allencraig

On 5/29/2021 at 7:32 PM, Enzian said:

I have been very seriously considering it, but if I leave I conclude that I have to leave completely, no continuing to pay for my studio in Sukhumvit with the expectation of return toward the end of the year. Total liquidation or haul it with me. Maybe come back in a year or two. California would be nice, everything is getting better.

Just this past weekend I left for coincidental work in northern california and received a one-dose vaccine the day after arrival. Like what you're thinking, I dropped my Sukhumvit studio figuring that if I return I'll just find another one (although for sure the rents will have gone up again.) Most everyone in vaccinated in this part of the U.S., but most are also still being cautious.

It was nice to have cooler weather, too, until it started to feel "too" cold.

On 5/26/2021 at 7:44 PM, Sheryl said:

He can't get Ritalin at a pharmacy. It is strictly controlled and only hospitals have it.

 

OP no one can guarantee but if you show up early in the day and explain that you just need a prescription refill (and if necessary lay on some charm while at the same time being persistant) odds are you'll succeed. Siriraj is a big hospital and I would expect there to be  at least one psychiatrist on duty each (working) day.

 

A better option, and also on that side of the river, is the government psych hospital, they always have psychiatrists on duty and a walk in OPD (must arrive early)  https://www.somdet.go.th/public/Eng/Outpatient_services.php

So I just made it there by the listed 10:45 cutoff time for new patients. However their morning session had already ended. The place was nearly deserted.  I could still register, but I'd need to wait until 1pm to then see a psychiatrist. That would have been ok by me, but two staff there took some time to shuttle me through an immediate ER visit with any solicitation from me. That was good time-wise, but ER docs can only prescribe meds for two weeks (I was informed), and make up a follow-up appointment for me when I could get a full months-worth of meds.

I don't think they even charged me for the doctor consultation and the price for the generic Methylphenidate (fingers crossed) was crazy low. So all-in-all, a successful visit and I'll return here for sure. Plus, I got to ride on the cute BTS Gold line shuttle bus things. They're on wheels, but also guided by a track for power.

On 5/27/2021 at 2:07 PM, scorecard said:

Keeping in mind that many specialists (psychiatrists is a good example) work 2 or more locations (hospitals, institutes etc.), as well as running their own clinic, so they can't see every walk in on the day.

 

But I'm aware of a case where a farang who had developed strange/dangerous actions and his friends decided to carefully get him, quickly to a psychiatrist.

 

On suggestions from the broader community they went quickly to the Naval hospital at Sattahip. The receptionist quickly called the nurses assigned to the hospitals resident psychiatrist.

 

The head nurse (excellent English) called the psychiatrist (excellent English) at his nearby home and he was there within 10 minutes and all concerned were very impressed with the consultation, the attitudes and care of all concerned and impressed/relieved that the dr. was a good listener, and impressed that a very mild medication was prescribed.

 

The doctor privately spoke to 2 friends who had taken the farang to the hospital and suggested they carefully/discretely monitor his behavior 24 hours every day, ensure he took the tablets correctly for 5 days and come back. At this discussion the dr. presented his qualifications from the UK, saying that he wanted all concerned to know that we has appropriately qualified.

 

But Dr. also asked that one of the patients' friends call him a few hours before the expected time for them to arrive at the hospital and give a summary of the last 5 days.

 

At second visit the medication was stopped and patient agreed to visit the dr., for a 1 hr friendly conversation every 2 weeks.

 

That happened and is now once every 90 days.

 

All concerned very impressed.

 

Total costs involved (at about 6 months) around 2,0000Baht.  

 

 

 

Wow, that's impressive (and impassioned) care!

On 5/25/2021 at 7:55 PM, bojo said:

Pay the 11K, it's way faster, it's done then and you can relax and get on with your travel arrangements.................. that sea freight takes ages trust me, I've send thousands of packages and economy air (SAL) always worked well, sometimes less than 3 weeks to Europe.........Can't remember the insurance thresholds, worth checking........

FYI, I cut down the box to reduce it's size and was able to get the shipping fee down to 6000thb! That's a big difference, just from shaving about 44cm from the box.

18 hours ago, impulse said:

The other thing I'd suggest is to pick your hospital for the long term, because you're not going to walk away with a script that you can take anywhere.   You have to get it filled at that hospital's pharmacy.

 

For future refills, you'll be calling in to get the prescription refilled at your chosen hospital (no need to see the doc every time).  While it may be tempting to pick one across town for the quicker appointment today, you don't want to be schlepping all the way across town to get refills every 60 days, which is the most they're allowed to prescribe at one time.

If it is an emergency and you do need to go across town today, start the process again at a local hospital long before you need a refill.

 

This is really good advice, thanks.

Right now my situation is such that I'm leaving Thailand on short notice, so I'm trying to get a last prescription before moving to a country where I know getting them will be an even bigger pain in the butt, and considerably more expensive.

6 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Question

Because I think the doc I'd been seeing at Ramathibodi doesn't like me. At all. We've had disagreements in the past, and this past visit she recommended switching me off Ritalin to an unproven antidepressant. Despite the fact that the Ritalin had been working well for me.

19 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

A better option, and also on that side of the river, is the government psych hospital

Ah, Somdet, yes. The receptionist mentioned Somdet as an option to try (although I didn't understand her until I just read your post.) I'd visited their website in the past and because not a single link worked other than the one you offered, I gave up. But even your link page basically says new patients just need to show up before 10:30, so just going by that it seems like a much better option than Siriraj.

Sheryl comes through again! Thanks. I will try them. (I have my charm & persistance act well practiced.)

5 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I believe public hospitals require an appointment as their specialists might not be there day in, day out, but I went to a private once and saw a specialist straight after I saw the doctor. 

Hi, thanks for your input.

I believe the private hospitals are much more accomodating to walk-ins, especially w/ farang. ($$) Plus, they are just more organized. But because I'm on a tight budget at the moment I'm trying to navigate the government hospital system. It's worked for me in the past, but I'm in a time crunch now, too, so I've kinda backed myself into a corner.

Sorry to ask such a specific question, but I'd read here than someone was able to go to Siriraj as a new patient without an appointment and see a psychiatrist. In the past at Chula and Ramathibodi I've been able to register as a new patient, but needed to return another day to see a therapist.

Siriraj doesn't respond to emails it seems, and on the phone they say as a new patient I absolutely cannot see any specialist doctor unless I go through the ER, and appointments are two months out! But I'm tempted to just go anyway, register as a new patient and ask if I can see a psychiatrist (I'm looking to refill a Ritalin prescription.)

Can anyone say there's a chance this could work?

58 minutes ago, bojo said:

Pay the 11K, it's way faster, it's done then and you can relax and get on with your travel arrangements.................. that sea freight takes ages trust me, I've send thousands of packages and economy air (SAL) always worked well, sometimes less than 3 weeks to Europe.........Can't remember the insurance thresholds, worth checking........

Probably the best advice. It kills me though.

22 minutes ago, thequietman said:

wud be interested

You know, if we were speaking a week ago we'd probably work out a deal. Right now I'm three days out from my flight and one of the bikes is with the post office. (The cargo area was closed, but the regular area let me leave the box until tomorrow.)

4 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

excess luggage rate

The excess luggage rate I'm looking at is a ridiculous $500usd!

I can't fathom how any airline could charge that much for a bike in a box, but Japan Airlines does.

17 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Whats the bike worth

Probably about 14k—or nothing, as I probably couldn't find a buyer for a bike so used. But a comparable replacement bike would probably be about 21k.

8 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

I ended up driving 200km

Yikes! You're scaring me!

27 minutes ago, internationalism said:

covid put prices up

They told me this at the Post Office, too, although she couldn't explain why this would be.

"Sell the bike" sounds so easy, but even if I could sell it in the next three days before leaving, I'd have to buy a replacement bike at my destination, and a comparable used bike would be more expensive. (I know, I know, so quit complaining...)

Hi folks,

I packed my road bike nicely in a bicycle box and brought it to Phra Khanong post office and was told it would be 11,070thb to ship it to California, U.S.A.! That's as cargo shipment. Regular air or EMS would be more, however by boat would "only" be 9,000thb with a three-month shipping time. None of these options include insurance or extras.

I've shipped this exact bike from Colombia and from Vietnam (and from the U.S.) for less than 1/3 the cost, so I can't help feeling like I'm missing something. The bike WITH the tools I also put in the box is 23kg—not heavy at all. It's a standard bike box (see picture.)

I'm already bringing my other bike on the flight with me so I'd rather not drag two bikes with me along with my luggage. Anyone have any ideas why this is so expensive to ship and suggestions for reducing my shipping cost?

Thanks.

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Plasil

Hm. Never heard of this drug. Aside from the potential side effects, It'd be great if it allowed me to take opiods for severe pain. Thanks.

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

ureter

Yup! I mean ureter! ????

Unfortunately, opiods make me really nauseous. I have a piece of ol' leather I'll chew on if it gets bad. If it's good enough for John Wayne, it's good enough for me. (That's realistic, right?)

In case anyone is following and interested: CT scan showed my previously diagnosed .6mm kidney stone (that's point 6) has grown to a full 7mm and has left the station and started to make it's way down my uretha. It might be stuck, or it might be moving down slowly. Either way it's causing pain in my lower trunk area and further south...

Dr. Wisoot was very nice, accomodating and helpful and appropriately recommended shockwave treatment to break down the stone. (45000 at Ramathibodi fyi.) Although I agree with the treatment, I'm choosing a wait-and-see approach for a month first while drinking gallons of water and running a bit more flat-footed than usual to see if I can entice it to pass on it's own.

On 5/19/2021 at 11:01 PM, Sheryl said:

Unlike colonoscopies, Gastroscopies aren't done as a preventive measure, only for suspected pathology.

 

Thoroughness and skill will depend entirely on the individual doctor. 

 

at thsi particular hospital, I suggest  you request

 

https://www.thonburibamrungmuang.com/index.phpdoctors?department_id=8&doctor_id=92

I see you've recommended DR. VAROCHA MAHACHAI in other posts, so you must really trust her.

I definitely have *some* pathology in my upper GI. I've had upper GI endoscopies in the past and need to see what's going on in there since my last and with more recent exaggerated symptoms. I can't imagine why anyone would suffer through an endoscopy if they didn't have good cause.

Once again, thanks for your input!

Has anyone had a gastroscopy/endoscopy at Thonburi Bamrungmuang hospital?

I'm curious to know if they treat it like some generic health/preventive procedure, or if they do a serious investigation and analysis rather than a half-assed quicky just for the money.

12.500thb+500thb hospital fee+3000thb doctor fee is probably as cheap as it would get for a farang.

https://www.thonburibamrungmuang.com/our-centers/8/GI-center

Thanks for any insight.

11 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

Assoc. Prof. Wisoot Kongchareonsombat

 

Seems to have sub-specialty in urologic cancers

 

Had published a fair bit in itnernational journals

 

I KNEW I was spelling it wrong! Thanks so much for that info.

1 hour ago, allencraig said:

h "Dr. kritsanda" i

...Got switched to "Dr. Visoot", if that name rings a bell w/ anyone..

17 minutes ago, Mister Fixit said:

 

There is a (closed) thread on urologists on here started by Cheryl, but it's 5 years old now so may not be too helpful.

Might be worth a quick browse though.  

 

Good luck with your investigations.  I'm interested in the outcome.

 

 

Yes, I'd checked this. Thanks.

13 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Kittinut Kijvikai

Through my psychology department contact at Ramathibodhi Premium, I was able to get an appointment with "Dr. kritsanda" in their urology dept. I didn't have a choice, but was told there are only two doctors who see foreigners there, and this doctor is one of them. So I guess I'll see..