Over 50 - Blood & Urine Tests

[Jaymatheson]

Hi, thinking of walking into a local lab and having some tests done.  Don't have any health history worth mentioning.  Anyone have a list of tests that they've done or suggest?  I've seen the generic menus at labs before and not sure how practical some of them are.

[georgegeorgia]

Depends on your age 

 

 

Just get the FBC full blood test 

 

Liver ,white cells ,red cells ,prostate (PSA)

 

You don't need to add vitamin D , or testereone 

Sexual blood tests? HIV ? Hep B antibodies?? 

 

[scubascuba3]

If in Pattaya go to Lifecare Lab and get package 4 which is 700 baht, about 40 different test results

[AsiaTraveler1234]

Bangkok Hospital has a Health Promotion Center that has a variety of annual checkup packages. You can email inquiry(at)bph.co.th for more information.

[newbee2022]

10 hours ago, Jaymatheson said:

Hi, thinking of walking into a local lab and having some tests done.  Don't have any health history worth mentioning.  Anyone have a list of tests that they've done or suggest?  I've seen the generic menus at labs before and not sure how practical some of them are.

Go to a hospital and tell them what you want to know.

"Some tests" is a bit odd I'd say.😳

[sikishrory]

Ferritin. 

[DFPhuket]

As others suggested, I'd just check some nearby hospitals for wellness exams rather than just get the labs done. They will usually have a variety of packages to choose from (could include things like PSA or chest X-ray) and you'll get a report and, more importantly, what they mean.  

 

Bangkok Hospital Phuket (a more expensive option and you may live in another area) has packages under 3,000 (or higher) baht that includes a consult with a doctor once the labs are back. I get mine there and am in at 8 AM and out by 11 AM. Most other hospitals offer wellness exams. 

[Tubulat]

38 minutes ago, AsiaTraveler1234 said:

Bangkok Hospital has a Health Promotion Center that has a variety of annual checkup packages. You can email inquiry(at)bph.co.th for more information.

That's a case of pulling out your wallet, those are very different prices from some blood tests.

If I remember well, more than 15k thb unlike the above-mentioned blood tests of 700 thb.

[Sheryl]

The packages at hospitals tend to be poorly designed, and also geared towards Asian health issues (example: relatively high incidence of primary liver cancer  which is rare in Westerners. )

 

At private hospitals, packages are designed with or by the marketing department.  They often include things not recommended by any public health authority and likely to lead to other unnecessary and costly tests (e.g. routine abdominal ultrasounds  which often turn up unimportant cysts on various organs).

 

They also include completely misleading and unreliable tests e.g  "cancer screenings" consisting of bloid markers not suitable for mass screening. Again leading to a lot of  unnecessary other tests.

 

One definitely needs to be proactive in deciding what tests to have.

 

There are reliable websites that will tell you what a person your age should get e.g https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/webview/#!/

 

But to summarize for you:

 

Routine urinalysis

Blood tests: 

- Hb1Ac

- Lipid panel (HDL  LDL, triglycerides)

- complete Blood Count (CBC)

-  creatnine

- BUN

- liver enzymes (ALT/AST)

- PSA

 

All the above should be available at a lab at reasonable cost. Try to ensure lab is ISO certified.

 

You also need the following  which  are not blood or urine tests  and have to be done at a hospital:

- colonoscopy inless you have already had one in past 10 years. (Allows early detection of colon cancer and removal of pre-cancerous polyps. )

 

And I'd suggest  either an Exercise Stress Test or Echocardiogram plus EKG to assess cardiac function. The first is usually less expensive and will also assess your cardiac fitness. 

 

These 2 things are available separately as packages in many hospitals.  Assuming normal results, they do not need to be done often. Colonoscopy every 10 years. Cardiac screening, if asymptomatic and no risk factors like elevated lipids or diabetes    every 5-10 years  or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pickwick]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Try to ensure lab is ISO certified.

Sheryl - is there an easy/standard way to check this (apologies for my ignorance)? Also, given your warnings about hospitals/labs requesting unnecessary tests, are there any reliable/trustworthy hospitals for the OP (and others of the same age group) to have the cardiac screenings? I do not mind the cost, but I would like to avoid any unnecessary anxiety caused by further testing that's not actually needed. Many thanks.

[thailand49]

12 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

If in Pattaya go to Lifecare Lab and get package 4 which is 700 baht, about 40 different test results

Always looking to add to my list Where in Patyaya, thanks.

[Sheryl]

34 minutes ago, Pickwick said:

Sheryl - is there an easy/standard way to check this (apologies for my ignorance)? Also, given your warnings about hospitals/labs requesting unnecessary tests, are there any reliable/trustworthy hospitals for the OP (and others of the same age group) to have the cardiac screenings? I do not mind the cost, but I would like to avoid any unnecessary anxiety caused by further testing that's not actually needed. Many thanks.

Most labs with ISO certification will prominently display that fact on their website and in signage at the lab.  I know that Bria in Bangkok is solid and also that MedConsult in Bangkok uses an ISO certified lab. Hospitals will likewise prominently list  their ISO status and this would extend to their laboratories. 

 

I have yet to see a private hospital whose check up packages for older people  are well designed for Westerners and lack tests not recommended for mass screening.  The whole point of my post is not to rely on such packages. You can slways opt for the most basic package (usually marked as for younger people) and then "add on" items lacking.

 

Government University hosps like Chulalongkorn have packages that contain nothing unnecessary, but to which a person over 45/50 should probabky add a few of the optional tests. So again, you still have to do your homework.

[scubascuba3]

15 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

Always looking to add to my list Where in Patyaya, thanks.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/WVCG%2B4MC+Lifecare+Laboratory+(Pattaya),+Muang+Pattaya,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri+20150/@12.9203193,100.8766375,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x3102966d0301912f:0x324c4dcc3bced03f!8m2!3d12.9203193!4d100.8766375!16s%2Fg%2F11b6sy7rmr

[couchpotato]

15 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

If in Pattaya go to Lifecare Lab and get package 4 which is 700 baht, about 40 different test results

Actually      http://lifecare.siam2web.com/

 

5  items = 350 baht.

15 items = 700 baht

30 items = 2500 baht

Plus you can add lots of different tests

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

Actually      http://lifecare.siam2web.com/

 

5  items = 350 baht.

15 items = 700 baht

30 items = 2500 baht

Plus you can add lots of different tests

You obviously haven't done it before. Package 4 700 baht there are 40+ items on the results sheet, it covers most things you need, better to include hba1c for an additional 350 baht

[john donson]

there was a time I did this yearly and one time, a test came out weird and was asked to go check with a kidney specialist... high costs and falls positive or alarms... was a bit dehydrated on the day of the blood let, aka, fasting... costed me an extra 10k in useless 'pseudo expert' mombo jumbo, never again...

[couchpotato]

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

You obviously haven't done it before. Package 4 700 baht there are 40+ items on the results sheet, it covers most things you need, better to include hba1c for an additional 350 baht

Done the the tests there multiple times.

Currently Package #4 is 14 items. Package #5 is currently 28 items. No packages have 40 items. 

Please recheck your facts so the OP has the latest information.

[edwardflory]

Most foreigners do NOT know they can use a Thai Military Hospital - you have to register 1st

( free ) Many military doctors are US or UK trained, English not a problem. You pay same cost as Thai civilians using the hospital, slightly more than govt civilian hospital, way, way, way less than a private hospital.

 

I spent 6 days IN the Army hospital in Korat, x-rays 5 days, lab work 6 days, doctor visit daily, 4 person ward, given 3 months of meds - 1X1 daily and 3 X1 daily on discharge, paid LESS than 1 month retirement check. In the US, WITH copay, the 1X1 med cost me $147USD a month.

 

IF in Pattaya, the NAVY hospital in Suttahip has ( had 8 years ago ) a agreement with one of the hospitals in Pattaya ( Navy doctors ) - sorry, I don't remember the hospital.

 

A friend was able to find the exact meds he needed at the Bangkok Navy Hospital - no where else

 

[Sheryl]

45 minutes ago, john donson said:

there was a time I did this yearly and one time, a test came out weird and was asked to go check with a kidney specialist... high costs and falls positive or alarms... was a bit dehydrated on the day of the blood let, aka, fasting... costed me an extra 10k in useless 'pseudo expert' mombo jumbo, never again...

Sounds like you had either an elevated creatnine or BUN  blood test (both of which can definitely be due to dehydration) OR had an abdominal ultrasound done which showed a cyst on the kidney, common incidental finding rarely requiring intervention.

 

Anyone with no prior known kidney disease who has an elevated creatnine and/ or BUN on a checkup for which they completely fasted before hand, should just repeat these two, inexpensive, tests when normally hydrated, before doing anything else.  These 2 specific tests do not require any sort of fasting beforehand.  If they are still elevated when you are well hydrated, then yes, see kidney specialist. But much of the time it is just the effect of dehydration.

 

In fact, none of these blood tests require that you abstain from plain water. Thai hospitals go to an extreme because they think if told they can have water, patients will drink coffee, sweetened liquids etc.  This extreme leads to people being dehydated when tested, which can effect a number of results and is not desirable. Particularly happens to farangs as we sweat more in this climate. Continue to take plain water - only plain water, nothing else,  as needed prior to these tests.   Your results will be more accurate. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/fasting-before-blood-test

 

Abdominal ultrasounds should not be done as part of a routine check-up, no public health authority in any country recommends that. If there are specific symptoms, or as follow up to abnormal blood test results, is  of course different.

[hadock]

  not sure where you are located. I used Bria Lab in BKK, which I can recommend. Recently i used Osotsala

 

It is the pharmacy and laboratory division of the Chulalongkorn university, opposite MBK . One of the cheapest pharmacies and labs I found in thailand.    They offer 265 different tests, here you can have a look at their price list. Of course you have to decide which test you want to do by yourself, there are no packages available...

 

https://www.ahs.chula.ac.th/services/health-sciences-service-clinic/services/pricing/

[In Full Agreement]

8 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

"Some tests" is a bit odd I'd say.

 

 

Maybe he doesn't feel the entire forum needs to know about his health concerns.

[watthong]

29 minutes ago, hadock said:

  not sure where you are located. I used Bria Lab in BKK, which I can recommend. Recently i used Osotsala

 

 

Any particular reason that made you switch from Brialab to Osotsala? Price, quality, convenience, etc.?

[Middle Aged Grouch]

If you are a regular customer with prostitutes or bar girls, it would be obvious to have Syphilis, Hiv, Chlamydia infections etc...

 

Cholesterol is also good to check for Ldl (bad) and Hdl (good)

 

Iron and vitamin values may also be a good thing to check.

 

But at the end of the day the best advice would be from the doctor and maybe not meself...

 

Avoid private clinics. Try the government public hospitals if reputed in your area,  that may be less of a scam.

[scubascuba3]

8 hours ago, couchpotato said:

Done the the tests there multiple times.

Currently Package #4 is 14 items. Package #5 is currently 28 items. No packages have 40 items. 

Please recheck your facts so the OP has the latest information.

How many line items on package 4 results sheet? i have 40+

[newbee2022]

9 hours ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

Maybe he doesn't feel the entire forum needs to know about his health concerns.

Yeah, could be. 

[AsiaTraveler1234]

12 hours ago, couchpotato said:

Actually      http://lifecare.siam2web.com/

 

5  items = 350 baht.

15 items = 700 baht

30 items = 2500 baht

Plus you can add lots of different tests

Google Maps reviews on Lifecare aren't exactly encouraging 🤔  There is a lab in nearby Jomtien called Rada Medical Labratory. I used them before and they were good, but I still think using a package from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is the best bet. They have various packages based on your interest.

[AsiaTraveler1234]

See attached various package options from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. You can also add indivdual tests when not included with the more basic packages. This promotion ended last month, but it gives you an idea.

[Pickwick]

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

The whole point of my post is not to rely on such packages

I have just realised my question was not clear and I think we are talking about different things - my apologies. I understand that the blood test and health packages are best avoided. However, you previously mentioned to the OP that it is prudent to have some cardiac tests at his age - exercise stress test, echo cardiogram etc. I am the same age group as the OP and have had these types of tests before, but more than ten years ago.

 

Given your point about hospitals seeking to maximise profit, are there any recommended or reliable hospitals to get these tests done, where they are not going to suggest a problem (when there is none) just to inflate the bill? I am more concerned with the stress of being told there might be something wrong with my heart, than the financial cost of unnecessary tests. Many thanks as always.

[atpeace]

On 6/27/2024 at 4:11 AM, scubascuba3 said:

If in Pattaya go to Lifecare Lab and get package 4 which is 700 baht, about 40 different test results

Don't live in Pats but have used this clinic twice because a friend recommended.  Great service and very professional.  

 

OP, spend a few hours on google starting with the question you asked here.  Thousands of variable that impact you different than others here so asking for advice here is great but take a few hours and get to understand what is important.  It is so easy and it makes you wonder why everybody doesn't get blood work as well as a few other tests.  

 

I myself bought a blood sugar test kit that was a couple thousand baht and had a blood pressure armband.  Once you start learning how easy it is to be your own doctor and how much better it is  than relying on real doctors that honestly have very limited knowledge of your situation in comparison to "you", you will  feel much more of control.  Important for the over 50 crowd because shtt is going to happen 100% eventually.

[simon43]

23 minutes ago, AsiaTraveler1234 said:

Google Maps reviews on Lifecare aren't exactly encouraging 🤔  There is a lab in nearby Jomtien called Rada Medical Labratory. I used them before and they were good, but I still think using a package from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is the best bet. They have various packages based on your interest.

 

I checked and there are very good reviews and very bad reviews.  I have never had a problem with LifeCare and would recommend them.