I have recently moved to Phuket to live.

I have haemachromatosis.

My ferritin levels are currently within the normal range, but I do need regular phlebotomies to maintain these levels.

Does anyone know of a specialist on the island, (haematologist?) who could monitor my health issues, or would the best way be to present at a local hospital for regular blood donation?

If so, which would be the best hospital to go to?

The bad news is that you are not going to find a doctor with the necessary level of expertise in Phulet, you'll have to come to Bangkok.

The good news is that once having consulted a specialist in Bangkok, you can probably get most or all of your after care in Phuket -- phelbotomioes, repeat labs etc.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to see a specialist at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok and have him or her send the relevent orders to Bangkok Phuket Hospital. Do NOT have the initial consultation at Bangkok Phuket, the physicians on staff there are not remotely as qualified as those at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok. They are, however,capable of following a treatment plan developed by a specialist, and the fact that both hospitals are part of the same chain makes such collaboration easy to arrange.

I suggest one of the following as your primary doctor:

http://www.bangkokhospital.com/index.php?p=doctor_profile&DrID=414 Trained in both UK and US

http://www.bangkokhospital.com/index.php?p=doctor_profile&DrID=891 US trained

Thanks for the reply and the research you did, Sheryl.

I'm not sure I will get to Bangkok for a consultation, it certainly would have been nice to find a local expert.

I'll probably self -monitor my condition.

I'm sure I can organise blood donation at one of the Phuket hospitals and I'll find a local doctor who can arrange pathology for testing my levels.

After all these years of living with the disorder I probably know as much about it as most medicos.

cheers

After all these years of living with the disorder I probably know as much about it as most medicos.

Indeed you may, especially if the medicos in question are those in Phuket.

And (assuming you qualify as a donor), voluntary blood donation is obviously a m ore economical approach than undergoing phlebotomy, not to mention being a public service. For that, contact the Thai Red Cross.

If self-monitoring is the route you want to go, it may not be necessary to see a doctor at all, just go to a private hospital of reasonable size (small ones may not be able to measure ferritin) and request the test.

What I find most effective in such cases is to tell them you are already under a doctor's care back home and that your doctor has told you to get this blood test and you will be sending the results back to him to review.

After all these years of living with the disorder I probably know as much about it as most medicos.

Indeed you may, especially if the medicos in question are those in Phuket.

And (assuming you qualify as a donor), voluntary blood donation is obviously a m ore economical approach than undergoing phlebotomy, not to mention being a public service. For that, contact the Thai Red Cross.

If self-monitoring is the route you want to go, it may not be necessary to see a doctor at all, just go to a private hospital of reasonable size (small ones may not be able to measure ferritin) and request the test.

What I find most effective in such cases is to tell them you are already under a doctor's care back home and that your doctor has told you to get this blood test and you will be sending the results back to him to review.

Thanks again Sheryl, I'll contact the red cross when I'm due to give and will use the hospitals for the tests.

I was under a doctors care back home so it wouldnt be a complete lie to tell them this.