Lacessit

I definitely have white coat syndrome, typically 140/75 at any hospital or clinic. At home and at rest, 115/65. I progressively eliminated anti-hypertensives via diet and exercise. I keep 25 mg of Losartan as a standby, have not needed it for several months. Just as well, because pharmacies in Australia have to back order it, whereas it is as common as soi dogs in Thailand.

You may be right. However, if it does nothing for me in terms of pain relief, there would be no point to taking it regularly.

Melatonin does absolutely nothing for me. I can't become addicted to morphine either. OTOH, give me Demerol and they'd be hauling me down from the ceiling. Everyone is different, I guess it's a matter of individuals finding what works for them. I have heard kratom is a sedative in higher doses. I haven't tried it myself for sleep, as I understand it is addictive.

My approach has been to not worry about it. I am up 2 or 3 times a night with BPH. If I don't feel tired, I may be on the internet at 2 or 3 am for an hour before going back to bed. I nap during the day if I feel like it. All medications must be metabolized by the kidneys and liver. For that reason, I limit my use of them as much as possible. I quit using anti-depressants 10 years ago, anti-inflammatories 6 years ago, and anti-hypertensives 2 years ago. Everyone is different, I have quit alcohol because it disrupts sleep anyway, it's a diuretic. Diet and exercise were important in enabling me to quit. If I really want a good night's sleep, I may take a Codiphen or half a hash cookie once a week, no more. Yes, they are processed by the kidneys and liver too. I can't remember who said the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in making a drug that cures a health condition permanently. They prefer developing pills that create repeat customers.

Vaidam Health: "Pet Scan cost in Thailand is between USD 1530 to USD 1870. The total cost of the treatment depends on the diagnosis and facilities opted by the patient" BookIMED "The average price of PET/CT in Thailand is $19058, the minimum price is $15246, and the maximum price is $22869. Request the price. United States of America." Is it my fault I found the BookiMed site or something similar on my original search? Or the unit may be baht instead of dollars? You are also assuming the cost of scanning a single body part such as the knee is the same as a full body scan with all the bells and whistles. I can't find the original link of $15,000 , Google probably puts up and takes down thousands of links every day. Your repetitive harping does not even possess any originality or creativity. End of discussion with you.

You can see the name if you turn on notifications.

You're not a Trump-basher or climate alarmist? Says a lot, do you donate to his campaign fund? You're right, I was posting as a lesson in relative esteem. As I told you before, I have better things to do with my time than go searching for the original links, which won't satisfy you anyway. IMO you'd be more valuable to the forum by being less obnoxious.

He wasn't my favorite politician either. Having said that, he did not have the modern culture of lying and spinning. He simply did not answer awkward questions.

Stalking is when someone persistently posts negative emoticons to a poster, I have had that a couple of times. Somebody does not seem to do that, the worst I have had is one confused emoticon.

You may be right, although I notice not all my posts are flagged. If your hypothesis is correct, maybe the emoticons are randomly generated. I suggest buying a lottery ticket.

I am cursed or blessed with an inquiring mind. I would like to know - who or what is somebody? He/she/it never starts a topic, or posts on a thread. There is no avatar. The only evidence of somebody's presence on ASEAN are the emoticons posted in response to posts by other members. Is somebody just preternaturally shy, or do we have AI in our midst?

I can see this thread and its posts will be a shoo-in for the Good Taste award.

Best hedge against currency of any kind is precious metals. Gold, silver ( both going gangbusters ) platinum, palladium. I've made and lost money on shares and property investment. I have never ever lost money on precious metals. Bitcoin? Something I can't see, hear, feel or touch? It has all the characteristics of a religion, and we all know how leaders of religions fare compared to their followers. Google the net wealth of David Miscavige, Brian Houston, and Jerry Falwell.

Take a look at the number of posts I have made, then the number of positives given by other posters. Then compare it with your ratio. IMO that says it all about our relative value to this forum.

There is no such requirement at Chiang Rai Immigration. I do my 90-day report online. The only time I report the bank balance is the day I apply for extension. They require a bank letter, and a statement for the last 6 months prior to renewal of the extension. IMO it just shows how inconsistently the rules are applied across the Immigration offices. Any IO with two brain cells should be able to look at a passbook and determine if any requirement is not met. It's definitely not rocket science.

According to the billing I saw for mine in Melbourne ( paid for by my health fund ), AUD 1100. Can't resist being smart##se, can you?

What you say is very true, with a couple of extra factors mixed in. Emergency departments in Australia are all under siege because so many doctors in clinics are abandoning bulk billing in favor of private clinics. Patients who cannot afford a private clinic clog up the ED's with the merest sniffle, headache, or stomach pain. COVID was the icing on the cake in terms of patient numbers, the public health system is still recovering from that pandemic, with more variants surfacing. The final nail is inexperienced registrars staffing the ED's, who are expected to make critical decisions and think on their feet after having worked up to 20 hours without sleep. It's a Darwinian selection process the medical profession regards as a rite of passage. They can't expect any help from the hospital administrators, who will throw them to the wolves if they make a bad decision under pressure. I am under no illusions as to the patient - doctor professional relationship, although some are better at the bedside manner than others.

Should not be, given the length of full Thai names.

You really are like a dog with a bone, an obsession to prove me wrong. I have better things to do with my time than go looking at all the hospital websites I visited previously, or post the links, which still would not satisfy you. Did your PET scan include infusion with radioactive isotopes? Such pharmaceuticals are expensive, and I seriously doubt the technology exists to manufacture the compounds in Thailand. As an example of how expensive they can be, I am currently on a course of oral medication which is free for me in Australia. If I was in America, it would be USD 7000 a month. Said medication is not available in any Thai hospital, including Bumrungrad. I posted the figures in good faith, take it up with the hospitals and websites quoting them, not me.

100% agree. If you want to live longer and have quality of life, you have to work at it. You may get hit by a bus instead, but that's life. Malcolm Fraser once famously said life wasn't meant to be easy. While he got pilloried for the comment, he was spot on.

Which office is this? I have never had this in Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. Question is, what can an IO do to you if you don't comply? If you don't draw on the balance of 800,000 during the year, your bankbook tells the story when you go for the next extension. Some four-eyed petty bureaucrat dreamed this up as makework, I doubt the system will deny you an extension for non-compliance. A BS fine, maybe.

Whether one has to pay depends on classification as an in-patient or out-patient. Private health funds will only cover in-patient costs. I have no explanation as to why that should be, it's a system quirk.

https://us-uk.bookimed.com/clinics/country=thailand/procedure=pet-ct/

Looks hot to me. I prefer women I don't have to roll in flour first.

The Physicians Committee is linked to an animal rights group, and therefore has a vested interest in discouraging people from eating meat. Quote: "The AMA finds the recommendations of PCRM irresponsible and potentially dangerous to the health and welfare of Americans. The AMA charges that PCRM is “blatantly misleading Americans on a health matter and concealing its true purpose as an animal 'rights' organization"