Anyone know the cost of these med's in Thailand ?

[ALMAMASTER]

I am not in Thailand, so I'm wondering if any one knows the cost of the following medications in Thailand ?

Proponolol  40mg tablets

Lovastatin 20mg tablets

metformina 500mg tablets

 

Thank You.

[Oxx]

Metformin 500 mg 500 tablets 300 Baht

[ignis]

again is all about where you buy from, ask a Thai that takes such medication..  My Metformin 500 mg 500 tablets in a tub cost 168 baht, there called 'TO Glucolyte'  buy form a wholesale Pharmacy that most of the customers are Dr's or agent for Dr's, also seen Hospital vans outside loading up..

 

My last tub I bought in February this year has a use by date 28-09-2019, will be all gone well before then..

 

If you buy in strips of 10 then they cost anything between 20 - 35 baht per strip again depends where you buy.. 

 

If you test everyday your BG/BS and use a machine the strips here are a crazy price, bring as many as you can with you...  eg: a retail Pharmacy 25 strips cost up to 675 baht per tub..  a Thai friend pays 300 baht, the wholesale Pharmacy charge 280 baht, myself get them from the Red Cross Hospital cost = 200 baht but even with a prescription the max allowed is 4 tubs every 90+ days..

 

Here is all about where you buy, and talking to people to find the best price around where you are going to live.

 

Edit:  many people shop at Lazada, but be warned, other than it is delivered to your door.......... daft price even with the discount.. here is a link for the test strip I use.      http://www.lazada.co.th/accu-chek-performa-test-strip-1-25-11047293.html?spm=a2o4m.brand-21367.0.0.8mHhWl&ff=1&rb=21367

Edited May 11, 2017 by ignis

[ALMAMASTER]

Hi ignus,  I'm  really thankful for the  advice, but please cut me some slack will you ? I' m half way around the world, and don't know any Thais to ask.  I realize the price is going to vary  and was just asking for the average . And I don' t know what a " tub or a strip is "  I was just recently diagnosed with type 2 . Cheers

[ignis]

Just now, ALMAMASTER said:

Hi ignus,  I'm  really thankful for the  advice, but please cut me some slack will you ? I' m half way around the world, and don't know any Thais to ask.  I realize the price is going to vary  and was just asking for the average . And I don' t know what a " tub or a strip is "  I was just recently diagnosed with type 2 . Cheers

If you come here with 6 months supply of your meds, I am sure you will by then have spoken to others, even Thais..

 

Tub is a plastic bottle in this case with 500 tables.......  Strips you will need if you test your Blood, guess you do not yet have a Blood/ Glucose test meter ? how do you test ? how do you know what spikes your Blood...  Myself diagnosed with type 2 over 20 yeas ago..  What people eat can have different reactions in the blood sugar in different people, so to get a picture you need to test before a meal then 2 hours after, keep a chart, you get to know what spikes you and what does not..  

 

I still keep a chart every day all these years later...  and still get a surprise reading every so often...  

 

This is the one I have

 

[ALMAMASTER]

Thanks ignis , I don't test my blood so far, just taking the pills as of now, hopefully I will get run over by a Tuk tuk before it gets to that point. cheers

[tonray]

3 minutes ago, ALMAMASTER said:

Thanks ignis , I don't test my blood so far, just taking the pills as of now, hopefully I will get run over by a Tuk tuk before it gets to that point. cheers

If you are diagnosed and under medication...you NEED to test your blood sugar levels daily other wise you will have no idea of how the neds are doing and whether your diabetes is controlled. Also you will be able to tell which foods sr levels and what to avoid.

[ALMAMASTER]

Thanks tonray, right now I have so many problems, this is starting to seem pretty minor.

 I Apprisiate  your help though. 

[lopburi3]

30 minutes ago, tonray said:

If you are diagnosed and under medication...you NEED to test your blood sugar levels daily other wise you will have no idea of how the neds are doing and whether your diabetes is controlled. Also you will be able to tell which foods sr levels and what to avoid.

Although it can vary by the individual there is no such general requirement for daily testing for Type II using metformin - and in Thailand there often is no home testing; only normal doctor visits every three months for FBS and HbA1C test.

 

Am sure some makers of high priced blood testing strips would love everyone to be required to use more often however.  

[tonray]

3 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Although it can vary by the individual there is no such general requirement for daily testing for Type II using metformin - and in Thailand there often is no home testing; only normal doctor visits every three months for FBS and HbA1C test.

 

Am sure some makers of high priced blood testing strips would love everyone to be required to use more often however.  

Perhaps that is true..and certainly the expense is a consideration overseas but same thoughts on BP monitoring....once diagnosed it's nice to know what is happening to your body, especially on meds.

[lopburi3]

Just now, tonray said:

Perhaps that is true..and certainly the expense is a consideration overseas but same thoughts on BP monitoring....once diagnosed it's nice to know what is happening to your body, especially on meds.

BP I assume is a typo?  I was addressing BS (blood sugar).  Yes I highly recommend home testing of BP as it can be very different than at a doctors office and a good check on medications.  

[ignis]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

BP I assume is a typo?  I was addressing BS (blood sugar).  Yes I highly recommend home testing of BP as it can be very different than at a doctors office and a good check on medications.  

I do wonder if BP [blood pressure] and  BS (blood sugar) are connected ?

 

if I have low BP then almost always have high BS.....  my BP is around 115 - 119 and BS around 130 or below..

3 times in the past year had a spike and low BP...  Last Thursday my BS had shot up [fasting reading] 268 !! and the BP was down  to 89/53... Thankfully this has slowly gone up every day since and the BS has come down..  this morning BS was 171 [still high] and BP was 114/75

 

Last year May  BP would not stop going down and BS going up, after 5 days went to Hospital..  Hospital readings BP 59/40 and BS around 500 = in Hospital 6 days, so for me is very important to monitor both BS + BP every day.

Edited May 11, 2017 by ignis

[Sheryl]

It is not so much a matter of where you buy (small differences there, not huge as long as you don't get fro ma hospital pharmacy) as of brand. Locally made generic equivalents are of course much less expensive than imports.

 

Metformin and propanalol  and both readily available in dirt cheap local brands. (as in, couple dollars a month max).

 

Lovastatin is not as far as I can tell available here. Ask your doctor if you can take simvastatin instead, plenty of brands of that. A little more expensive than the metformin and propanalol but still not bad. You'll probably be able to get all 3 for $10 month or less.

 

However you should think carefully about health insurance. The type II DM is a pre-exisiting factor which will make it hard or impossible to get private coverage for more than accidents here. And costs of a catastrophic illness or accident can easily run into 6 figures. Most US insurers will not cover you in Thailand. Don't think only in terms of the medications you need to buy for the chronic condition you have now, but rather all the health care you might need if you develop another disease, or complications of the DM,  or have an accident while here.

[mesquite]

For diabetes, Google Dr Richard K Bernstein and get his book, watch his youtube videos.  Keep blood sugar at 83 and A1c below 5 and you will never have complications.  It all hinges on a low carb diet.

Edited May 23, 2017 by mesquite

[tutsiwarrior]

the OP mentioned that he was recently diagnosed with type II diabetes...best to get the blood glucose under control as soon as possible and for this purpose a BG meter/monitor is required...I was diagnosed the same in 2000 (ketoacidosis) and was lax with the control and developed erectile dysfunction,  neuropathy in extremities and finally a potentially lethal ischemic incident in 2011 all of which the attending doc attributed to lack of BG and BP control...I had developed high BP about a year previous...

 

best to investigate blood glucose meters and their use for BG control at yer earliest convenience...

 

 

[Oxx]

17 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

the OP mentioned that he was recently diagnosed with type II diabetes...best to get the blood glucose under control as soon as possible and for this purpose a BG meter/monitor is required

 

That very much depends upon the severity of the condition, and the country you're in.  American doctors (and consequently their patients) seem obsessed with getting everyone to test their blood sugar levels frequently.  Others (particularly if the condition is mild) are happy with HbA1c and fasting sugar testing every few weeks.  If both tests come back with good results, more regular testing simply is unnecessary.

[lopburi3]

It is often a matter of

[tutsiwarrior]

4 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

That very much depends upon the severity of the condition, and the country you're in.  American doctors (and consequently their patients) seem obsessed with getting everyone to test their blood sugar levels frequently.  Others (particularly if the condition is mild) are happy with HbA1c and fasting sugar testing every few weeks.  If both tests come back with good results, more regular testing simply is unnecessary.

my comment has more to do with my personal observations which were obtained from watching how my BG reacts to certain foods...I find that I can eat noodles for breakfast without much of a spike, for example...doing yer own testing with a BG meter after meals provides guidance in these matters that one would not have otherwise, hence better BG control...this is particularly important after a first diagnosis...

 

it is true that my own case involved ketoacidosis whitch is severe and potentially lethal...but whatever the severity, the diabetes ain't gonna go away...better to get a handle on it sooner than later...

 

 

Edited May 25, 2017 by tutsiwarrior

[Oxx]

Recent research has shown that for non-insulin dependent type 2 diabetics self-monitoring blood glucose does not improve overall control.

 

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170612/Self-monitoring-of-blood-glucose-in-patients-with-T2DM-did-not-improve-glycemic-control-after-one-year.aspx

[tutsiwarrior]

10 hours ago, Oxx said:

Recent research has shown that for non-insulin dependent type 2 diabetics self-monitoring blood glucose does not improve overall control.

 

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170612/Self-monitoring-of-blood-glucose-in-patients-with-T2DM-did-not-improve-glycemic-control-after-one-year.aspx

no one ever said that SMBG by itself improves BG control, the readings simply provide info...what one chooses to do with that info is another matter...

 

it is true that the HA1c test gives a more accurate picture of overall BG behavior than SMBG...I find the latter handy to see how my BG reacts to different foods and what to stay away from...referring to my previous example one would presume that noodles and toast for breakfast would not be advisable but they only give me a mild spike...'unsweetened' breakfast cereals on the other hand are wildly glycemic...from using the info from SMBG and organizing my diet accordingly my HA1c results have been in the pre diabetic range for years now with no adjustments to the medication which includes insulin...

 

it is a bit odd that the researchers seem to be implying that SMBG is a waste of time...seems to me that informing oneself about a deadly chronic disease should be encouraged if one is afflicted...

 

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by tutsiwarrior