Sawadee Khrap
Well it’s a long story – Just got in from the second trip to Chiang Mai – prognoses is I need 3 stents for artery blockage. Can’t do it in Chiang Mai so I am back to Pattaya to have it done in Bangkok Hospital, hopefully here in Pattaya – maybe in Bangkok.
But what a ride – if you are planning to come to Thailand for “Medical reasons†make sure you try Chiang Mai first – much lower cost and still excellent specialists. I went to Sripaht Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (Suan Dok Hospital Complex).
Costs were very, very acceptable – I had a CAT scan done, Treadmill Stress test, Heart Echo-gram, full blood testing, saw 3 specialists – 4 times each, overnight stay in hospital – deluxe private room with drip, Chest x-Ray, three air-flights from BKK to CM, one bus ticket from Pattaya to CM,, 10 days at local CM B2 Hotel, food during the entire trip, medicines and the entire cost was 55,000 Baht ( US $1,700). Plus I meet and had dinner with a wonderful young man who is a nurse at the hospital – actually “Customer Service Support Nurse†- nice. But now will come the expensive part – the stents.
It all started when I decided to get a blood test as a general checkup from a local testing facility here in Pattaya. They informed me I had high blood pressure and weaken kidney and should check it out. So I stopped by Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and saw their BP specialist. He checked my BP and stated “That mine was the highest he had seen all day and I needed to get a CAT scan done ASAP.†Wow, I then asked what that CAT scan would cost – 54,000 Baht (+cost of visit 1,700 Baht + 300 Baht for some medicine) total cost he was talking about 56,000 Baht so far and I hadn’t gotten off the table.
Shit – my blood pressure sky-rockeded – so I left there and stopped at my local clinic in Pattaya. Dr. Mongkol Clinic, Jomtien. The first thing the Doctor told me was to calm down – calm down – he checked the medicine and cut that in half and things seemed to get better – but I still have a large BP difference in the right and left arms indicating a problem. So I decided then to go to Chiang Mai and have a full test done there and check on the CAT scan cost as well. I didn’t really mention to them the difference in the arm BP so they used my Left arm and did a battery of tests (without the CAT scan) – see above – everything seemed ok – And their Cardiologist changed my BP medicine and stopped all the side-effects I was having from the stuff from BKK hospital – great – so I came back to Pattaya.
Again to Dr. Mongkol – but he was still worried about the different BP and that I hadn’t gotten a CAT scan yet. So back to Chiang Mai I went and told them about this – a CAT scan (16,000 Baht) was ordered but I had to go through a special setup procedure to stop any harm the CAT dye activator would do to my weakened kidney – back and forth to the different departments – Cardio, Kidney, BP – 12 Doctor visits in all – finally the CAT scan – discovery – 3 severe blockages. By this time I had been to Chiang Mai twice, and stayed 10 days at the B2 but the full cost was just approaching 53,000 Baht – However during that time I got to connect with many of my old friends there and dinner with most – include the dinners, movie, and my food during the day – TOTAL cost so far 55,000 Baht —- BUT they cannot do the stents in Chiang Mai.
So here I am in Pattaya waiting to get the stents done – I will go in as a patient of Dr. Mongkol, who used to be a teacher at the BKK training facility (as Thai patient not as a medical tourist ) and low and behold one of his former students is a highly respected Cardiologist at BKK Hospital – perhaps some savings there – He thinks so – I hope so. I’ll post what that cost will be when I find out next week and have the operation done. But so far the savings are substantial.
Not the end of the story – BUT if you are planning on some medical needs – check with Chiang Mai hospitals first. I like Sriphat – but others are there too – stay away from Bangkok unless absolutely needed – it has become the tourist center and has the prices to prove it.
Well now the ending is in God’s hands – with that I will rest.
Ciao.
Now here’s a scary building for me – I inserted the outer lines to show the proposed height of the “Tower†being built at Grande Caribbean in Jomtien. 30 stories, setting among all the others at 8 stories max – the photo was taken from the 9th floor of my building which is one of only 4 major condos in the area reaching 15 stories each. What a fucking eyesore, this obnoxiously tall building in the middle of a condo complex area on Thrappraya Rd.
