Need a prescription

[n210mp]

But without any diagnosis or examination for a chronic condition..

The drug I need is "prednisalone" If I go to a clinic the Doctor will prescribe and wants to supply the drug Same if I go to an hospital, the End results, the costs are always higher than they need to be , So any ideas on where In pattaya I can find a Doctor to do the script and also a good source for the supply at a reasonable cost the Prednisolone? Thanks for any help

Mods

I realise that this maybe better in the Medical forum but maybe you could leave it here in the Pattaya forum for local knowledge before you move it?

Thanks Harvey

Edited April 4, 2016 by n210mp

[tonray]

1) oral steroid use should be under supervision from a professional

3) have you tried a local pharmacy ?

[Rimmer]

OK Will do, you can tell us if and when you would like it moved

[n210mp]

1) oral steroid use should be under supervision from a professional

3) have you tried a local pharmacy ?

Yes I understand this thanks and that is why I said my use was for a "chronic" condition, in other words was previously diagnosed and prescribed for by a healthcare professional but of course your advice is absolutely correct!

"prednisolone" can only be prescribed by a Doctor in Thailand.

Without a "script" it is not legally allowed to be dispensed in Thailand although looking back through the 'search" facility on the forum it appears from one poster, that around 2012 there was a Pharmacy about 75Ks from Pattaya where the drug could be supplied at a reasonable cost without a prescription, you had to convince the Chemist that your need was real and that you were aware of the dangers using this drug though.

I have already had info that maybe the best course of action for me is to go to a Government hospital Doctor Fee about 200 for the consultation and ask for a prescription that would cover maybe 6 months course of the drug

[Sheryl]

Govt hospital is indeed best option. Prednisolone as a drug is dirt cheap. You will have to go through the rigamarole of explaining what your condition is etc but hopefully just once. If you have any sort of medical summary from back home or even just a prescription bottle with your name on it, may help.

In addition to illegality, getting it from a pharmacy that sells without prescription risks getting a counterfeit.

[moonseeker]

Prednisolone tablets were available freely in most pharmacies very cheap, usually 1 mg. A friend used to get for a serious skin condition across from Lek Hotel, right top side of Soi Diamond, several on Soi Bouakao. Give it a try. I assume you know how to use this medication, which indeed is no candy :-) Otherwise Banglamung or City Hospital. Good luck. MS>

Edited April 4, 2016 by moonseeker

[n210mp]

Govt hospital is indeed best option. Prednisolone as a drug is dirt cheap. You will have to go through the rigamarole of explaining what your condition is etc but hopefully just once. If you have any sort of medical summary from back home or even just a prescription bottle with your name on it, may help.

In addition to illegality, getting it from a pharmacy that sells without prescription risks getting a counterfeit.

Thank you Sheryl

I am off to banglamung hospital tomorrow to see a Doctor

Just for info and any help you can give , my condition is "Dyshydrotic eczema" which appeared after my accident in Feb last year when I fell off my bike (cycle) and broke my right leg in 5 places including two compound fractures of the bit where the two leg bones attach to the ankle.

Despite there being no known cure for this problem , Dyshydrotic eczema ( according to Doctor Google that is ) the only Doctor I can regularly afford to consult.

According to my internet Doctor and for a second opinion ( Only joking) the lovely lady skin specialist Doctor that I originally went to see at the Pattaya international hospital there is not much known about this condition or much that I or she could do about it other than take the Prednisalone which takes away the symptoms but not the causes

My own hunch is that I am in some way allergic to the metal bits that were placed in my leg at the time of the accident, hence metal contamination.

As far as stress is concerned I feel that it could be stress but at my age unlikely, I never had it before and I am not a couch potato still exercising like mad and walking up 18 holes at the local cheapo golf course

If I go on a 7 day course of Prednisalone after about the third day all the symptons of the eczema will go away and leave me in peace.

My self medicating dosage is to take 3 x Prednisalone tablets a day for the first five days and then 2 x tablets for three days and then 1 x tablet for 2 days

Then having a bit of relief for another week before the symptoms start to gradually appear after another week becoming unbearable until I Once again resort to Prednisolone

Any helpful advice would be really appreciated.

It occurs to me that with my high intake of lovely whole wheat bread, about three loaves a week, some bananas. I Could also for some reason be Gluten intolerant, this together with the consumption of maybe 3 bottle of Pepsi max 550 ml per day could be seriously affecting my Immune system..

Any observations on my comments critical or not I welcome..

PS Thanks Rimmer for keeping this thread in the general section, maybe it's time for it to go in the right place ?

Once again many thanks

Edited April 4, 2016 by n210mp

[Rimmer]

OK will move it now

[Sheryl]

From what you describe we cannot be sure of the diagnosis and it is worth getting a second opinion from a skilled dermatologist. Allergy to metallic screws or other implant is certainly a possibility, how likely depends in part on what type of metal the implant is - rarely happens with titanium, for example, but if the implants contain Nickel, cobalt and /or chromium could be.

If this is indeed the cause, further ortho surgery top remove the metal and if necessary replace with titanium or other less allergenic material might be necessary. It is unadvisable to be long term on prednisolone if at all avoidable as there are many long term adverse effects.

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but you need to come to Bangkok for this - need a really good dermatologist who specializes in skin disorders rather than beauty/lasers which is the main focus of most in Pattaya area.

Dr. Niyum at Bumrungrad and Dr. Parichart at St Louis are 2 I can recommend.

Best to wait till a flare up to go in so they can clearly see the lesions. In the meantime,

you should get a full report of your ortho surgery inclusive of details of any hardware used and type of bone cement if any.

[n210mp]

From what you describe we cannot be sure of the diagnosis and it is worth getting a second opinion from a skilled dermatologist. Allergy to metallic screws or other implant is certainly a possibility, how likely depends in part on what type of metal the implant is - rarely happens with titanium, for example, but if the implants contain Nickel, cobalt and /or chromium could be.

If this is indeed the cause, further ortho surgery top remove the metal and if necessary replace with titanium or other less allergenic material might be necessary. It is unadvisable to be long term on prednisolone if at all avoidable as there are many long term adverse effects.

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but you need to come to Bangkok for this - need a really good dermatologist who specializes in skin disorders rather than beauty/lasers which is the main focus of most in Pattaya area.

Dr. Niyum at Bumrungrad and Dr. Parichart at St Louis are 2 I can recommend.

Best to wait till a flare up to go in so they can clearly see the lesions. In the meantime,

you should get a full report of your ortho surgery inclusive of details of any hardware used and type of bone cement if any.

Thank you for your kind consideration of my problem Sheryl

The problem of us long term old farts who came here with what they thought of as enough finance , in pensions and savings etc is that we cannot now afford either the insurance premiums for our health, if we can still get it that is , nor the cost of treatment after we get past 70.

I have of course thought of going back to the NHS and going through all the loops of getting rented accommodation, a new Doctor, asking for specialists opinion and decided that it is just too long winded and also too much for me to face up to and so I have elected for perseverance and self Doctoring, with a little help from my friends, hence my request for help in this thread.

After my "accident"I was back on the bike MTB within three months of the incident and the Surgeon/ Doctor at Banglamung hospital considered my recovery fantastic at my age, in his words!

My recovery was in essence because of the good surgery of the Doctor and also my belief in self help and the therapy of the swimming pool to strengthen muscle, sinew and broken bones .

I Never suffered an "alergy" in my life and so considered that maybe "metal reaction" to be the root cause of my Eczema, the only other option given by Dr Google was "stress" a non starter in my opinion. (This was also in line with the dermatologist's opinion at the Pattaya International hospital ) Banglamung hospital did not have a dermatologist or I would have gone there being a highly delighted customer)

I have recently also had a bout of pneumonia which is taking a long time to recover from.

A friend, who also suffers from periodic chest infections suggested I take a cortisone/steroid (specifically prednisone) together with an Antibiotic.

I have been on antibiotics for the last 11 days (amoxicillin) and they do seem to be acting but very very slowly.

His suggestion that I take a steroid/cortisone led me into the theory that maybe my immune system was minimally unstable in that since I got the pneumonia and started to take the antibiotics the dyshidrotic eczema has also come back with a vengeance!

At this time i'm taking nothing!

The cost associated with any hospital or Doctor in bangkok is unfortunately beyond my means at this time so it's back to the drawing board.

In My last post I briefly mentioned Gluten intolerance and my higher than normal intake of bread and carbs in my diet.

I am an Ex Lancashire lad brought up on the staple of bread with everything and minimal amounts of fruits and vegetable and too much pepsi max

I have always considered that my healthy and vigorous lifestyle has been a justification of my up to now good health, my philosophy being that the body will take whatever it needs of whatever you put into it and occasionally like with people like me, have to make the best of a bad job or in other words a poor diet.

Im off to Banglamung tomorrow to see the Doctor who did the op and ask for a large prescription of Prednisalone , maybe he can come up with some ideas.

I will also ask him what the metal in the screws, plates and rod are made up of.

Once again many thanks for your kind post

[stubuzz]

I have previously bought prednisolone from a vets.

[johnatong]

From what you describe we cannot be sure of the diagnosis and it is worth getting a second opinion from a skilled dermatologist. Allergy to metallic screws or other implant is certainly a possibility, how likely depends in part on what type of metal the implant is - rarely happens with titanium, for example, but if the implants contain Nickel, cobalt and /or chromium could be.

If this is indeed the cause, further ortho surgery top remove the metal and if necessary replace with titanium or other less allergenic material might be necessary. It is unadvisable to be long term on prednisolone if at all avoidable as there are many long term adverse effects.

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but you need to come to Bangkok for this - need a really good dermatologist who specializes in skin disorders rather than beauty/lasers which is the main focus of most in Pattaya area.

Dr. Niyum at Bumrungrad and Dr. Parichart at St Louis are 2 I can recommend.

Best to wait till a flare up to go in so they can clearly see the lesions. In the meantime,

you should get a full report of your ortho surgery inclusive of details of any hardware used and type of bone cement if any.

Thank you for your kind consideration of my problem Sheryl

The problem of us long term old farts who came here with what they thought of as enough finance , in pensions and savings etc is that we cannot now afford either the insurance premiums for our health, if we can still get it that is , nor the cost of treatment after we get past 70.

I have of course thought of going back to the NHS and going through all the loops of getting rented accommodation, a new Doctor, asking for specialists opinion and decided that it is just too long winded and also too much for me to face up to and so I have elected for perseverance and self Doctoring, with a little help from my friends, hence my request for help in this thread.

After my "accident"I was back on the bike MTB within three months of the incident and the Surgeon/ Doctor at Banglamung hospital considered my recovery fantastic at my age, in his words!

My recovery was in essence because of the good surgery of the Doctor and also my belief in self help and the therapy of the swimming pool to strengthen muscle, sinew and broken bones .

I Never suffered an "alergy" in my life and so considered that maybe "metal reaction" to be the root cause of my Eczema, the only other option given by Dr Google was "stress" a non starter in my opinion. (This was also in line with the dermatologist's opinion at the Pattaya International hospital ) Banglamung hospital did not have a dermatologist or I would have gone there being a highly delighted customer)

I have recently also had a bout of pneumonia which is taking a long time to recover from.

A friend, who also suffers from periodic chest infections suggested I take a cortisone/steroid (specifically prednisone) together with an Antibiotic.

I have been on antibiotics for the last 11 days (amoxicillin) and they do seem to be acting but very very slowly.

His suggestion that I take a steroid/cortisone led me into the theory that maybe my immune system was minimally unstable in that since I got the pneumonia and started to take the antibiotics the dyshidrotic eczema has also come back with a vengeance!

At this time i'm taking nothing!

The cost associated with any hospital or Doctor in bangkok is unfortunately beyond my means at this time so it's back to the drawing board.

In My last post I briefly mentioned Gluten intolerance and my higher than normal intake of bread and carbs in my diet.

I am an Ex Lancashire lad brought up on the staple of bread with everything and minimal amounts of fruits and vegetable and too much pepsi max

I have always considered that my healthy and vigorous lifestyle has been a justification of my up to now good health, my philosophy being that the body will take whatever it needs of whatever you put into it and occasionally like with people like me, have to make the best of a bad job or in other words a poor diet.

Im off to Banglamung tomorrow to see the Doctor who did the op and ask for a large prescription of Prednisalone , maybe he can come up with some ideas.

I will also ask him what the metal in the screws, plates and rod are made up of.

Once again many thanks for your kind post

The cost of a specialist outpatient appointment is unlikely to exceed 2000 Bht even at the most expensive of private hospitals.

Using a steroid (prednisolone) in the manner you describe is unwise to say the least.

If the 'pneumonia' has not resolved within the time frame you indicate you should be seeking medical advice from a Doctor not a friend, unless the friend is medically qualified.

You should follow the advice given by Sheryl in relation to the skin problem.

[thaiduncankk]

I get prescribed prednisolone for asthma when I attend the local Government Hospital.

It is only when I have to attend A & E usually, and the odd time when I have been admitted.

I very much doubt the doctor would give me a prescription for the drug for, say, six months, as you suggest,

but would rather give me a maximum of a 4 week course, and make a follow up appointment when the 4 weeks

are up, to see how the condition has improved.

The cost of the prescribed drugs, and the doctor's consultation, is normally no more than 200 baht.

[moonseeker]

If you need a dermatologist with tons of experience and caring about her patients, go see Dr. Anna BPH. Explain her, that you have to pay out of pocket and she will certainly treat you fair. As a private hospital, prices will be higher, than in a public one, but this is just the norm anywhere in the world. I would rather save a few bucks in a bar and get the best possible Dr. working on me, had I no insurance or was short of cash. You can google Dr. Anna and will find mostly very strong recommendations. Best of luck and get well soon. And yes, o.c. if you don't have a medically prescribed treatment plan, don't self-medicate. MS>

[Sheryl]

Steroids like prednisolone are CONTRAINDICATED in pneumonia and other infections!!!!!! Can greatly worsen/exacerbate the infection, sometimes with disasterous consequence. This is a recipe for disaster. (They are useful in severe asthma, maybe that is what confused your friend. Never in an infection. A good example of why not to take medical advice from friends who have no medical training.)

Dr. Anna is excellent but her specialty is skin cancer. Also, expensive. Dr. Parichart at St Louis consultation is under 1000 baht. I appreciate your financial constraints but you are likely to end up with much higher medical costs and possibly some serious long term medical problems if you continue like this.

Good quality lower cost care can be had at the "after hours" clinic at Chulalongkorn Hospital - 13th floor starting at 4 PM. register on the ground floor to get a patient card and number then go up and ask the nurse to suggest a dermatology Acharn who speaks fluent English and preferrably trained in the West and soecializes in allergic dermatitis. I think the nurses are actually up there by about 3:30. Good chance you will have to wait for the appointment though so might require two trips or a stay of a night or two. It's on Rama IV near the Silom area so plenty of cheap accomodation. Last I heard consultation was maybe 200-300 baht.

[Langsuan Man]

I have had extensive experience with prednisone or prednisolone, as know here, for giant urticaria of unknown origins , which is a fancy way of saying hives

The problem it that it works so well that you are no longer concerned about the underlying reason. Since prednisone is a steroid it masks the symptoms but does nothing for the condition that is causing you to have to use it

It is also a drug that you cannot just stop taking, you must dose your self down in small increments or you can go into shock

Side effects and lowered immunity can sometimes be worse than whatever is forcing you to use it, nasty stuff IMHO and really should only be used under a doctor's direction and even then only as a last resort

[n210mp]

Thank you to all that have posted on this thread. I am indeed grateful for the views and advice.

I went to the same orthopaedic Surgeon Doctor in banglamung hospital who initially operated on me at the time of the accident this morning bright and early , around 7 45 am .

Not to get a prescription for prednisalone but to ask about what the make up of the pins screws and plates that are in my leg via Sheryl's advice.

I decided that if there were anything other than Titanium in my leg like cobalt or Nichol than it could be that the reason for the eczema was indeed a reaction to this sort alloy resulting in the Dyshydrootic eczema and thereby needing corrective surgery with logically the same Doctor who operated in the first place. I still am totally happy with the treatment I received at Banglamung hospital and especially the Doctor who operated on me.

My blood pressure was taken and I was registered into the system with a ticket number of 256. The nurse in charge told me to take a break for something to eat and come back later as the people in front of me waiting to see the Doctor was over 120 .

Coincidentally last night my terrible itching slowed down and I had a decent nights sleep.

This morning the itching was not a problem either .

faced with the prospect of maybe not even getting to see the Doctor today I decided to give myself another week or so without any medication and see what happens.

It may well be that the Antibiotics that I took for the bout of pneumonia had something to do with the increased symptoms of the eczema and that because the Antibiotics are now clearing from my system then maybe the symptoms of the eczema are diminishing or settling down too

If the symptoms persist after a week I intend to follow Sheryl's advice to go see the "after hours clinic"

Thanks once again to all that posted on this thread

[Pib]

Within the last year use to get prednisalone 5mg tablets from a pharmacy here in western Bangkok and a pharmacy in Nakhon Phatom (about 35km due west of Bangkok) without question. Used these two pharmacies simply because of convenience. Was getting the prednisalone for two of our dogs...one had a cancer tumor and one a skin allergy...the vets for the dogs had them on a regime to help control the associated conditions. Dirt cheap...around 1 baht per tablet. The pharmacists at both pharmacies would ask what they are for, but that was it....no subscription required....easy and cheap to get.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Pib

[johnatong]

Within the last year use to get prednisalone 5mg tablets from a pharmacy here in western Bangkok and a pharmacy in Nakhon Phatom (about 35km due west of Bangkok) without question. Used these two pharmacies simply because of convenience. Was getting the prednisalone for two of our dogs...one had a cancer tumor and one a skin allergy...the vets for the dogs had them on a regime to help control the associated conditions. Dirt cheap...around 1 baht per tablet. The pharmacists at both pharmacies would ask what they are for, but that was it....no subscription required....easy and cheap to get.

Those tablets were either fake or sold illegally perhaps both !

[Lozza]

Within the last year use to get prednisalone 5mg tablets from a pharmacy here in western Bangkok and a pharmacy in Nakhon Phatom (about 35km due west of Bangkok) without question. Used these two pharmacies simply because of convenience. Was getting the prednisalone for two of our dogs...one had a cancer tumor and one a skin allergy...the vets for the dogs had them on a regime to help control the associated conditions. Dirt cheap...around 1 baht per tablet. The pharmacists at both pharmacies would ask what they are for, but that was it....no subscription required....easy and cheap to get.

Those tablets were either fake or sold illegally perhaps both !

Yawn!!

[Pib]

Within the last year use to get prednisalone 5mg tablets from a pharmacy here in western Bangkok and a pharmacy in Nakhon Phatom (about 35km due west of Bangkok) without question. Used these two pharmacies simply because of convenience. Was getting the prednisalone for two of our dogs...one had a cancer tumor and one a skin allergy...the vets for the dogs had them on a regime to help control the associated conditions. Dirt cheap...around 1 baht per tablet. The pharmacists at both pharmacies would ask what they are for, but that was it....no subscription required....easy and cheap to get.

Those tablets were either fake or sold illegally perhaps both !

Definitely not fake. Whether illegal or not, welcome to Thailand. In fact I remembered after posting last night when we needed some more prednisalone at the Nakhon Pathom pharmacy (the main one in Nakhon Pathom City) they were out...so we went up the soi to probably the number two most used pharmacy in the city and got the them instead. Once again they asked what they were for...we told them...they sold them to us....1 or 2 baht baht per tablet. Easy.