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.

On 10/26/2022 at 9:52 AM, ubonjoe said:

1. The 800k baht must be in the bank for 2 months on the day you apply. Then for 3 months after the day you apply and then 400k baht until you top up your account to 800k baht again.

2. You can apply early but the 800k baht will need to be in the bank for 2 months when you apply.

See number 1 for the amount needed after applying.

3.There is no requirement to prove the 800k baht  came from abroad.

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".

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.

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.

4 hours ago, unheard said:

@33 RPM

"which direction the weather mainly comes from"

 

Seasonal:

 

 

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.  

I agree with Sheryl's recommendation to see Dr. Morgan first.  Yes, I know she is a "general doctor", but she can help the OP to understand what specialist is needed, if any.  I think the OP mentioned that the lump is causing his wife pain, so it probably does need some attention.  It could be anything from a lipoma to lymphoma, two very different things, both in terms of the type of specialists required and how serious they are.  Dr. Morgan can help the OP and his wife to understand what they're dealing with.

Sometimes the specialist doctors here have a tendency to "dismiss" patients if the problem doesn't fall within their speciality.  

During Covid lockdown I turned into a bit of a slob and only washed my hair twice a week.  I found that my scalp wasn't as itchy as normal and my hair was healthier.  Also, I was able to grow my hair longer and not worry about anyone seeing me during the awkward growing-out period.

You can use conditioner just on the end of the hair, wash it out immediately after application, and not get it on the scalp.

On 9/4/2022 at 3:25 PM, possum1931 said:

When I was in Bangkok a few months ago before the mask wearing was dropped, I wore a mask for several hours during the afternoon, and my nose was running constantly, In early evening I had the worst runny nose ever and as soon as I got back to my hotel and took the mask off, after a short time my runny nose stopped.

After that my mask wearing stopped apart from going into a supermarket, or the MRT with my nose staying uncovered all the time. If ever I feel obliged to wear a mask to save any hard feelings from anyone, my nose will be staying uncovered.

This is very odd.  Was the mask new?  You know, you should have a new, clean mask each time you wear one and change it out every four hours or so.  I wasn't and developed some eye infections as my glasses would fog up from the mask wearing.  The news about new, clean masks from my eye doctor was, an "eye-opener".

Also, it's very possible that the Bangkok pollution was causing the runny nose and the mask was actually helping.  A good 24 hour allergy med could have helped.  That's also done wonders for my runny nose.

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I hope they close your  account.

Some banks in the U.S. do this if they get tired of dealing with nut case customers, either in-person or on the phone.  And they don't tell the customer they're doing this or maybe they do, but the customer I know just didn't listen.  I know someone who lost his home to foreclosure because the bank tired of his tirades on his phone calls from Thailand where he was hospitalized for a while, closed his account and the auto-payments of his mortgage stopped.  He was from a state that permitted banks to do this and had no recourse.

Those North Korean guys look much more fit, like they'd trained for a lifetime of running next to a Mercedes limo.  The ones running after Big Pom were probably the managers of the waste treatment plant, who, like me, decided to major in engineering in college because there was no requirement to take physical education, unlike the poor saps who majored in the liberal arts.

I'm so glad our condo building in Chiang Mai cracked down on the short-term rentals.  The short-term holiday renters would bully the non-English speaking security guards, thinking they were front desk clerks, expect the office to be a 24/7 operation (it's not), drag luggage in/out while while talking loudly at all hours and gripe about the lack of furniture around the pool.  Hint:  it's meant for swimming, not lounging and partying because there are condo units directly adjacent.

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Not talking hospital types as electric beds are starting to be a thing it seems.  Several makers offer full single width (3.5 feet) and normal style bedframe and some offer thicker mattress (but suspect that limits sitting up somewhat).  But the fact it has helped you makes up for any high cost I suspect.  

Yes, I've seen less expensive models that look like some of the "custom" build frames we had before where there were several choices of elevation for the head and used a conventional twin bed mattress.  These never held up very well.  Or in the U.S. our regular twin bed frame was sturdy enough that we could elevate the head with bricks under the legs of the bed.  Never could find a conventional twin bed frame in Thailand that looked sturdy enough.  

This bed, while expensive, is much, much better.  Frankly, we're at a stage in our lives and without children or others waiting to inherit, that we might as well spend our money on being comfortable.

15 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

3 years ago and they have only sold 2 units per link -Indeed at 180k a bit pricey as electric beds are available for about 20k single wide here for those not too heavy.  Never found non level conductive to sleeping (from hospital stays) as need to turn often - but have almost learned to dose off in a recliner as pass the 80 mark.  

 

We bought ours in the store.  I doubt most people would purchase an item like this online.

It was a little cheaper in the store and came with many extra goodies like pillows, sheets, duvet, etc, that we were able to select.

Hospital beds aren't as comfortable because they're designed to be easy-to-clean and don't seem to "breathe" as well as a conventional mattress.  Same problem with a recliner.

She could run as an independent and syphon off enough Republican votes to permit the Democrats to win again, assuming, of course that Trump is the Republican nominee.  Even if he's languishing in a prison someplace, she could prevent DeSantis or some other Trump-clone from winning.  

Then she could go onto a nice career as a cable new commentator.  Or perhaps set up residency in a more moderate Republican state and run for Senate there.

Many news accounts say that the smallpox vaccine can prevent MP.  Does that include smallpox vaccine that was received many decades ago? 

Hubby and I both had second smallpox vaccines in the mid-1980s when it wasn't commonly given anymore in the U.S. because we were going to Africa and we insisted.  I remembered that one of my college professors from a decade prior, originally from India, had bad smallpox scars.  He was fairly young.  Yes, I know they said it had been eradicated, but we insisted.  As I recall, we had to wait just a few days for the smallpox vaccine to arrive.  I don't think it would be so easy now.

Dr. Viroj at Bumrungrad is very well respected.  Twice the OP wrote that he said the swelling was "fluid of spam".  I googled that and got no sensible results.  Perhaps there is a misunderstanding of what Dr. Viroj said.

This is a rather pricey recommendation, but three years ago when we totally remodeled our condo, we bought this adjustable bed from Home Pro:  https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1151273  I have a congenital heart defect with a couple of leaky heart valves, so I've been advised to sleep with my head elevated for years.  We've managed to do to this with home modifications, but thought we'd do it properly with the remodeling and really made the day for the sales gal at the local Home Pro when we bought the bed.

Very glad we did.  I discovered that slightly elevating my feet also reduced ankle swelling and slight elevation of Hubby's head (not as much as mine) eliminated his slight snoring.  Recently I injured my back and this bed was a God-send to getting comfortable.

It's been very reliable and I wish we'd bought it years ago.