A Good Doctor in Chiang Mai? Anyone know one?

[Sheryl]

An unhelpful trolling post has been removed

[NoshowJones]

"almost seemed like money came before cure."  I'm afraid that is very true, it is very typical of the Thai medical profession, more interested in filling their pockets than helping you. But I would accept there will be some doctors who don't have a cash register in their heads.

[alant]

My no 1 gp is dr morgan at hcmc, busy but very good great english.

I do most other stuff at Bangkok, again no language problems at all top class personnel and facilities.

Had surgery twice at Sirphat, follow up at Ram, all good.

Derm at Ram.

These all top notch in my opinion, tend to prioritise on dr morgans recommendation.

[Lorry]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

What you describe sounds very much like Perioheral Arterial Disease (PAD). You need to see a vascular specialist.

 

I suggest one of these

 

https://sriphat.med.cmu.ac.th/find_doctor?lang=en&doctor_name=&spec_name=15&special_name=48

Link not working for me, hope it works for OP

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, alant said:

dr morgan at hcmc

What's hcmc?

[DezLez]

22 minutes ago, Lorry said:

What's hcmc?

Ho Chi Min City is a long way to go from Ching Mai just to get a doctor!

[JimmyJ]

26 minutes ago, Lorry said:

What's hcmc?

Usually in my experience Ho Chi Minh City, but in this case it's Health Care Medical Clinic.

 

Address: 275 M.6 Chiangmai-Hangdong Road Tambon MaeHia, Muang District Chiang Mai 50100

Tel:  053-804405

Fax: 053-280647

Clinic Mobile: 08-27668672

 

More Information 
E-mail: [email protected]

Appointment Request
E-mail: order@healthcaremedicalclinic.com

Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 08:00 - 18:00  

Wednesday and Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Saturday 8.00 - 13.00 Hrs Closed on Sunday

Edited October 22, 2022 by JimmyJ

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, Lorry said:

Link not working for me, hope it works for OP

Works fine for me. 

 

OP in your specific case I do recommend going straight to specialust rather than a GP.

[Peter pop]

Dr Morgan, HCMC opposite THE Geriatric Hospital on Hang Dong Rd. Best in CM

[ripstanley]

11 hours ago, blazes said:

Lots of good suggestions above.  Ram Hospital is ok, and you could try the Suan  Dok hospital (is that the correct name?).  I once had excellent and cheap treatment there (special section at entrance for falang).

 

Could it be anything to do with your sciatic nerve?

 

It's possible that a masseur who really knows what he or she is doing could  give some treatment that might help.

Also look on YouTube asking a question like "extreme leg  pain treatment".

Also, look up the Mayo Clinic, the most trustworthy purveyor of medical information on line.

I agree with the sciatic nerve damage. I was diagnosed in 2021. I had xrays and showed up as a pinched nerve in my back. The doctor said it was affecting my sciatic nerve. I was the same as the OP. Difficulty walking and the pain was up and down my leg. I too could ride a bike with no pain. The other relief from the pain when walking was leaning and pushing a shopping trolley. I wasn't given any specific medicine for the nerve damage. My ability to walk eventually improved but it took a long time. Good luck Formaleins

[Formaleins]

8 hours ago, bamboozled said:

My first stop for health stuff is Rajavej because I have found them effective, for the most part, both for price and advice. Not all nurses speak English but the doctors do. If I don't get satisfaction there, I broaden my circle. There is an English speaking liason who you can make an inquiry with by email. Here is the address: [email protected]

 

If that gets redacted, just google the hospital and you can find the contact info.

 

Plus, they have two letter "j"s in the name and that has to count for something!

Thanks for your trouble, appreciated!

[Formaleins]

1 hour ago, ripstanley said:

I agree with the sciatic nerve damage. I was diagnosed in 2021. I had xrays and showed up as a pinched nerve in my back. The doctor said it was affecting my sciatic nerve. I was the same as the OP. Difficulty walking and the pain was up and down my leg. I too could ride a bike with no pain. The other relief from the pain when walking was leaning and pushing a shopping trolley. I wasn't given any specific medicine for the nerve damage. My ability to walk eventually improved but it took a long time. Good luck Formaleins

Thanks. I am hoping that it is Sciatica and not artery hell, not into getting cut open at my age.

[Formaleins]

3 hours ago, Peter pop said:

Dr Morgan, HCMC opposite THE Geriatric Hospital on Hang Dong Rd. Best in CM

Don't know the place but I will look it up -Thanks.

[Formaleins]

5 hours ago, Lorry said:

Link not working for me, hope it works for OP

Worked for me, will take a closer look

[Formaleins]

7 hours ago, possum1931 said:

"almost seemed like money came before cure."  I'm afraid that is very true, it is very typical of the Thai medical profession, more interested in filling their pockets than helping you. But I would accept there will be some doctors who don't have a cash register in their heads.

I know a great doctor not too far from me, he is as honest as the day is long and seems like he genuinely wants to put you right, he knows his area of competence and when it falls outside he recommends someone else. Sadly once you get away from the clinics and into the hospitals it seems money is the main incentive.

[alant]

22 hours ago, Lorry said:

What's hcmc?

Health care medical clinic https://g.page/HCMCdrmorgan?share 

[Formaleins]

Thanks to everyone that replied and provided the great info - Just thought I would update my situation. Firstly, thanks so much for recommending Dr. Morgan (I presumed that it would be a Welsh farang bloke, however he was a she, and she didn't look Welsh, but she spoke better English than most Taffs)

The clinic and appointment system was great, e mailed them Sunday, appointment today 1:30 pm.

Within 10 minutes of sitting down with Dr. Morgan she had done more checks than I have had in two years from the San Patong hospital ( which by the way, when I told and described the problem, told me I had probably inadvertently banged my knee)

 

In ten minutes, she found that the bad leg had a much lower temperature than the other leg, it was a different colour from the good leg, it was a different size to the good leg and whilst my "good leg" had a strong pulse, the gammy leg barely had a detectable pulse. She tells me I have to stop the cigarettes, as I have classic signs of "peripheral Arterial Disease" - She has booked me into the RAM hospital (complete with 20% referral discount) to get a couple of tests carried out to see how bad things are.

Whilst I was hoping it was a pinched nerve or similar and not this diagnosis, at least I now have a clear picture of what is going on - And, hats off to her too, my last hospital visit a few moths back had me pooping my pants telling me I had a High Cancer Marker count in my blood tests - I was beside myself worrying, but she told me today that this is usually simply due to the toxins in the blood due to being a smoker.

 

So once again, many many thanks to those who recommended this lady doctor. she is a breath of fresh air in a sea of <deleted>- she has to be probably the most trustworthy and honest doctors I have ever met here. the fees are very reasonable too, go to a local clininc, get lied to, pay 250 baht for something with no name and some vitamin C orange sweeties, or pay 500 and come away feeling someone actually looked at you!

 

See what happens now with the RAM!

[JimmyJ]

"She has booked me into the RAM hospital (complete with 20% referral discount)...".

 

Wasn't aware of this before.

 

Do you know if it's 20% off the initial consultation only (the doctor's charge), or your entire bill including tests etc. is discounted?

 

 

[scorecard]

On 10/21/2022 at 11:59 PM, Lorry said:

Your suspected diagnosis (blood vessels clogged) may be correct. 

You should visit a hospital. 

 

Get your history  (all what you have written in your post) properly translated into Thai, written down, and show it to a doctor, not a nurse. That helps avoid misunderstandings about "banged your leg".

 

The best ones in CM are Bangkok Hospital (expensive), Synphaet (private arm of the university hospital Maharat) and Ram.

If money is a problem just go to Maharat hospital early morning (6am), be prepared for a lot of waiting.  Need to speak Thai.

 

I cannot recommend a specific doctor, but any hospital doctor should be able to do an initial examination from where to proceed. The problem is most probably related to either blood vessels or nerves. Those are treatable conditions. 

"... show it to a doctor, not a nurse ..."

 

Good point, way too many folks in this country (and others) think they are doctors, they're not.

It's always possible that a qualified GP doesn't have enough knowledge to fully understand/diagnose the problem. In other words the patient needs to see a qualified specialist.

[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.

[Formaleins]

I just wanted to update those kind people that made suggestions and posted help to my original post as a bit of a follow up in thanks for your help.

That Doctor, Dr. Morgan has been great, she diagnosed the problem in 10 minutes. Sent me to the RAM hospital, they did a doppler ultrasound and CT and found that the leg that was causing the pain is 100% blocked and the "Good" leg is 60% blocked.

 

So she then referred me to a vascular surgeon back at the RAM with whom I have to sort out the next steps forward, (with the possibility of either transferring to the Suan Dok or going back to the UK as she seems to think it is pretty major surgery, which due to past health issues, I cannot qualify or get health insurance here) They said Suan Dok would be cheaper than the RAM, but either way it looks like it isn't going to be cheap. Kind of wondering if it might be better to just cut the damn leg off and be done with it as from what I read about bypasses and stents, it seems most operations are really serious, possible death and even if it works you can be back to square one in a year, so not looking too good at the minute.

 

Anyway, I will see what the RAM says at my next appointment, but thanks again to all those who put forward Dr. Morgan, best doctor I have ever seen in Thailand or the UK!

 

Greatly appreciated.

 

By the way, if anyone has had this sort of problem and surgery here, I would be very grateful if you could post here and let me know a rough idea of the costs as I may have to sell my family into terrible sexual slavery to pay for the procedure, I am sure my wife will be fine with that, but my son and the cats might not be that enthusiastic.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Formaleins