I don't want to go to hospital as I may be told bad news.

[Bill Poster]

If this post is in the wrong place please if possible move it to the appropriate section.

 

My Thai wife’s pensioner father has not been feeling very well and he is suffering from a repeated bloated stomach , loss of apatite and constantly feeling tired . When I first heard what the fathers symptoms were I immediately offered to take him to a well known and respected university hospital and pay for any necessary medical treatment , possible surgery or drugs . My offer of assistance was refused by the father on the grounds that the father did not want to go to any hospital because in the past he has known many people who went to a hospital and they were told bad news about their medical condition and in a few cases some people ended up passing away. So in his mind its better not to be given bad news by a hospital doctor, sort of out of sight out of mind type of thought process.

 

So the father after talking to numerous Thai neighbors decided to visit a rural doctor some 4 hours away from where he lived. From what I can find out the father went to this doctor at their house and the doctor ran some sort of medical clinic from their home . The doctor was retired from medical practice .On arriving at the doctors home based clinic , the doctor asked father what were his symptoms and then asked him to lay on an old wooden table under a garden tree . Once laying on the table the doctor laid their hand flat on fathers stomach and with the other hand start tapping, as a way to diagnose the complaint.

 

The doctor then announced that they would prescribe some drugs that will sort out fathers medical complaint , the doctor also advised father not to eat any sea food , beef or bamboo and to stop drinking alcohol . The doctor then handed father three unmarked plastic bags containing a small amount of both pills and capsules . The cost of the doctors 15 minuet consultation and the drugs was 2,500.00 Baht.

 

Father returned home a happy man and once he was taking the drugs the home doctor had given him he started to feel a bit better and the bloated stomach became less . When all the drugs had finally finished that father was given by the doctor , about one week later all fathers exact previous symptoms then returned. Father thinking that the now returned symptom were only a temporary hiccup and would some how soon disappear.Well a few more weeks went by and fathers symptoms never went away as he had expected. So he decided to again go and see the same doctor who had prescribed the original drugs .

 

This time my Thai wife accompanied her father to the home of the doctor . On arriving at the doctors run down old Thai house around 10 am . My wife and her father went into the front garden of the doctors house and saw a sign that said please ring the bell , the hand bell was hanging from a wooden pole. After ringing the bell the doctor appeared at the house front door dressed in what my wife describes as bed time pajamas. The father then described his symptoms to the doctor and as in the last visit father was told to lie down on the old wooden table and once more the doctor proceeded to tap fathers stomach .

 

This time the doctor made no mention of knowing what fathers medical issue was , but did once  more advise father to not eat any sea food , beef or bamboo and to stop drinking alcohol. The doctor then still dressed in his bed time pajamas went back into the house and a few minuets later came back out and handed father several small unmarked plastic bags containing pills and capsules and asked father for 2,500.00 Baht.

 

As father handed over the 2,500.00 Baht to the doctor , my wife then said to the doctor, my husband wants to know the name of the drugs your are giving to my father . Which was some thing I had ask my wife to ask the doctor , as the plastic bags and drugs were all unmarked . The doctor said to my wife that the drugs come from abroad and had no markings that her husband would understand , then the doctor turned around and went back into their house and closed the door. So now father has spent a total of 5,000.00 Baht on drugs from this doctor . Fast forward father did again feel slightly better after taking the second round of drugs , but again when the drugs were finished a few weeks later , yes fathers old symptoms came back.

 

This time father decided to go and talk to a local man who had the reputation of providing other villagers with natural herbal remedies for their medical problems . Father went over his ongoing  medical problems and the natural herbal man said that he had just the answer . The answer was  a small amount of boiled tree leaves mixed in with tree bark. The concoction would cost 1,000.00 Baht for a singe small bottle. Farther happily paid the 1,000.00 Baht and thought all his health problems would be a thing of the past .

 

 

Three weeks later and with the boiled tree leaves and bark all finished , father was still experiencing the same original past symptoms of a bloated stomach , loss of apatite and constantly feeling tired .
So father once again telephoned my wife and asked to be again taken back a third time to the original doctor who ran things from his home. So now my wife takes her father back to the rural doctor some 4 hours away from where her father lived for the third time.

 

One this third visit , father went through the same laying on the old table routine as in the past and again doctor laid their hand flat on fathers stomach and with the other hand start tapping. This time the doctor calmly said that father had a black spot on his liver but there were no signs of cancer and not to worry.

 

Once more the doctor told father the cost for their time and two small plastic bags containing pills would be 2,500.00 Baht . My wife this time had taken an aunt with them and the aunt asked the doctor if they had any thing to stop stomach acid. The doctor went into the house and came out with a small plastic bag , and told the aunt the pills would stop any stomach acid problems. The charge for that small bag of pills to stop stomach acid was 500.00 Baht.  So now father has paid out a total of 8,500.00 Baht ( 3 visits to the doctor + the boiled tree leaves mixed in with tree bark concoction ).

 

Only time will tell the outcome of fathers last third visit to the home doctor , but I suspect that again once the effect of the drugs wear off , father will be back to looking for another remedy or even a fourth visit to the same home doctor. 
 

Here's where it gets some what difficult . The wife's father is steadfastly refusing to attend any hospital relating to his stomach issue . If my wife pushed and pushes her father to attend a hospital and if once at a hospital her father is actually informed that he indeed does have a serious medical issue , or god forbid some thing terminal, then for sure in the eyes of her father , its going to be 100% his daughters fault for making him seek and attend proper medical assistance. 

 

Any one had any similar experiences and can offer suggestions or sound advice on how to try and convince the father that going to a hospital will be his best option.

 

 

Thank You . 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

In my experience, there is little you can do.

 

It is his choice and he is making it. Badly, unfortunately.

 

The only thing you can do is provide moral support to the wife, including reassurance that, if it is  a teminal situation, that fact will come out eventually regardless of whether he agreed to go to a proper hospital. Whereas if she is able to persuade him to get proper medical care now there will be a chance of treatment if the condition is treatrable.

 

Might also point out there there is no end to how much of the family's money may end up being wasted otherwise. there are lots of quacks out there. Specifically exploiting people who have, or fear that they have, cancer.

 

 

[scubascuba3]

I thought I was reading the longest joke in history. I would have summarised that story in 3 lines, but that's me

[Lacessit]

Personally, I've always preferred to know if something is wrong with me, because then I can take steps to deal with it.

Sadly, there are too many people in this world that prey on the fears of others.

[OneMoreFarang]

First post from Bill Poster...

 

[Moonlover]

Apparently, fear of hospitals, or Nosocomephobia, is quite common. And, to a degree I share that feeling. I hate them and I have to be dragged, screaming into one. I adamantly refused to go to one when I had dengue last July.

 

I was told I might die. 'So be it, I'll die in my bed, not in a horrible hospital'.

[yeahbutif]

You should get a job as a short story teller. I was waiting for the punch line.all i can say this is thailand.and as we all know Thais will do what ever they like..and if you're not paying.go with the flow.....

[Tagged]

Even Bangkok hospital  prices for an "hour" whith dr 900,- baht, and a few bags with pills will not exceed 2000,- baht. 

[transam]

2,500bht, from what sounds like a quack, is a rip off......????

[teacherclaire]

This time the doctor calmly said that father had a black spot on his liver but there were no signs of cancer and not to worry.

 

Did you pay for all the trips?

 

    You can bring a horse to a lake, but you can't make it drink.

 

    If he drinks Lhao Kao, he'll soon be past and the problem solved.

 

[teacherclaire]

15 minutes ago, transam said:

2,500bht, from what sounds like a quack, is a rip off......????

 

 No, these doctors are using the cosmic energy and see everything inside a patient's body.

 

Like the black thingy on the liver.

 

  Easy money for the Pajama quack doctor.

 

Trans, I'd do that for free and give you a more detailed story what's wrong with you for only 3,500 baht.

 

That's for the old expired medicine we have sitting around. 

 

    

Edited December 6, 2020 by teacherclaire

[teacherclaire]

23 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Even Bangkok hospital  prices for an "hour" whith dr 900,- baht, and a few bags with pills will not exceed 2000,- baht. 

And they usually do not wear their pajamas. I'd not trust pajama people. 

[Techno Viking]

For many years I too was in the "I don't want to go to hospital as I may be told bad news." basket.

 

10 years ago at the age of 32 a blood vessel in my brain blocked (and popped), to this day Iam still recovering, luckily I can still fucntion on a daily basis about 90% which allows me to keep working and earning a living but the years of rehab to get where iam today was atrocious.

 

I know have a full check up every year.

[Moonlover]

56 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Even Bangkok hospital  prices for an "hour" whith dr 900,- baht, and a few bags with pills will not exceed 2000,- baht. 

That may well be true, but if the old man has a fear of hospitals and refuses to go to one, then it's a moot point isn't it. For him, it appears it's quack treatment or no treatment.

 

Reliance on 'traditional healing' is quite common in many developing countries. Thailand is far from unique in that regard.

[CorpusChristie]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I thought I was reading the longest joke in history. I would have summarised that story in 3 lines, but that's me

 

  What happened in the end ?

[DavisH]

I wonder if the tablets given contain/are steroids. My father-in-law would visit a local Chinese medicine doctor. He didn't like big hospitals either, until he had to be taken, after which he later passed away. I seem to remember him feeling better after taking is medicine, but had to go back for more. I think whatever he was given was just masking underlying problems, until they get to the stage when the body can't cope and collapses. 

[scubascuba3]

29 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

  What happened in the end ?

No punchline

[Pilotman]

its very informative to know how people used to live in the 1500,  You can't change uneducated people brought up on a mixture of religious nonsense, old wives tails  and witch craft,  I very much doubt that the local quack had any qualifications at all and your relative was acting true to form for village people here.  

[1FinickyOne]

After my FIL retired, he became obsessed w/going to healers and monks... it was quite interesting for a while and had many trips deep into the countryside... I think my favorite was an old man who prepared all this special water and melted candles into it then had my FIL lie down on the porch and took a big mouthful and spit it all over him, repeatedly.. as surprised as we all were, I was even more surprised when my FIL wanted to go back a week later... 

 

I drove him there and we were told the old man was in the hospital. I told my FIL that even this great spitting healer thought modern medicine was better when you are not well. That was the last time. 

 

He recently had double bypass and 2 months in the hospital plus all of his meds... 30 baht for all. 

 

And the foreign pills your FIL paid so much for were likely placebos which had a short term effect of him feeling better. 

[oompie69]

Voltaire is quoted as having said "the art of medicine is about the doctor amusing the patient while the body heals itself" 

[SheungWan]

There are plenty of Westerners around who think going on this or that quack diet will cure them of the need to visit a hospital when the time comes.

[Muhendis]

Many people go into a hospital feeling a bit poorly and when they come out they feel terrible.

[rwill]

Many of the doctors that work at hospitals hold clinics in the evenings and weekends.  That would be a better option for him.  And cheaper than what you are paying.

[rwill]

13 hours ago, oompie69 said:

Voltaire is quoted as having said "the art of medicine is about the doctor amusing the patient while the body heals itself" 

I think about 80% of the time that is true.  10% of the time they actually help you.  And the other 10% they make you worse.

[rwill]

Barring all else go to a pharmacy and buy a bottle of fa thalai jon for about 150 baht.  Dump it in a plastic bag.  Give it to him and tell him you got it at a Wat from a very powerful phra.

[SomchaiCNX]

Bring the doctor to him, one problem solved. My MiL had the same symptoms for a while and she lost her battle with liver cancer after 13 years ???? In her case it were the doctors who checked and handled the case not correctly,  her 3 monthly and later 6 monthly check ups were a joke. I saved her a couple times because I gave money for the tests they needed to run but were not able to do under the free health care  system until the last time they were to late ????  

Edited December 7, 2020 by SomchaiCNX

[vandeventer]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I thought I was reading the longest joke in history. I would have summarised that story in 3 lines, but that's me

I to through this was a joke gone wrong. Thais have this problem too often, bloating mostly caused by the food they eat also when people get older they have less stomach acid. So digestive aids help a lot and you can buy from any drug store. He should really see a good doctor as his problem may be more than just bloating.

Edited December 7, 2020 by vandeventer

[Salerno]

1 hour ago, Muhendis said:

Many people go into a hospital feeling a bit poorly and when they come out they feel terrible.

Or in a box.

[elgenon]

There are stories about people who have tested positive in the US for Covid arguing that they don't have it.

 

The pops could always just deny the assessment. Why should he have to accept the findings? Up to him.

[kwak250]

18 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

First post from Bill Poster...

 

Luckily is was straight to the point .

I hate it when posts go on a bit.