I'm living in Koh Phangan and need to see a good nephrologist. I am short of breath for much of the day and wondering if I have the onset of pulmonary edema. I have pretty good insurance cover through the French CFE  and would be grateful for any recommendations.

 

You need to get off the island. Bangkok would be best but you may not be well enough to fly at this point.

 

You can go here for immediate/emergency care, they may be able to get you stable enough to fly:

http://firstwesternhospital.healthcare/medical-services/

They can also coordinate with hospitals in Bangkok to receive you

 

If they can (stabilize you enough to fly  to Bangkok) then I suggest you go to  Bumrungrad Hospital under the care of  this doctor:

 

https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/Krairerk-Athirakul

 

 

If for some reason it proves not possible for you to fly then either of these hospitals in Surat Thani:

 

Taksin Hospital (private)

Surat Thani hospital (government, large regional hospital)

 

But Bangkok would definitely be better

Thanks Sheryl, I must admit that I thought that flying might not be a good idea. I'll try the 1st Western.

Just to let you know, I went to First Western Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning as I was having difficulty breathing, my gf took me there. Overnight and during the morning I had 3 blood tests, as many ECG's and an x-ray (which showed clear lungs) I feel a lot better this morning and conclude that I had a bit of a panic attack, probably not helped by my ex-wife and good friend telling me that her brother nearly died from pulmonary edema. The surprise was being asked to pay 40,000 tbh, which was reduced to 38,000 after I questioned some of the items. 3 blood tests came to 18,000 and a dose of Gaviscon 990, for example. A recent ECG, x-ray and comprehensive blood test at Bandon Hospital cost less than 4000 tbh, but I went to FW this time as it is much closer.

The treatment at both hospitals is comparable

Thanks for the update. I take it the BUN/creatnine weren't too bad?

 

Longer term you really should reconsider where you live. Not a good choice for someone with a serious chronic disease.

 

 

BUN down from 29.9 to 23.9 and Creatinine 2.59 to 2.33 in 3 months.  I've managed to lose quite a lot of weight which has helped and I've found a lot of nutritional info on the internet, which is probably as good as I will find in Thailand. I've thought about moving, but if I did, I would do it alone, as it would probably be back to Europe. As the saying goes, I've made my bed....

Anyway thanks for your help Sheryl, keep up the good work!