best place for a medical checkup in Chiang Mai

[chiang mai]

Can't really hurt to have the tests. One test that is really well worth having is the one that shows up type 2 diabetes. This is going to be up with cancer as the big health issue for most people as they move into middle and old age. Most people don't know they have it. Once you get it you can't really get rid of it but you can reduce it's effects dramatically with proper management. If you are overweight, stressed, have digestive problems, or get dizzy spells then you should be tested. Not difficult to test for. Typical type 2 problems can be loss of eyesight, amputations and generally feeling rough. My best mate died from it and I have it now. He did little about it but I am making a real effort. My blood tests showed my sugar levels as being the same as a normal person. But I have eye problems that can never be put right.

This is an interesting post and the information on where best to get tested valuable. Thanks.

I was fortunate that my diabetes was caught early. Dr. Morgan does a blood test on me every 6 months. At my age am not interested in saving a few baht so that what ever is wrong with me is obvious.

That is just me. Apparently some people prefer to have one foot in the grave before they attempt to do some thing about it.

As for the blood sugar level she continued to check that monthly. It always came back 125 to 135 that is low high. I started taking cinnamon with my cereal and it always comes back 90 to 95 OK. We only check it every 6 months now. Apparently there is two different kinds of tests and both are coming back OK.

Dr Ampica, a very highly regarded endocrinologist at Sriphat tells me that the definition of diabetes is two consecutive readings at 126 or higher so 125/135 is not low high, it is type 2 diabetes.

Not sure I understand where you are going with that. Yes it is type 2 diabetes but 135 is a high but not very high. 200+ would be a high high. Actually I am not sure where it becomes a high high but most assuredly 135 is not.

The point I was trying to make is that any readings under 126 represents pre-diabetes, whereas anything above is full blown type II diabtetes. You wrote that yours was caught early, I would suggest otherwise since diabetes tends to exist in its pre-diabetes form for quite some time before elevating to become full blown. The time to catch it is in it's pre-diabetes form when it can be reversed, testing every six months in the healthy state will accomplish that, once it elevates it can only be managed.

[MaeJoMTB]

Reading many of the responses, it's hard to believe the ignorance. We are talking about 4-7k baht for a truly comprehensive examination. In the US, this type of thing is called an "executive check-up" because it is generally not covered by insurance, but is a benefit companies extend to those too valuable to lose.

In my case, I've been doing them at CM Ram for about 15 years. Generally small things, but two years ago, they found kidney cancer. Luckily, it was in Stage IA (95 percent five-year survival rate). Biopsy found the cells were very aggressive. In short, I probably would have been dying or dead now, had they not found the asymptomatic cancer on a routine ultrasound test. Excised 15% of a kidney, and still clean. So let's see....about 200 dollars per year times 15 years....3,000 dollars for maybe 10 or 20 additional years of life and loads of money otherwise spent on cancer care. Not a bad pay-off I would say.

How about the ignorance of those taking the tests?

http://news.cancerconnect.com/false-positive-results-are-common-with-cancer-screening/

"The risk of obtaining a false-positive result from screening for prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer is high and becomes cumulatively higher with ongoing screening after 4 tests, 35% false positive for men, after 14 screening tests, the cumulative risk of a false-positive is 60.4% for men and 48.8% for women, resulting in 28% of those tested receiving unnecessary surgery, according to the results of a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine.[1]"

Kidney cancer tests give so many false positives, they don't do them in the UK.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/kidney-cancer/about/screening-for-kidney-cancer

"Why there is no UK kidney cancer screening programme

Screening means testing people for the early stages of a disease before they have any symptoms. But before screening for any type of cancer can be carried out, doctors must have an accurate test to use. The test must be reliable in picking up cancers that are there. And it must not give false positive results in people who do not have cancer. At the moment there is no reliable screening test for kidney cancer for the general population."

I've been doing them at CM Ram for about 15 years.

"after 14 screening tests, the cumulative risk of a false-positive is 60.4% for men"

So a greater than 60% chance you didn't actually have cancer and a 28% chance you received unnecessary surgery.

When they cut you open, if they had found nothing, do you trust them to admit to a mistake and refund your money with compensation?

Ever know a Thai to say, sorry I was wrong?

Edited January 21, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[FolkGuitar]

I'd prefer a false positive to a false negative.

When there is a positive result to a test, there are further tests run. The original test is re-run, then other tests are made, both laboratory and technical. Only when these other tests confirm the positive is surgery indicated.

Surgery is NOT the next step after a positive result on a lab test. If any doctor suggests it, go for a second opinion. And a third, if necessary. Invasive procedures are a last resort only.

[Lizard2010]

If i had not had my tests many years ago

I may not be here now

Pollops found in my Bowel 2 times

So preventative is better than nothing

Jut my opion

At least im still alive and enjoying Chiang Mai

[Chicog]

Reading many of the responses, it's hard to believe the ignorance. We are talking about 4-7k baht for a truly comprehensive examination. In the US, this type of thing is called an "executive check-up" because it is generally not covered by insurance, but is a benefit companies extend to those too valuable to lose.

In my case, I've been doing them at CM Ram for about 15 years. Generally small things, but two years ago, they found kidney cancer. Luckily, it was in Stage IA (95 percent five-year survival rate). Biopsy found the cells were very aggressive. In short, I probably would have been dying or dead now, had they not found the asymptomatic cancer on a routine ultrasound test. Excised 15% of a kidney, and still clean. So let's see....about 200 dollars per year times 15 years....3,000 dollars for maybe 10 or 20 additional years of life and loads of money otherwise spent on cancer care. Not a bad pay-off I would say.

How about the ignorance of those taking the tests?

http://news.cancerconnect.com/false-positive-results-are-common-with-cancer-screening/

"The risk of obtaining a false-positive result from screening for prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer is high and becomes cumulatively higher with ongoing screening after 4 tests, 35% false positive for men, after 14 screening tests, the cumulative risk of a false-positive is 60.4% for men and 48.8% for women, resulting in 28% of those tested receiving unnecessary surgery, according to the results of a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine.[1]"

Kidney cancer tests give so many false positives, they don't do them in the UK.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/kidney-cancer/about/screening-for-kidney-cancer

"Why there is no UK kidney cancer screening programme

Screening means testing people for the early stages of a disease before they have any symptoms. But before screening for any type of cancer can be carried out, doctors must have an accurate test to use. The test must be reliable in picking up cancers that are there. And it must not give false positive results in people who do not have cancer. At the moment there is no reliable screening test for kidney cancer for the general population."

I've been doing them at CM Ram for about 15 years.

"after 14 screening tests, the cumulative risk of a false-positive is 60.4% for men"

So a greater than 60% chance you didn't actually have cancer and a 28% chance you received unnecessary surgery.

When they cut you open, if they had found nothing, do you trust them to admit to a mistake and refund your money with compensation?

Ever know a Thai to say, sorry I was wrong?

As has already been explained to you, positive test results do not mean they "cut you open".

You don't seem to have much of a clue on the subject.

Let's hope your antipathy to something as simple as preventative health checks doesn't kill you.

By the way, do you wait until you get toothache before you go to the dentist?

[MaeJoMTB]

Surgery is NOT the next step after a positive result on a lab test. If any doctor suggests it, go for a second opinion. And a third, if necessary. Invasive procedures are a last resort only.

According to the report I quoted, 28% of those tested resulted in unnecessary surgery.

In Thailand they would probably all result in unnecessary surgery.

Edited January 21, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[FolkGuitar]

Surgery is NOT the next step after a positive result on a lab test. If any doctor suggests it, go for a second opinion. And a third, if necessary. Invasive procedures are a last resort only.

According to the report I quoted, 28% of those tested resulted in unnecessary surgery.

In Thailand they would probably all result in unnecessary surgery.

Yes... if one is really, really stupid they would.

If someone has the ability for ANY rational thinking they will ask for a second opinion for ANY and ALL invasive procedures.

Any and every physician worth talking about will go so far as to SUGGEST themselves that you get a second opinion from another doctor. If they don't suggest it, then find another doctor fast!

[MaeJoMTB]

Surgery is NOT the next step after a positive result on a lab test. If any doctor suggests it, go for a second opinion. And a third, if necessary. Invasive procedures are a last resort only.

According to the report I quoted, 28% of those tested resulted in unnecessary surgery.

In Thailand they would probably all result in unnecessary surgery.

Yes... if one is really, really stupid they would.

If someone has the ability for ANY rational thinking they will ask for a second opinion for ANY and ALL invasive procedures.

Any and every physician worth talking about will go so far as to SUGGEST themselves that you get a second opinion from another doctor. If they don't suggest it, then find another doctor fast!

C'mon Larry .... how many opinions did you get before they cut your kidney then??

Dear FG, I agree with you, any rational person would have several opinions,

but most white guys in Thailand are about as rational as a pond plant.

Edited January 21, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[rogeroc]

As has already been explained to you, positive test results do not mean they "cut you open".

You don't seem to have much of a clue on the subject.

Let's hope your antipathy to something as simple as preventative health checks doesn't kill you.

By the way, do you wait until you get toothache before you go to the dentist?

Well i would wait to have a toothache before i went to the dentist, i have lost a few fillings over the years, never had them redone and never a toothache, a few less teeth though.

I think if you read the articles attached to the Posts you would at least accept the point of view that preventative health checks are not necessarily so simple. However i do not call people who have health checks ignorant, why do those same people think it is ok to tell me i am ignorant?

Regrettable on these forums there are numerous occasions where Posters who believe they hold the 'moral highground' insult and belittle those with alternative views without a shred of supporting evidence.

[sappersrest]

Supporting evidence from journals such as the Lancet, not from a leftwing rag of a newspaper such as the Guardian whose only aim in life is to knock any one who makes a profit in the private medical sector.

The answer is simple, either you go for a general health screen or not, make up your own mind.It is your body end of.

[elektrified]

As has already been explained to you, positive test results do not mean they "cut you open".

You don't seem to have much of a clue on the subject.

Let's hope your antipathy to something as simple as preventative health checks doesn't kill you.

By the way, do you wait until you get toothache before you go to the dentist?

Well i would wait to have a toothache before i went to the dentist, i have lost a few fillings over the years, never had them redone and never a toothache, a few less teeth though.

I think if you read the articles attached to the Posts you would at least accept the point of view that preventative health checks are not necessarily so simple. However i do not call people who have health checks ignorant, why do those same people think it is ok to tell me i am ignorant?

Regrettable on these forums there are numerous occasions where Posters who believe they hold the 'moral highground' insult and belittle those with alternative views without a shred of supporting evidence.

Come on.....

Who would not have preventative dental care and not go to a dentist regularly? Oh wait...I know, some people who are not very clever - like an American friend in Bangkok who waits until he is in excruciating pain to see a dentist and then can't afford root canals, etc. so he just has the teeth 'pulled out'. He looks like a country bumpkin! The remaining teeth he has are stained yellow... Moral high-ground??? It's common sense.

[Chicog]

Well i would wait to have a toothache before i went to the dentist, i have lost a few fillings over the years, never had them redone and never a toothache, a few less teeth though.

Yeah, kinda proves my point.

How would you feel if it was a few less kidneys?

[rogeroc]

As expected the typical replies above.

[Chicog]

As expected the typical replies above.

So what did you expect when you said you don't go to the dentist and some of your teeth have gone?

[rogeroc]

I did not quite say that, i go to the dentist for cleaning and twice for whitening. Would be nice to have a few more teeth at the back but i have no pain or difficulty eating. Loosing fillings did not lead to toothache. If it had done so i would have gone and paid the necessary. My concern is that interfering with my teeth (eg implants) could lead to an onset of problems, i think this is in line with the alternative arguments about health checks in this thread. Regrettably health care is all too often more about the cash to be made. The dentist here in Thailand would have loved to have given me 2 or 3 implants at a cost of 100,000 baht or more but when i researched in detail on the Internet the advice was basically if you are not having pain the risk of implants is probably not worth it,

I do think there is an inclination for many Westerners to be over confident and trusting of the medical profession, this is folly especially when there are significant financial rewards to be had. I 100 per cent agree with FG who said before you allow any invasive surgery get a 2nd an 3rd opinion.

[MaeJoMTB]

Come on.....

Who would not have preventative dental care and not go to a dentist regularly?

That would be me.

I only go if I'm in pain or can see something wrong.

A few fillings when I was a child (done unnecessarily by a dentist who wanted the money).

Some of those original fillings replaced, when they fell out.

One root canal (no crown) 5 years ago.

At age 60, I'm betting my teeth are in better condition than yours.

Edited January 21, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[dcnx]

Would you trust your health to 7 quids worth of chinese rubbish? and don't believe anything you read in the Guardian it is only good for wrapping chips in.

I now get my blood pressure checked for free by a good doctor at our clinic every month.

What a truly brilliant mind are you to set away 6000 years of Chinese medical science as rubbish?

Poor guy your world must be so small...

Some of it is. My girlfriend is Chinese, some of the nonsense she has been told from Chinese doctors / health care us unbelievable.

[amexpat]

6000 years and never proven effective. Maybe in another 10,000.

[Eterno]

My recommendation for doctor:

Dr.Morgan

And for blood tests:

AMS Clinical Service center; Chiang Mai university, and McCormick hospital.

(Both of them are the cheapest ones in my opinion)