Colonoscopy, procedure & price?

[THAIPHUKET]

Eating more fiber,etc no relief from days of constipation. Could be blockage.

Had  colonoscopy

done decades ago. How does it work today, cost eg at RAM?

[sqwakvfr]

Had the Combo package at Ram last year(Endoscopy and Colonsocopy).  Total cost was 36,000 Baht.  I have been seeing Dr. Ssombat for a few years because of a bad H. Pylori infection many years ago resulted in gastritis.  My condition flares up from time to time.  This was my second Colonoscopy in the last 10 years.  

 

The prep was as before.  Take a combination of strong laxative starting in the early afternoon of the day before.  No eating except for water 12 hours before the procedure.  Show up in the morning, change, check vitals, sedation, procedure, recovery and leave.  Came back a week later for the lab results.  In my case a small begin polyp was discovered.   I will have another combo package in 5 years unless I develop symptoms.  

 

I believe the Colonoscopy alone would have been around 25,000?  I am not exactly sure because the prices of some service were discounted due to the pandemic.  I suspected if could be higher now because the country is now fully open.  

[IvorBiggun2]

11 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

H. Pylori infection many years ago resulted in gastritis.  My condition flares up from time to time.

Just a simple stool test will suffice these days, followed by antibiotics, if H Pylori confirmed.

[1FinickyOne]

lay off protein and cheese..

 

Drink a bottle of prune juice and don't leave the house...

 

or natural Sentokot tablets.. need to work overnight - can buy at 7...

[internationalism]

at thonburi 2 hospital in bangkok they had special offer for 15k.

I am waiting for colo and gastro combo under full narcosis for 18.5k - the governmental hospital, 3 months waiting list.

Probably you don't have that much time.

In you place I will visit doctor, do all check ups, blood in stool, possibly parasites. If you need gastro because of strong symptoms, probably you can jump line at the governmental hospital

[mstevens]

If your primary concern is constipation, magnesium can be a big help, particularly magnesium citrate (as opposed to other forms of magnesium). Many of us are magnesium deficient and magnesium citrate can be very helpful if you're blocked up.

 

Triphala is also very helful if you're not regular.

 

I'm not a doctor so you should do your own research. These supplements are simply recommended to relieve constipation and not to resolve any other underlying issues which may have caused the constipation in the first place. Certainly, there is a lot of material out there online about these two supplements and I speak with experience having used both of them myself.

 

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by mstevens

[xylophone]

Unfortunately I too suffer from constipation and have done for years, decades even, and despite eating more fibre and everything else of that ilk, it still has no effect on me.

 

So I decided to go for a colonoscopy just to make sure everything was okay up there, and it was, and when I took all of the bran/fibre/psyllium husk/senecot/Bisacodyl/etc preparations along, to show what didn't work (that included magnesium and others) the specialist prescribed a tablet called Resolor!

 

Now that does work on occasion, but as someone else has mentioned prune juice, and especially the "Sunsweet" stuff, does work, and if you add a little liquid sorbitol (can buy it on the Lazada very cheaply) to it, the results are pretty quick and emptying!

 

It was determined a long time ago that I have a slow digestive system, so unfortunately I'm going to be prone to this sort of thing, and so every so often I have a prune juice clear out!!!!

 

Back onto a colonoscopy, and I had one about three years ago here in Phuket Bangkok Hospital and it cost about 20,000 baht.

 

Good luck.

[mokwit]

May be run of the mill constipation, but if you are saying you have not been able to pass stools properly for several days then I suggest you consider going to an emergency room as you may have a blocked intestine. I had this problem - it wasn't like normal constipation where you are straining to pass it, I felt I needed to go but there was nothing to try and push out,  I was abdominally bloated with my intestines churning and churning and only passing thin ribbon like stools for days then nothing for 2 days - it was a blocked intestine - I went to the ER in the morning and they operated in the evening.

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=blocked+intestine

 

I used an Australian healthcare provider symptom diagnosis checker (which I now can't find again to post here, unfortunately) and it indicated I needed to go to an ER.

 

[sqwakvfr]

For Ram I saw the Gastroenterologist on Wednesday morning and had both the Endoscopy and Colonoscopy done on Friday morning.  Based upon age and health getting them done in a timely manner could be critical.  Just my thoughts based upon my experience.  36,000 Baht is a lot of money but back in the US I paid $3000 for a colonoscopy with health insurance over 10 years ago.  One of the things I do not complain about is the price of health care in Thailand.  

[Boomer6969]

3 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Just a simple stool test will suffice these days, followed by antibiotics, if H Pylori confirmed.

Stool test? For H Pylori it is a breath test and I doubt any positive wouldn't be followed by a gastroscopy. The stool test is a poorly selective first test for colon cancer always followed by a colonoscopy when found positive.

[JimmyJ]

4 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I have been seeing Dr. Ssombat for a few years because of a bad H. Pylori infection many years ago resulted in gastritis.  My condition flares up from time to time.  This was my second Colonoscopy in the last 10 years.  

 

 

Does Sombat himself perform the procedures?

[IvorBiggun2]

51 minutes ago, Boomer6969 said:

Stool test? For H Pylori it is a breath test and I doubt any positive wouldn't be followed by a gastroscopy.

I had a Gastroscopy done a few years back. H Pylori was detected on that. I did a couple of weeks taking antibiotics. A stool sample was taken after to confirm it was gone. 

 

 

Quote

 

Stool tests

• Stool antigen test. This is the most common stool test to detect H. pylori. The test looks for proteins (antigens) associated with H. pylori infection in the stool.
• Stool PCR test. A lab test called a stool polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test can detect H. pylori infection in stool. The test can also identify mutations that may be resistant to antibiotics used to treat H. pylori. However, this test is more expensive than a stool antigen test and may not be available at all medical centers.

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/h-pylori/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356177

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[Boomer6969]

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

I had a Gastroscopy done a few years back. H Pylori was detected on that. I did a couple of weeks taking antibiotics. A stool sample was taken after to confirm it was gone. 

 

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/h-pylori/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356177

•  

Same story, but I had the breath test to confirm. Didn't know about the stool test, but you have to admit that it is an shi..y way of doing things.

[sqwakvfr]

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

Does Sombat himself perform the procedures?

Yes. In my case he did.

[proton]

Chronic constipation here for years, not so bad when I go back home. I get plenty of fibre and water but still have to resort enemas (from 7/11) and powders with phisilllum in, Nuui fiberry prune is the one I use now, always clears you out. Had enough colonoscopies, no more of them for me.

[Sheryl]

In someone over age 50, more than a decade passed since last colonoscopy and now a change in bowel habits, colonoscopy is definitely indicated. 

[Lacessit]

Natural laxatives include sweet corn, okra and papaya.

 

It is a good idea to abstain from eating anything with seeds in it ( e.g. tomato ) or whole grain breads for 3 - 4 days prior to the procedure, as they can collect in any diverticulae, and confuse the surgeon operating the camera.