price over the past couple of years. Why? It's all local. I don't get it! Same with fresh chicken. Tomatoes have more than doubled in price. Many vegetables and fruits are up 50 - 60%. Onions have also doubled in price and then some. I could go on. When these and other products are exported, they are going to cost a whole lot more in the destination markets like Thailand so don't blame it entirely on Foodland and the like. They're paying much more for many of these imported products.

In answer to your question about a histamine-friendly probiotic, I take Seeking Health ProbiotaX. This will only help if you have a histamine-related issue or gut issues.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.