Urgent cardiologist needed for old mate

[aussienam]

I am posting this on behalf of an elderly expat friend who has asked me to source him an affordable cardiologist.  He is deteriorating with heart rate falling dangerously low and functioning getting worse. Previous heart problems. I fear he is going to not make it very soon. 

 

No health insurance, not sufficient self insurance funds.  Only living month to month on a low income pension. Very little savings in account. Unable to return to his home country, no home or relations there and cannot afford airfare.  I know, a really bad situation.  

 

He has asked if there are any local cardiologist clinics that he won't get charged farang prices. I know many specialists run after hour practices/clinics outside their hospital shift hours and charge reasonable consultation fees. I have searched Google but so far no luck.  

 

At this stage he just wants consultation and tests.  He is concerned travelling too far.  So looking in Pattaya area.

 

Please no pointless posts on what this gentleman (he truly is) should have done. Have your digs, trolling and jibes somewhere else if that is what satisfies you.  Just constructive advice please from the decent folk here thanks. 

 

 

[MJCM]

@Sheryl any ideas?

[scubascuba3]

i would have thought Bang Lamung Hospital the only option

[nauseus]

Can you tell me if he has at least a little bit of money to afford a professional opinion?

Edited March 25, 2023 by nauseus

[MJCM]

13 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

i would have thought Bang Lamung Hospital the only option

+1

 

but he better be prepared for a long wait as it’s a busy hospital and maybe also a good idea to take a Thai speaker with him

[Upnotover]

How about his immigration status?  A hospital visit might lead to further problems.  I had a friend in very similar circumstances who always said when things got to this stage that would be the end of it.  It was.

[connda]

Government hospital - or - use this time to start accepting his mortality.  Get his affairs in order, draw up a Will and Living Will,  seek quality of life over extension of life, meditate, get his spiritual house in order and develop acceptance and self-compassion.

[Sheryl]

He should go to either Chonburi Hospital (in the town of Chonburi - huge tertiary level facility) or the Red Cross Hospital  in Sri Racha.(Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial). Both of these are vastly better option than Ban Lamang where he would likely be seen by an internist not real cardiologist.

 

In both of these, would do best to go to the after hours clinic and directly see a senior doctor but that will cost several hundred baht more (normal fee is 50 baht..depending on location, after hours clinic fees range 250 - 500).

 

Moved to the Health Forum.

[blackshadow]

DOCTOR manuan.....i think his name is at bkk pattaya hospital.....

looked after my friend who had heart problems....

[MJCM]

19 minutes ago, blackshadow said:

DOCTOR manuan.....i think his name is at bkk pattaya hospital.....

looked after my friend who had heart problems....

May I ask if you read the OP?

 

the friend of the OP has little to no money. BPH will be much too expensive for him. 

[aussienam]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

i would have thought Bang Lamung Hospital the only option

Thanks. Think I'll suggest this to start with.  Other hospitals in Chonburi I'll explain if he needs further specialist care and if he'll accept the travel costs and distance to get there.  

Seems there are no private clinics around. 

[aussienam]

1 hour ago, connda said:

Government hospital - or - use this time to start accepting his mortality.  Get his affairs in order, draw up a Will and Living Will,  seek quality of life over extension of life, meditate, get his spiritual house in order and develop acceptance and self-compassion.

Thanks.  My friend has already done this (Will). Quality of life is the issue as he is suffering with side effects. 

[Sheryl]

58 minutes ago, aussienam said:

Thanks. Think I'll suggest this to start with.  Other hospitals in Chonburi I'll explain if he needs further specialist care and if he'll accept the travel costs and distance to get there.  

Seems there are no private clinics around. 

As I said - Ban Lamunag is definitely not the place to go for this.

 

It is possible some of the cardiologists at these hospitals  have a private clinic but (1) would also likely be in Chonburi  or Sri Racha towns  and (2) would not have the needed capacities (tests etc) to diagnosis what sounds like his condition. All such clinics do is provide medication, just a step up from a simple pharmacy, and not what (from your description)  he needs

 

Has he really not a single friend able to take him?

[VinnieK]

1 hour ago, MJCM said:

May I ask if you read the OP?

 

the friend of the OP has little to no money. BPH will be much too expensive for him. 

If he has no money he has a problem 

An ECG alone will cost 3000 or so.

He will see a trainee Dr in his first visit and then he will be referred to a  cardiologist a week or two later.

He's looking at several 1000s (Xrays-ECG,EKG etc)

If a CT scan is required, cost will go to the moon...relative to his budget.

Btw.. I'm not in Pattaya but in a big provincial town.

Results may vary ,as they say..

 

 

[MJCM]

16 minutes ago, VinnieK said:

If he has no money he has a problem 

An ECG alone will cost 3000 or so.

He will see a trainee Dr in his first visit and then he will be referred to a  cardiologist a week or two later.

He's looking at several 1000s (Xrays-ECG,EKG etc)

If a CT scan is required, cost will go to the moon...relative to his budget.

Btw.. I'm not in Pattaya but in a big provincial town.

Results may vary ,as they say..

 

 

The OP knows (and you and I know) but he is looking for a cheap option for his friend which the BPH hospital someone quoted (and I replied to) ABSOLUTELY isn’t 
 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by MJCM

[save the frogs]

Sorry if you find this post useless.

 

Maybe his condition is so bad that none of this information is useful.

But I believe the body is remarkably resilient.

 

Go see doctors.

AND also doctor yourself as much as possible.

 

Get him off the alcohol. Not one more drop of alcohol allowed.

Get him off junk food as much as possible.

Maybe have him take some supplements - Vitamin B-Complex, Vitamin K2 is good for arteries

Get him to go for daily brisk walks. Start with 5 minutes. Can he walk 5 minutes without being too much out of breath?

Increase slowly to 10 minutes and keep increasing to 45 minutes or an hour a day without making it too strenuous. 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by save the frogs

[still kicking]

17 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Sorry if you find this post useless.

 

Maybe his condition is so bad that none of this information is useful.

But I believe the body is remarkably resilient.

 

Go see doctors.

AND also doctor yourself as much as possible.

 

Get him off the alcohol. Not one more drop of alcohol allowed.

Get him off junk food as much as possible.

Maybe have him take some supplements - Vitamin B-Complex, Vitamin K2 is good for arteries

Get him to go for daily brisk walks. Start with 5 minutes. Can he walk 5 minutes without being too much out of breath?

Increase slowly to 10 minutes and keep increasing to 45 minutes or an hour a day without making it too strenuous. 

 

 

Keep saving the frogs, how do you know if he drinks alcohol and eats junk food and he might be disabled and can't go for walks! 

[save the frogs]

3 hours ago, still kicking said:

Keep saving the frogs, how do you know if he drinks alcohol and eats junk food and he might be disabled and can't go for walks! 

perhaps it was rude to assume he drinks alcohol.

and yes, he might be disabled.

my apologies then.

 

[VinnieK]

7 hours ago, MJCM said:

The OP knows (and you and I know) but he is looking for a cheap option for his friend which the BPH hospital someone quoted (and I replied to) ABSOLUTELY isn’t 
 

 

He's looking for a doctor and  some pills then ...

[MJCM]

3 hours ago, VinnieK said:

He's looking for a doctor and  some pills then ...

Unfortunately I think so. 

[JimTripper]

I would check with church run hospitals for free care. There is one in Bangkok, catholic I think. Seems like they would have something for the poor. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillian_Hospital

 

The hospital is operated by Saint Camillus Foundation of Thailand and has charity programs to treat poor and low income patients.

Edited March 26, 2023 by JimTripper

[anchadian]

12 hours ago, VinnieK said:

If he has no money he has a problem 

An ECG alone will cost 3000 or so.

He will see a trainee Dr in his first visit and then he will be referred to a  cardiologist a week or two later.

He's looking at several 1000s (Xrays-ECG,EKG etc)

If a CT scan is required, cost will go to the moon...relative to his budget.

Btw.. I'm not in Pattaya but in a big provincial town.

Results may vary ,as they say..

 

 

I find it difficult to believe some of these prices I'm seeing.

I have been going to my local clinic every six months for several years now and the fees have never increased or decreased:

 

Full blood test and urinalysis B690
ECG/EKG B300

 

And take the advice from Sheryl.

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by anchadian

[Sheryl]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I would check with church run hospitals for free care. There is one in Bangkok, catholic I think. Seems like they would have something for the poor. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillian_Hospital

 

The hospital is operated by Saint Camillus Foundation of Thailand and has charity programs to treat poor and low income patients.

There are several church run hospitals in Bangkok but none of them offer free care to farangs. In fact we had a recent thread about someone's difficulty paying a huge bill at Camillian. (These hospitals are, however, less expensive than other private hospitals).

 

Further it appears travelling is a problem.

 

The best option for this person is one of the large, tertiary government hospitals near Pattaya. Chonburi Hosputal (Choinburi town, regional hospital, will have cardiology service) or Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital in Sri Racha (ditto).

 

He needs at a minimumn a physical exam and an EKG, possibly other tests.  This is NOT something one can just get a vew pills for.

 

At a government hospital even with EKG and perhaps other tests, still quite affordable. The challenge will be if he needs pacemaker or surgery but cross that bridge if and when come to it. If he us already on cardiac meds, the slow heart rate might be related to that and some tweaking oi medications (after appropriate testing, and by a full fledged cardiologist)  might suffice. No way to tell, he needs to go see cardiologist.

[MJCM]

Maybe to reduce his costs further have him get a blood test done at a local lab instead of at a Hospital. (And show the results to the Doctor when visiting)

 

For example this one in Pattaya

 

http://lifecare.siam2web.com/?cid=1209618

 

@Sheryl could maybe post which blood tests he need to have done?

 

edit: they also can do an EKG, at 350 Thb

Edited March 26, 2023 by MJCM

[Sheryl]

6 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Maybe to reduce his costs further have him get a blood test done at a local lab instead of at a Hospital. (And show the results to the Doctor when visiting)

 

For example this one in Pattaya

 

http://lifecare.siam2web.com/?cid=1209618

 

@Sheryl could maybe post which blood tests he need to have done?

 

edit: they also can do an EKG, at 350 Thb

 

 

If he is going to a government hospital there is no savings to getting labs done elsewhere and will just involve more travel/running around which seems to already be a constraint.

[aussienam]

On 3/25/2023 at 9:22 PM, Sheryl said:

As I said - Ban Lamunag is definitely not the place to go for this.

 

It is possible some of the cardiologists at these hospitals  have a private clinic but (1) would also likely be in Chonburi  or Sri Racha towns  and (2) would not have the needed capacities (tests etc) to diagnosis what sounds like his condition. All such clinics do is provide medication, just a step up from a simple pharmacy, and not what (from your description)  he needs

 

Has he really not a single friend able to take him?

Thanks.  He has someone who has offered a ride and probably opt now for Red Cross in Sri Racha.  Note taken regarding Banglamung.  Thanks very much for detailed response.  

[aussienam]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:05 AM, save the frogs said:

Sorry if you find this post useless.

 

Maybe his condition is so bad that none of this information is useful.

But I believe the body is remarkably resilient.

 

Go see doctors.

AND also doctor yourself as much as possible.

 

Get him off the alcohol. Not one more drop of alcohol allowed.

Get him off junk food as much as possible.

Maybe have him take some supplements - Vitamin B-Complex, Vitamin K2 is good for arteries

Get him to go for daily brisk walks. Start with 5 minutes. Can he walk 5 minutes without being too much out of breath?

Increase slowly to 10 minutes and keep increasing to 45 minutes or an hour a day without making it too strenuous. 

 

 

He walks daily, even now with dizzy spells and slightly unsteady gait (has no other mode of transport). Doesn't drink a drop of alcohol. He eats healthy.  He cannot afford vitamin supplements. And quality vitamins here, the costs are too much.  Think I'll focus on ascertaining best medical option for him. Thanks anyway. 

 

[mania]

13 hours ago, aussienam said:

He walks daily, even now with dizzy spells and slightly unsteady gait (has no other mode of transport). Doesn't drink a drop of alcohol. He eats healthy.  He cannot afford vitamin supplements. And quality vitamins here, the costs are too much.  Think I'll focus on ascertaining best medical option for him. Thanks anyway. 

 

Good luck to him & I hope he can snap back from this but

As you describe his condition I cannot help but wonder what he will do with any kind of negative info from tests or checkups

He will not be able to afford any form of treatment/operation etc

 

This is a tough nut that possibly many expats will eventually face in Thailand,

 

Everyone's  health deteriorates with age & if they have low funds & no family etc

back in their country of origin it will not be easy

[lamyai3]

On 3/26/2023 at 10:00 AM, anchadian said:

I find it difficult to believe some of these prices I'm seeing.

I have been going to my local clinic every six months for several years now and the fees have never increased or decreased:

 

Full blood test and urinalysis B690
ECG/EKG B300

 

And take the advice from Sheryl.

 

Anything like this in Bangkok? Most prices seem much higher here. 

[JimTripper]

7 hours ago, mania said:

Good luck to him & I hope he can snap back from this but

As you describe his condition I cannot help but wonder what he will do with any kind of negative info from tests or checkups

He will not be able to afford any form of treatment/operation etc

 

This is a tough nut that possibly many expats will eventually face in Thailand,

 

Everyone's  health deteriorates with age & if they have low funds & no family etc

back in their country of origin it will not be easy

At a certain point you can’t really cure anything if it’s old age related. Just address symptoms to make them more comfortable.

 

I had a relative pass just from old age. They just start having problems like difficulty breathing or lack of energy and there is nothing you can do but try and keep them comfortable. Being very thirsty all the time is also a bad sign near the end.

Edited March 28, 2023 by JimTripper