tomgreen

Ive wondered about the quality of blood tests , it does make you think . .

Thanks Sheryl The hospital where I had all my blood tested done was the Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) Hospital in Korat. ( I've all ways use this hospital for general health care ) I thought it was a bit strange when the doctor asked me if I wanted to stop the Atorvastatin drug , I have had no adverse side effects from taking Atorvastatin , so carrying on with that drug seems to be ok. When I was given my last blood test results on the 5th of March 2024 , the hospital doctor went over the high LDL cholesterol number ( take 40 mg of Atorvastatin ), but made no comment about the Low HDL number at all . As for the high creatnine number , the hospital doctor did comment about it being a high number and only recommended that I should drink more water . So now just looking at the abnormally high creatnine number , I wonder why the hospital doctor made no real / urgent comment about it . Now Ive become worried that I may have a problem related to my kidneys . My next blood test will be on the 28th of May 2024 ( see screen shot of the requested blood teat requirements ) My options now seem to be A. Wait until my next scheduled blood test appointment on the 28th of May 2024 , and see what the blood test results reveal + talk to the doctor about the Low HDL number and the High creatnine number. B. Go straight away and have another blood test done at a different hospital ( may be / Bangkok hospital Korat / St Mary's hospital Korat ) C. Go stright away to a private clinic and request a blood test . Thanks Tom

So over time I have had 3 blood tests all at the same Thai hospital ( different doctors ) 1. Blood test was on 12th December 2022 ( A ) 2. Blood test was on 19th of September 2023 ( B ) 3. Blood test was on 5th of March 2024 ( C ) The first blood test done on 12th December 2022 ( A ) showed that I had high numbers in several areas , so the hospital doctor prescribed 20 mg of Atorvastatin , once a day and made a new blood test appointment for the 19th of September 2023 ( B ) . The second Blood test was done on the 19th of September 2023 ( B ) , and the results from that blood test showed that my previous high numbers had now come down , due to me taking 20 mg of Atorvastatin , once a day . On seeing the reduced numbers in that blood test the hospital doctor said to me that I could stop taking the Atorvastatin if I wanted to , so I made the decision to completely stop taking the Atorvastatin. The hospital doctor then made a new appointment for a blood test for 5th of March 2024 ( C ) The Third blood test was recently done on the 5th of March 2024 ( C ) and the test results showed that my numbers had gone way back up. On seeing those blood test results the doctor prescribed 40 mg of Atorvastatin , once a day . And a new blood test appointment was made for the coming 28th of May 2024 . The blood test results are shown as screen shots – A / B / C . So it seems that I may have made a mistake by accepting the hospital doctors choice to stop taking the Atorvastatin on the 19th of September 2023 ( B ) when in reality I should have just continued to take the 20 mg of Atorvastatin on a daily basis . During all the previous times I was taking the 20 mg of Atorvastatin I did not alter my diet or life style, but the doctor who looked at my recent blood test results on the 5th of March 2024 ( C ) did say that I should look at altering my diet .I’m 74 years old , Five feet Seven inches tall , my weight is 79.1 Kg , my blood pressure is 117 / 71 / 65 , a non smoker / non alcohol drinker . I am not really physically active . ( Lazy ) So looking back at my past blood test results , there could now be a possibility that I may have to take the prescribed drug Atorvastatin for the rest of my life . I’m now wondering if any one here has had a blood test done and the results showed a high level of LDL cholesterol , and if so did you rely on drugs to lower the high LDL cholesterol number or a combination of diet + drugs . Any advice , suggestions or recommendations very welcome. Thanks - Tom .

Last month I went to my Thai bank ( krungsri ) and asked for the TAX forms to claim back any TAX that had been taken from my savings accounts . I was given a set of printed forms to claim back the TAX that had been taken . I then took those printed TAX forms to my small local amphur TAX office and gave them to the girl sitting behind the desk . The girl then entered my TAX details ( My Thai TAX ID number ) into her computer . The local TAX girl then asked if I had registered with the Thai TAX office on line, which I did a long time ago , she then asked me to check my online TAX account details , which I did then there and then , using my mobile phone . The information shown on my TAX details account , showed where the local amphur TAX office girl had just requested that a payment cheque to be sent to my home address . The things I had with me when applying at the small local amphur TAX office were.. 1. My TAX ID Number 2. Completed printed forms from my bank , showing the total amount of TAX that had been taken from several savings accounts. 3 Internet access to my online Thai TAX account . To day I received in the post at my home address a bank cheque from the Thai TAX office ( where I originally asked for a TAX ID number ) I then this morning took that bank cheque to a local bank ( Krungthai ) where I also have an account and it was deposited into that Thai bank account with out any issues. I think that the local amphur TAX office girl asking me to go on line to check my Thai TAX account details , may not have been really necessary . So for me it was a straight forward and simple process to claim back the TAX amount taken from my Thai bank savings accounts. Tom

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question Recently while walking across a road I fell over on my back. Nothing much except a grazed knee but the next day I started to experience bouts of back pain , so I went to see a hospital doctor , had x rays done. The doctor prescribed 400mg of Ibuprofen 3 times a day. I’m not too happy taking any kind of drug and usually look for a natural alternative. I came across …. Kratom So I’m now wondering if any one here has had any experience taking / using Kratom for pain relief or any other reasons and how did things work out . Thanks .

Thank, thats interesting .

Thanks , I'm going to give it a try , will report back .

Ive Just installed the Bangkok Bank mobile app on my new Android mobile phone ( ZTE running MyOS 13 ) and tried to get the app to work. If I had any hair left It would have pulled it out by now The message I keep getting when trying to run the app is this ( see screen shot ) Ive tried every thing , and still no luck . Has any one actually managed to get this Bangkok Bank app , working on their Android mobile phone, and if so can you please , please , please tell me how . Thanks . .

I have a long standing UK HSBC bank account and to keep it active I need to transfer / deposit an amount into that bank account on a fairly regular basis . I’m not talking about a large amount of money , may be 1,000 Baht a time. I have no living relatives or friends back in the UK . Can any one recommend the best way / cheapest to make these small transfers . Thanks . .

Many thanks , I never knew about that , its given me some thing to think about Thanks .

Currently it takes about a week for the Cigna representative to answer any of my questions via email , the self insuring ( saving the original monthly Cigna cost ) due to the yearly health insurance premium increase , looks like its going to be the option I have to take at some time. Its just biting the bullet and pulling the trigger thats the worrying part . .

Thanks for your comment . The Cigna representative I've been contacting ( via email ) has never really been that helpful , they take a very long time to answer any questions that Ive emailed to them ( around a week for them to reply ) . .

Thanks for your comment . I did originally think that using insurance brokers , would some how work out more expensive in the end .

Thanks for your thoughts , putting the current monthly amount of Thai Baht that I pay for my Cigna private health insurance into a Thai savings bank account , has crossed my mind . But knowing my luck the week after I cancel my Cigna private health policy and start saving the the monthly Cigna payments into a Thai savings bank account , I will have a heart attack , and then while laying on a Thai government hospital bed , the little voice inside my head will keep whispering these words ... I told you not to cancel your Cigna policy .

Hi and thanks for your comment , can I ask who your health insurance policy is with. .

Thanks for the comment , you make a good point about out patient cover and Cancer treatment . The more I read about medical treatment and being 74 years old , the more stressed out I seem to become. .

Hi Sheryl Yes your correct my Cigna policy is based on the Cigna Close Care . Its interesting where you say the Cigna Closed Care is already their least expensive policy. As Cigna is one of the worlds leading private health insurance providers I was hoping that I would be offered another less expensive alternative option . Like you point out it seems that to continue with Cigna there only a few viable options …... 1. Increasing my deductible amount 2. Look at a copay option. 3. Pay annually . It seems all the other options….. 1. Return to the UK to seek medical treatment. 2. Return to temporally live in the UK to increase my government pension amount. 3. Relying on Thai government hospitals. ( Could still be expensive ) Are all going to be stressful and unpredictable . I'm still hoping that I can find a solution .

Ive just come across this web site that shows health insurance plans for Thailand. Some of the options on offer seem to be low . Any one used this health insurance finder web site ? Insurance Finder web site ( https://checkdi.com/th/health/plans?gender=Male&age=74&lg=en&ipd=1&opdf=0&leadid=348157 ) Thanks .

Hi and thanks for the information , its worth me trying the Cigna Dubai option and see what they can offer . .

Hi and thanks for your comment. The new Cigna monthly premium amount works out to be approx. 185,000.00 Thai Baht a year , knowing full well that all my future Cigna health insurance monthly premiums will be substantially increasing , the future looks very depressing . .

Thanks for your comment. I know that even if I could now switch to another private health insurance provider other than Cigna , even though I have no previous health issues , the new health insurance providers monthly premium cost would high . I was hoping that my current private health insurance provider Cigna , would be able to offer me an alternative ( and cheaper ) option. But sadly the answer from Cigna was no. .

Thanks for the comment , when I contacted the Cigna representative I did ask about reducing my insurance coverage area from world wide ( not USA ) to only Asia, the Cigna representative said that they had no expat health insurance that only covers the Asia area, then he commented that I was currently using the only Cigna expat health insurance policy that was available to me , which was hard to believe. .

I’m now 74 years old and have had a Cigna Global health insurance police for many years and Ive never made a claim . The Cigna Global insurance policy renewal notice has just arrived and its now 15,490 Baht per month , the policy details are ……... 1. Annual benefit limit: £325,000.00 ( approx. 14,166,750.00 THB ) 2. World Wide Excluding USA . 3. Inpatient cover only 4. £1,000.00 deductible I have to pay ( approx. 43,590.00 THB ) 5. No out of pocket or cost share . With the new monthly Cigna cost of 15,490 Baht per month , I’m now finding it a struggle to meet the new monthly cost. I do have some savings in a Thai bank which are primarily used for my 12 month retired visa extension . I do receive a British old age pension , but since I have been permanently living in Thailand for around 20 years , that British pension was frozen back then and has never been increased . Ive contacted a Cigna representative to see if theres an option where I could downgrade my current Cigna health insurance policy , to a less expensive alternative . The Cigna representative emailed me back and just said that there was no other Cigna private health policy types that can be offered .I was very disappointed the Cigna could not offer me an alternative. I’m trying to find an option or route to try and reduce the monthly private health insurance payments , but at 74 years old I think I’m going to be out of luck. It has crossed my mind about cancelling my current Cigna health insurance altogether and in theory if I do need serious medical attention , then hope that a Thai public hospital may be an option , one other thought has been that if I do need serious medical attention , some how return back to England and seek medical help there , but since I have no friends or address in England or have been back there for 20 years , so I don’t know what sort of reception would await me , health treatment wise. Another thought Ive had would be some how temporally return back to England and some how try to convince the government pension department that I’m now living back there and then hopefully get my old age pension amount increased ( which would be a good increase ) and then return back to Thailand and my family . Another option that may decrease the new Cigna monthly cost would be to increase the deductible I amount I have to pay which is currently approx. 43,590.00 THB , to a much larger amount . I can just about manage to pay for most non serious day patient medical issues , its the possible more serious medical problems that a 74 year old man like myself could expect in the future . Ive also racked my brain for ways to try and earn extra money to help in some way , but drawn a blank. My Thai wife is unable to work due to severe arthritis. Sorry for rambling on , but this whole health insurance, getting old curse is stressing me out. Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations are very welcome. ..

My wife’s widowed cousin recently passed away and she had a dog that she loved dearly. So we decided to take it back home with us. The dog ( a bitch ) named mare mar looks like its getting on in years and is very loving and friendly. Ive recently noticed that that mare mar is starting to limp a bit on her front right leg . Ive had a look at her leg and it looks like she may be suffering from some form of arthritis ( swelling of a leg joint ) In the area where we live there are no vets , the nearest vet is about 175km round trip, and currently my pickup is out of action . So before we make that long journey to the nearest vet , I’m wondering if theres some sort of pain killer that I can give mare mar in the meantime to hopefully ease her pain. Any advice or suggestions please . Thanks .

Thanks to every one for your comments , advice and suggestions , its appreciated .🙏. As pointed out the apps on my old Android mobile ( Android 6 ) may not work correctly if copied over to my new Android phone ( Android 13 ) . So it looks like the best way forward is to down load new apps that are for Android 13, directly to my new Android phone. Again , thanks every one. 👍. ..