dblaisde

11 hours ago, smokie36 said:

 

Get on the MRT /BTS and explore for yourself...what's wrong with you??

Oh, many things. What's wrong with you?

21 minutes ago, dddave said:

http://bk.asia-city.com/

BK Magazine actually has some good lifestyle articles about the various neighborhoods around Bangkok. The online version is easily searchable.

Maybe you should consider some of the neighborhoods on the other end of the BTS such as Ari, Sanam Pao and Saphan Kwai.

thanks.

Thanks all for replying...there's some good info.

I was thinking that commuting from a nice quiet expat community on good transportation lines *to* the maybe-not-so-close Asoke area would keep both noise and price down, so I don't necessarily need a ground-zero apartment.

I like peace and quiet (age 70 in a few months) and am used to living simply (aka cheaply). I don't need the latest in style and am not trying to impress anyone, and there's just one of me. I *do* need a working elevator though (knees). So....maybe someplace on the MRT/BTS line a number of stops (or even quite a number) from Asok would be fine. I need my hour walks regularly, so quiet streets and a park would hit the spot.

PS: Makes me wonder whether anybody has done a rundown (say in the Bangkok Post or some other mag) on the various Bangkok neighborhoods, their character, price and amenities. Seems like a natural.

2 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

Anyone who has seen any of HRC's stump speeches in the past year will know she's very bright and abreast on issues. 

Have you been taking your medication regularly?

Cthulhu for President, if you're tired of choosing the LESSER of two evils.
 

Hi All,

I'm looking for an apartment in an interesting expat neighborhood in Bangkok with easy access to the BTS Sukumvit line or the MRT. The closer the neighborhood is to Asok the better, but I'd like to pay no more than about 20K baht/mo. rent, and access to good walking and parks is more important than being close to Asok, as long as I'm close to the BTS/MRT. I'm used to living in a hotel room, so the apartment can be small.

Any suggestions?

PS I've live in BKK for 15 years, but in a hotel in Banlampoo. I know nothing about Bangkok neighborhoods in "New Bangkok".

thanks in advance

Right now the idea of removing both toenails and poisoning the bed so they never grow back is appealing, though there might be "side effects". I'm not sure if the nail has any function beyond protecting the toe. I have shoes for that.

20 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

That is what the doctor at the local hospital told me and 20 minutes and several pain killing injections later, there it was, gone.

 

It has grown back again but I go to the local village clinic every 2 or 3 months and they trim it for me for free. It only hurts now if I leave it too long between trimmings.

 

It started back in the UK in 1995 when the doctor there took a slice of it and told me that it would never grow again. He lied.

On 8/6/2016 at 8:59 AM, chopin2 said:

Nail dystrophy might look just like fungal infection, a common mistake. Has your infection been confirmed with positive culture or microscopy? Because the only way to get rid of big toe nail fungus infection is Terbinafin(Lamisil) tablets for 3 months so better be sure.

 

If you have ingrowing nails it should be treated surgically with partial avulsion and matrix phenolisation. The border of the nails are cut of and the phenole treatment makes sure the lateral part never grows out again. But no way extract the nail completely, if someone suggest that, id be suspicious.

Thanks. It took me a few google searches to find out what you were talking about. I downloaded some videos and will read them soon. Thanks.

On 8/5/2016 at 10:04 PM, Sheryl said:

Regarding fungal infection:

 

The toxic effects of Lamisil you refer to are limited to its oral use, not topical application. Topical lamisil would be the "expensive liquid" Bkk Hospital referred to. Grinding the nails helps ensure absorption.

 

Complete removal of the nail = a year at least to fully grow back during which time the nail bed will be extremely sensitive so it is not in fact a short cut insofar as treating fungal infections goes.

 

However I am confused by your statement that it is ingrown since the treatments recommended by the 2 hospitals do not reflect that fact but rather are the standard treatment fior fungal infection only.  Are you sure they are ingrown and were they so when you went to these 2 places? As for ingrown nail, at least partial removal of the nail is pretty standard.

 

Podiatrists are few and far between in Thailand, probably the scarcest specialty of all. You could try this place

 

http://www.mft-thailand.com/index.html

 

 

I got one treatment there at Bangkok hospital, no doubt with the doc people are talking about here. A woman went at my yellow gray puffed up toenails with a drill with a special conical cutting tip. After that I was given a kit of Loceryl, a toenail paint to be applied daily for a year. All totaled it was about 4500B including the Loceryl (about 2000B). I was told to come in every week for the drilling (debridement, I guess it's called). The process takes about a year. I asked the doc if the Loceryl had to be applied after the year finished. He shrugged and laughed but didn't answer the question. I thought leaving the place: this is a good money maker: every two weeks hand over 2000/2500 (can't remember exactly) for a year. I've also heard that the process has only a moderate success rate (maybe 40-50%, success defined as "never returned").

Yes, I do have ingrown toenails too. I forget if I complained specifically about that (though I probably did). I my case the fungus seems to force the nails to "ingrow" because the nail becomes so inflated. I'm forced (osteoporosis) to wear shoes here so the fabric of the shoe sometimes bears down on the nail, pushing the nail into the bed.

I've never heard of Lamasil being applied topically. Is it effective?

The doctor in the youtube clip I attached said to the patient that he'd give him a topical ointment to put on for 2 or 3 months. I named it, but the sound quality wasn't so good so I missed it.

It seems logical that direct exposure of the full nail bed would make the antifungal more efficent, and decrease the time needed to kill the fungus. (But what do I know??)

Thanks for the help.

Hi all,

I've got ingrown fungal toenails which hurt badly when I walk. I'd like a doctor (podiatrist?) in BKK who'd pull the toenails completely off so I could begin an antifungal treatment on the nail bed, as in this youtube video:

If you know of any better/easier treatments, please let me know.

P.S. At Bumrungrad they advised to bad-for-the-liver treatment (Lamasil?) and at Bangcock Hospital the grinding of your nails every two weeks for a year and you apply an expensive liquid each day for the year.

I don't recall where I first heard of him, he is very well known in Thailand as the "go to" doc for knee issues and many TV members have used him.

Thanks.

My only fault with his service is that I left there without any exercises for stretching or strengthening that might help this from happening again. This was in part my fault because I forgot to ask, but I would think he'd have mentioned it unless he thinks it won't help. The only advice I got was "just walk through the pain and avoid stairs". Walking through the pain sounds like an invitation to even worse pain but what do I know.

In any case I found somethings online which seem to be helping a lot. The point being that the stress on the tendon can be lessened by stretching the tendon itself and loosening the quadriceps muscle which uses it.

These two internet goofballs showed me how it's done. For what ever reason, 2 days of these stretches have made me symptom free.

I'm curious: how did you find out about Dr. Panya?

PS: Dr Wichan's credentials look good enough when I looked him up:

No, no Xray. Nothing except a few questions and palpitation of the knee. He was half asleep (yawning constantly) when I got there and his mind seemed somewhere else. I think maybe he just wanted to get me out the door and not wait around for xray results. It was right at the end of his shift.

Any suggestions about another Doc, or just find any that deals with knees and will give me an xray?

Yes. Dr. Panya at Bumrungrad is the top knee specialist and very good and thorough

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Panya-Wongpatimachai

I went to see him yesterday. The upshot: Dr Wichan was wrong, dead wrong in his diagnosis of arthritis. I've got mild patella tendonitis and almost no arthritis (exellent for my age he said). He said that if I did have patella arthritis it would hurt to move the patella up an down in its groove under pressure, and I'd hear it grinding. So he was mostly listening to my patella. There's a telltale clicking also. Why Wichan coulding figure this out, I don't know, but it solidifies my opinion about him based on other experiences I've have with him at Lerdson Hospital. Dr Panya is very much on-the-job. Thorough and knowledgeable. Thanks again.

There *is* pain where the patella tendon meets the patella, which I pointed out to him as I did for Wichan. For him, this meant tendonities without hesitation. For Wichan is don't know *what* it meant. He didn't even comment on it, except to say "tendonitis" because "arthritis in your age is very common and tenonitis is very rare. "Thanks Doc. Now can I have my money back?"

Tramadol is not listed as a controlled drug. It is still legal OTC. However, they are now enforcing the requirement that the pharmacy have a grade one pharmacist present at all times and that sales be recorded. These are actually requirements for most OTC drugs but seldom enforced and did not used to be enforced for tramadol but now is.

Many pharmacies (in fact most) don't have a grade one pharmacist around all the time, and many also do not want the record keeping hassle. Hence the difficulty finding it.

Thanks for clearing up the confusion because my pharmacist in Bang Saphan has no scruples about giving me two months supply at one go. I thought this was due simply to disregarding the law but maybe he's a "grade 1", since he's the owner and sole employee of the shop. I also did some, um, "preemptive buying" before it went off the shelves (or under them). I find it a useful drug and much kinder on the stomach than the NSAID alternatives.

1st thing to do is get the pain under control. What meds you taking?

Tramadol and Paracetamol.

But I think the first question is "what the hell have I got".

Im on Tramadol as well for nerve pain. I always put pain control 1st because you cant function properly with pain and you can then take your time to research what you have.

However tramadol does absolutely nothing for my knee pain. I use Diclofenic for that which is very effective

Unfortunately I have gastroparesis, which is basically an irritated inflamed stomach, so the Diclofenic is probably a no-no for me. My pain is only after walking for awhile, but as I say, I'm not even yet positive what the problem is. Tendon, cartilage, meniscus? And the treatment for one problem will make the other problem worse, and vice versa. What I need are xrays and maybe an MRI.

No, no Xray. Nothing except a few questions and palpitation of the knee. He was half asleep (yawning constantly) when I got there and his mind seemed somewhere else. I think maybe he just wanted to get me out the door and not wait around for xray results. It was right at the end of his shift.

Any suggestions about another Doc, or just find any that deals with knees and will give me an xray?

Yes. Dr. Panya at Bumrungrad is the top knee specialist and very good and thorough

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Panya-Wongpatimachai

That's JUST what I wanted to know. A new face for me there. I thought I knew the entire Orthopedic staff...but no! "Thorough" (as in conscientious) is a very good adjective for a doctor.

Thanks again!

1st thing to do is get the pain under control. What meds you taking?

Tramadol and Paracetamol.

But I think the first question is "what the hell have I got".

Arthritis is diagnosed with an Xray, which will show degenerative changes (wearing away of the cartilege). Did he not do one?

Both conditions respond well to NSAIDs (provided you have to contraindications to taking them). Both also respond well to PT/exercises with special attention to quad exercises.

No, no Xray. Nothing except a few questions and palpitation of the knee. He was half asleep (yawning constantly) when I got there and his mind seemed somewhere else. I think maybe he just wanted to get me out the door and not wait around for xray results. It was right at the end of his shift.

Any suggestions about another Doc, or just find any that deals with knees and will give me an xray?

I've been having knee pain for quite some time (a year), and it comes and goes but has lately gotten disabling (I had to buy a cane at one point). The pain is located on the right side of my left leg just south of the patella and to the immediate left of the patella tendon. There's a small natural pocket there, and the pain is pretty much in that small space.

I thought from reading that this was patella tendinitis, but went to Bumrungrad yesterday to see Dr Wichan who says its patella arthritis, more precisely Patello-Femoral Arthritis. I've noticed that the treatment for the latter problem is almost the opposite of the treatment for the former. If I treat a tendinitis problem with an arthritis treatment, the 'net says it'll get much worse.

Dr Wichan seemed to base his diagnosis on the fact that patella tendinitis is much rarer than patella arthritis, particularly at my age (69), plus a few questions on the nature of the pain and a brief manipulation of my knee cap. There were no lab tests done.

1) Is it as easy to differentiate between the two problems as he seemed to be saying?

2) Are there tests I can do myself to confirm or refute his opinion?

3) Is there another Doc I can get a reliable second opinion from?

I don't want to screw up my knee because of a faulty diagnosis.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Note, the 10 January entry date is NOT the critical date.

Check the actual visa, it should say something like "Must be used before xx July 2016," that's the date he should re-enter Thailand by.

Mac

Yeah, I'm finding out that the critical date is the "enter-by" date, not the initial date of entry. Your 180 days are computed from *this* date (enter-by), so if you got the visa in NYC 2 weeks before flying to Thailand, and you've stayed here, say 175 days, you're already past the enter-by date and can't get another 2 months on the visa.

Has your son exited Thailand since he entered on Jan 10th?

Yes, he's done quite long travels to the surrounding countries, so he's probably spent only 4 months in Thailand of the 6 months of the visa, but would this affect things, since I think the cut-off of re-entries is the use-before date on the visa.

Anybody know how this works in practice? (There must have been some test cases by now??)

My son's 6 months are about to run out (6 month METV issued in the US. Entered Jan 10th). Since renewals of METV visas are done for 3 month periods, will leaving and reentering the country in the next few days get him an additional 3 months?

If it won't, what's his best course of action?

Thanks in advance.

Followup. Went to Mason. He gave me a cortisone shot. I think I got it wrong when explaining it to you. It's more likely rotator cuff tendinitis, not a nerve problem. Mason said rotator cuff exercises with an elastic band will probably help help.

PS Bumrungrad isn't getting any cheaper. Mason is now 1500B for a 20 minute interview and 2000B for a cortisone shot. Cheaper than the US anyway.

I suggest you start by consulting this doctor who is a top specialist in shoulders:

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Mason-Porramatikul

Mason is my bone guy in Bangkok and has been for about 8 years. But I'm only so-so happy with the advice he's given me. He seems to be a very good surgeon but doesn't know much about other aspects: for example told me it was OK to take my 1800mg of Calcium/Vit D in one daily dose rather than spread out over the day. I found out a year later this is dead wrong (Linux Pauling Inst. and others), that at any one time the bod can only absorb about 500mg max. He also didn't know anything about Vit K or MK-7, which prevent these heroic doses of Calcium from giving you heart attacks (by calcifying the aorta, which can happen if there's not enough MK-7 in one's system). (He also got pretty angry at me for pointing these things out, though I tried to be delicate about it.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K#Deficiency

His fellowships are impressive of course. Do you have other reasons for recommending him?

---

The reason I thought I needed the physiotherapy: I saw an orthopedist in San Francisco with a very good reputation who looked at this shoulder problem with xrays and an mri, and said that if I were going to be around for longer (I was visiting from Thailand) he would prescribe a course of physiotherapy (of some sort), but because of the circumstances I had to settle for a corticosteriod injection at the nerve/bone abrasion instead. (which helped for about 3 months).

Perhaps you're right, that I need surgery. I'll drop in on Mason in a few days to get his opinion. If it's surgery, I'll probably wait for my visit to the States.

As always, thanks for being around Sheryl!

I have broken my right shoulder twice (thanks to osteoporosis) about 4 years ago. The pain is where a nerve enters a hole through the bone (or so it was explained to me by an Orthopedist). There's inflammation there which interferes with sleeping. I suppose I need a course of physiotherapy to make this problem go away permanently (rather than the occasional corticosteroid to treat the symptoms).

I need to find an orthopedist/physiotherapist combination in Thailand to diagnosis the problem and prescribe the correct physiotherapy and home exercises for it. I live in Bangkok.

Thanks in advance.