NancyL

As the OP discovered, Dr. Morgan is great for situations where someone hasn't been seeing a doctor regularly, has no idea what's causing their problem and has multiple issues (age, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes, etc) She serves as a good "manager" for a patient and knows the best specialists in town. Before referring to a specialist, she does basic tests to help both the specialist and patient understand the nature of the problem. She can cut through the red tape at the private hospitals to help patients navigate the hospital and secure discounts for her patients. Once a patient is "cured" it's a very good idea to continue to see her regularly, at an interval she suggests, to continue to remain healthy.

Just this week, U.S. news is reporting on two small studies showing that the new bivalent booster isn't much better than the original Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in boosting immunity. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/25/business/omicron-boosters-not-much-better-against-variants-than-originals-say-two-small-studies/ While the new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do a great job of preventing Covid, one big drawback of these two vaccines is that they don't give long-lasting immunity and do need to be boosted. So if it's been six months or more since your most recent Covid shot, then waiting for the new bivalent vaccine to come to Thailand isn't a good idea. Go get the "old" Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. They do a good job of boosting immunity, too.

null The OP said that the man on OS went to the UK on holiday, so I assumed that was his home country and he had relatives/friend there. Even if he doesn't, a UK national can come into Heathrow during M-F business hours and report to Travel Care for assistance. If an elderly person wants to return to the U.S. my suggestion would be different. He can contact the U.S. Embassy's American Citizen Services group and ask for assistance prior to leaving Thailand. They can help make arrangements for a suitable placement in the U.S. through the Health and Human Services department. I've seen this done numerous times. It takes a few weeks, and it's not like selecting a hotel on TripAdvisor, but someone will be met at the airport and receive suitable care upon arrival.

I switched from monthly income to 800K method about three years ago. Moved the money about five months before application for extension from several Thai bank accounts. Visa agent claimed that: 1. I should have switched methods as soon as I received previous extension (12 months before the next application); the 2 month rule applies only for first retirement visa extension 2. The money HAS to come from abroad 3. For an extra 15,000 baht Chiang Mai Immigration could overlook my sins and grant a retirement extension even though I hadn't done the switch correctly I refused, telling the visa agent that I would just pay their normal fee and if CM Immigration refused my retirement extension, I'd take the matter to the U.S. Consulate because in a recent town-hall meeting they'd asked us to share instances where CM Immigration seemed to be developing their own rules. Nothing further was said, either at Immigration or by the visa agent and I received my retirement extension. I wonder how many others caved and paid 15,000 baht for "special consideration".

The old guy won't want to hear this, but it may be time for him to return to his home country for good. This isn't a good country for elderly foreigners with limited resources, no local family support, who are starting to "lose their marbles". The fact that he left the country without a re-entry permit, didn't realize he was going on overstay and now doesn't have the financial resources to correct the situation is evidence that he can't handle his own affairs. It seems that he has family/friends in his home country because he visited them recently. There are social and medical services available to people of his age there. He's not going to want to hear this. There are no young beautiful women to tell him he's handsome and willing to spend the night with him for a modest gift. Cheap beer and barstool buddies aren't steps away. But he's in danger of being arrested for overstay (yes, they do arrest men of his age) or having an accident and receiving only minimal care because he can't pay the bill. Something where he can't travel back to his home country, like a fall resulting in a broken hip.

I don't remember which generic fosamax I used. It was over ten years ago and the situation has probably changed. Go with what your doctor recommends or better yet, get a second opinion if you aren't confident of your doctor yet.

Was the heparin in an injector pen? That's the only way I can see how it would cost 3,000 baht/injection. I've injected myself with heparin and even with U.S. prices, it was very inexpensive, but I was loading an insulin syringe and jabbing it into the skin of my belly fat. The first few times, I had to work up my courage, with actually pushing down the syringe contents being the hard part. It was a real thrill to do it in an airplane toilet the 2nd or 3rd time the situation arose (with people knocking at the door, wondering why I was taking so long)

It really helps to have both a trusted pharmacist and doctors here. Yes, there are a few drugs where the generics aren't quite the same as the brand name drugs or, for some reason, a problem develops with the generics and doctors/pharmacists start to talk among themselves about what they're seeing with their patients/customers, so it helps if you're seeing a professional who is "in the loop". Yes, there is a way to test the effectiveness of generic vs. brand name Fosamax, but it involves waiting months and having another check of your bone density. It's not as easy as seeing if a generic blood pressure medicine has the same effect as the brand name version. That being said, I took the generic version of Fosamax here in Thailand for several years after I arrived for retirement, having started it in the U.S. I see where they're still recommending that you take Fosamax for just five years or so. My internist in the U.S. thought it best to start at the first sign of bone loss, early in menopause, rather than waiting until there were obvious signs. He was a big advocate of having your first bone scan at the first sign of menopause, actually when your periods start getting irregular and you're not yet in menopause, to obtain a baseline reading of bone density.

I doubt that those who are making fun of the Thai police and their people-control rods have ever seen them in use, nor have they ever seen a taser used on someone, except in the movies/TV shows. I've had the experience of assisting as a translator, from a safe distance, as several TRP officers, calm and collect out-of-control foreigners with mental health problems, often exacerbated by alcohol and drugs. These people usually respond well to being helped by calm professionals, rather than law-enforcement personnel who seem bent on harming them. Thai police are so much kinder and more gentle than American police would ever be. A taser would only enrage someone more and could miss or even be turned against law enforcement. The police don't come into direct, crushing body-contact with the person they're detaining with the control hoops/hooks, so little chance of a George Floyd situation. Much more opportunity to "talk down" a situation, even if the soothing voice is in Thai. Sometimes better if an older white woman is talking to them (that would be me). Frankly, the orderlies at the local government mental hospital can be rougher than the RTP, but they have the option of injecting tranquilizers, which the police don't. The police have to rely on time-tested methods of calming someone out-of-control, like the hoops and hooks pictured several times in this thread and a take-charge attitude with calming voices like you'd use with a child throwing a tantrum or a charging water buffalo. Thais are good at this.

Yes, it's seasonal, with a definite shift in wind directions that you can sense. They change the landing/take off patterns at CNX depending on the season. We live far enough away that there isn't much noise, but close enough to see aircraft climb north and make the turn to the east when heading to Bangkok this time of year. Soon direction will reverse and they'll be landing from the north.

The CEC Friday breakfast have been rather transient for the past several months. Looks like it's back to Duke's at Ruamchok. Not as convenient or scenic as Rivermarket, but better than the other places that CEC tried. First and third Friday morning of the month. Maybe you'll be here during those times. Be sure to subscribe to the CEC newsletter if you aren't already, because Duke's Ruamchok only seats 70 people, so they want advance reservations for the breakfasts. Not like Rivermarket, sadly, where they could handle twice that number.