Lower Back And Leg Problems

[thaisabai]

Hi all

So I had my steroid injection at the Pattaya International. Wilst initially disappointed with the result, I now realize that my back pain is almost gone, and might not have been the main reason for my pain.

I seem to have another problem which I originally blamed the back problem for, but now starting to believe, that I have a hip problem, because the biggest pain is in the hip and down the leg (and it is getting worse).

Another possibility is that I have PAD (peripheral artery disease), because my recent health check, in which I included an ankle brachial indicator (ABI) showed a value of 4.7 instead of the 9.0 that it should be.

However, since the doctors diagnosed only "mild narrowing of the leg arteries", I still believe I should first pay attention to my hip.

To come to the point;

If I go to one of the famous big hospitals here in Pattaya, there will be another 15,00/28.00 Baht MRI of CT Scan, then a diagnosis and recommendation for a 200.000 + Baht surgery. You are just a Farang with money. This seems to be standard procedure in the big hospitals here.

Can anyone recommend another hospital with more reasonable prices, and even more important, with some dialogue between doctor and patient about possible non surgigal procedures to try first?

My new health insurance only kicks in in 3 months from now, thus I cannot afford all these expensive hospiital visits.

Any suggestion would be highly appreciated.

thanks folks

[balo]

I can recommend you to try one of the smaller private hospitals in Bangkok.

Camillian Hospital , neart Thonglor BTS, Sukhumvit , its my favourite to do check-ups and I always go there when I feel ill.

They have english speaking doctors and specialists. Most of what the bigger hospitals offer, they will have it. .

Camillian website in English :

http://www.camillian.org/E_index.html

I think its more than 50% cheaper than Bumrungrad....so its worth a try .

Edited February 27, 2012 by balo

[Sheryl]

closer to home, Queen Sirikit Naval Hospital at Sattahip.

it is a government hospital so long waits but costs are as low as they get. No English speaking by the nursing/admin staff but the doctors speak it well.

You will need some tests as the source of your pain needs to be identified.

Will be helpful if you can bring a Thai speaker along with you for first visit to navigate the red tape.

Should the cause turn out to be in your spine and requiring surgery, they may not be able to do it and at that point you should consult the BNH Hospital spine center in Bkk. But first find out if this is indeed the case, and get the expensive tests out of the way at a place where they cost less.