Hospital visit

[palooka]

9 hours ago, Faraday said:

Yes, they do seem to not be very knowledgeable about pain relief, don't know if it's because I am a falang, & therefore much heavier than most Thai people.

I had a microdisectomy in June, & the only pain relief administered was 5mg Morphine IV.

I pointed it out that being a svetle (555) 100 kg male, the dose should be nearer 10mg.

I didn't receive anymore analgesia & was in a lot of pain for 10 hours.

Never mind, everythings ok now.

5mg is for someone weening off Morphine, most western country pharmacies don't stock it and you need to order it in for a script. Post op you should have been on 10 mg morning and night which for 100kg male is barely there, depending on pain threshold 8 hourly. Glad it turned out ok.

Morphine is a wonderful drug if used properly and not for extended periods. If the pain is there, use it, but be careful of the mind being scared of the pain and needing the Morph then it becomes addictive. 

[dj230]

Just an update

Surgery was a success, was a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), only took 2.5 hours or so, pain was managed well. Discharge is expected within 24h post surgery

@NCC1701A was spot on though, they aren’t huge on pain killers, they use bolus doses of morphine to manage pain at bangkok hospital post surgery and not a whole lot

although I can’t say for sure how bad the pain was, since the surgery wasn’t very invasive, so maybe it wasn’t needed 
My friend says she is in very little pain, just sore around the incision sites, was able to eat fine post surgery, able to walk around fine as well 

price was on the lower end of a few hospitals I asked, most wanted 200k+, Bangkok hospital bill was 179k even though the website said 206k for a 1 night stay post op, maybe she got a Thai national discount.

they said regularly it’d be 224-269k because it was an acute infection of the gallbladder/emergency surgery 

I think the cheapest I she found was 145k at bangkok Christian hospital or yanhee hospital was around 100k (that’s what she found at least). Bumungrad was 216k but didn’t include emergency surgery. 

I was talking to some local Thai friends and they said in terms of government hospitals in bangkok, chulalongkorn is good, I have yet to experience a government hospital, curious if anyone has a quick summary of the differences.
 

Surprisingly the doctor at bangkok hospital said the quality of care is similar to private hospitals but there is long wait lists for surgeries and that’s why most people use private hospitals in more urgent cases

[dj230]

22 hours ago, dj230 said:

I’ll do a short update of the surgery/post surgery care afterwards. Hoping everything goes well & there are no complications.
 

Had some when I had my abdominal surgeries, which ended up being worse than the initial surgeries. 
 

so far service has been 10/10 & healthcare, actually was surprised how laid back they are with payments. 
pain was moderate so they didn’t go too crazy with painkillers, although they asked quite a few times about the level of pain and if the patient wanted more pain meds. 
 

doesn’t seem like they do any financing/instalments though, a Thai friend told me some government hospitals do, they did allow to pay 50% pre surgery & 50% after. 

One thing I noticed, even at bangkok hospital, the nurses aren’t fluent in English, they know a bit, doctors are fluent in English however. Maybe it’s because the patient is a Thai national though 

During discharge they ended up giving my friend a free "membership card", I checked it out on their website and it costs 40,000 baht regularly, didn't expect this, is this normal at private hospitals in bangkok?

 

Heres the card:

Perfect Diamond Card | Bangkok Hospital

www.bangkokhospital.com/en/about-us/chivawattana-card/perfect-diamond

Most significant things seems like the 3 free health checkups (value 60,000 baht) and the 3 free dental checkup, other things are just 5-15% discounts for their other services.

[JamesE]

My S.O. is allergic to everything (me included, sometimes I think... I digress) anyway she had a reaction to some dental chemical or concoction the other day and her face did a near explosion. Called Bumrungrad and they told her no appointment is needed just come on in. The doctor saw her on arrival, hooked her up with some anti-inflammatory pills and topical, and sent her on her way. Total cost: ฿1,765. In the US, she'd still be waiting to see a doctor and the price her insurance would have to pay would have been about five times that amount.

[Marc26]

12 hours ago, dj230 said:

 

I was talking to some local Thai friends and they said in terms of government hospitals in bangkok, chulalongkorn is good, I have yet to experience a government hospital, curious if anyone has a quick summary of the differences.
 

 

Chulalongkorn has some of the best doctors in Thailand that also work out of Chula and are on their board.....

 

Also, I have never been but Yanhee is pretty reputable and I corresponded with them once and they were excellent in responding back

[dj230]

1 hour ago, JamesE said:

My S.O. is allergic to everything (me included, sometimes I think... I digress) anyway she had a reaction to some dental chemical or concoction the other day and her face did a near explosion. Called Bumrungrad and they told her no appointment is needed just come on in. The doctor saw her on arrival, hooked her up with some anti-inflammatory pills and topical, and sent her on her way. Total cost: ฿1,765. In the US, she'd still be waiting to see a doctor and the price her insurance would have to pay would have been about five times that amount.

wow that's insane, 1700 baht is usually the price of a consultation (or around that, i think it was around 1000-1200 baht at bangkok hospital the one time i went, or maybe it was 800 baht), I'm glad she got it taken care of and hopefully she is doing okay now

i can't remember but i remember a few times when I went to the dentist for surgery they mentioned a possible allergic reaction to one of the medications they used, i still can't remember if it was one of the local anesthesia's but i think local anesthesias are mainly just epinephrine and nerve block so i dont think it would be that, maybe an antibiotic but i think it was something specifically used at the dentist

any chance shes allergic to latex? would explain being allergic to you if you use condoms lol and possibly could have used latex gloves at the dentist

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

Chulalongkorn has some of the best doctors in Thailand that also work out of Chula and are on their board.....

Also, I have never been but Yanhee is pretty reputable and I corresponded with them once and they were excellent in responding back

Some of my local thai friends mentioned the same about chulalongkorn doctors also working at other private hospitals/clinics as well, any chance you know if there is long waitlists for surgeries? That is what the bangkok hospital doctor mentioned.

Although yanhee hospital was significantly cheaper than bangkok hospital, I was under the impression yanhee specialized in cosmetic procedures, they have great customer service though (response times). Since it was a gallbladder laparoscopic surgery my friend chose to have it done at bangkok hospital.

11 hours ago, dj230 said:

During discharge they ended up giving my friend a free "membership card", I checked it out on their website and it costs 40,000 baht regularly, didn't expect this, is this normal at private hospitals in bangkok?

Heres the card:

Perfect Diamond Card | Bangkok Hospital

www.bangkokhospital.com/en/about-us/chivawattana-card/perfect-diamond

Most significant things seems like the 3 free health checkups (value 60,000 baht) and the 3 free dental checkup, other things are just 5-15% discounts for their other services.

Can't confirm 100% yet but was told I could use the discount card as well, if so, Bangkok hospital just got a lifetime customer. Customer service /healthcare was amazing in my books. One random thing I noticed from the chivawattana card is a lot of hospitals are connected, I wonder if the same doctors/surgeons are also working at the same hospitals? BNH, Simitivej, bangkok hospital, were 3 that my friend was looking at going to and they're all on the chivawattana discount card.

 

Also another update on the pain meds/pain control, although I am not too sure how bad the pain was, my friend was prescribed tylenol (paracetamol) to take home. I never had laparoscopic/minimally invasive surgery but I can only assume you'd get at least tylenol 3's (tylenol + codeine) in canada/toronto and in my case with bigger surgeries like a liver hepatectomy, bowel resection, abdominal hematoma, they prescribed hydromorphone post surgery to take home. I will admit though, I rarely had to take any painkillers prescribed to me post surgery and actually saved them all for deadly headaches/migraines.

My friend might have told them she had little pain which is why they only prescribed regular tylenol.

Edited October 14, 2021 by dj230

[JamesE]

3 minutes ago, dj230 said:

I can only assume you'd get at least tylenol 3's (tylenol + codeine) in canada/toronto and in my case with bigger surgeries like a liver hepatectomy, bowel resection, abdominal hematoma, they prescribed hydromorphone post surgery to take home.

We're pretty wimpy in the West. I've had extensive dental surgery done in Bangkok and the most powerful painkiller they ever sent home was Ibuprofen. "Suck it up, white boy" is the message on their smiling faces as they wai goodbye.

[Benroon]

On 10/13/2021 at 3:03 AM, Faraday said:

I was given a body bath when I had my hip done. I was in quite a lot of pain & the experience was just uncomfortable & embarrassing. 

Shame really...

Just tell them the room was cold and it does get bigger !

[dj230]

14 minutes ago, JamesE said:

We're pretty wimpy in the West. I've had extensive dental surgery done in Bangkok and the most powerful painkiller they ever sent home was Ibuprofen. "Suck it up, white boy" is the message on their smiling faces as they wai goodbye.

How was the pain after? I wonder if they'd be okay with prescribing better meds it if you asked.

They give tylenol 3's and percocet in canada for tooth extractions, never had to take them though, just a bit of soreness.

[Benroon]

25 minutes ago, JamesE said:

We're pretty wimpy in the West. I've had extensive dental surgery done in Bangkok and the most powerful painkiller they ever sent home was Ibuprofen. "Suck it up, white boy" is the message on their smiling faces as they wai goodbye.

So true - I sliced my big toe in half horizontally, bone included, blood everywhere in Sri Lanka. When I got to this tiny country hospital this enormous Sri Lankan doctor winced at first when he saw it, then told me they currently had no anaesthetic there - that's ok I said local will be ok and I can just hold onto something, however he meant ANY !!!

So I asked him what was going to happen he said he would have to scissor the bottom flap of my toe off as it would die quickly and become infected, and that I would have to let him know if he scissored through any 'live stuff' he used those exact words - he did twice, I let him know twice with a scream I didn't know I had.

Mid scream about 4 tiny Sri Lankan nurses popped their heads around the curtain to see what wimp was making all the noise with a kind of oh it's one of those western wimps expressions! A head nurse then asked me if I could be a little quieter as I was disturbing the other patients! wtf. It was pain right out of the top drawer.

So live scissor cutting over, folIowed by stitching through ALL live stuff, but by this time was hallucinating, jumped up off the bed to go and only then passed out ! 

Man up you lot ! 

[Shark]

@dj230how long where you in Thailand again 3 months or so right? So you now have good experience with BKK Hospital great... but your 'anti advertising' the Gov't Hospitals where you basically could've get the same care for a part of the bill price.

Most Doctors working in BKK also work in Gov't Hospitals. Just a small FYI.

[LoongFred]

13 minutes ago, Shark said:

@dj230how long where you in Thailand again 3 months or so right? So you now have good experience with BKK Hospital great... but your 'anti advertising' the Gov't Hospitals where you basically could've get the same care for a part of the bill price.

Most Doctors working in BKK also work in Gov't Hospitals. Just a small FYI.

I've found the care at the government hospital very high. I the US we're used to getting and an appointment time, but still usually wait. At the government hospital, non emergency apps are made 9-12 on a first come basis. Many private hospitals do thevsame. So if your doctor is busy you could wait a couple of hours. However, care is excellent and the bill is very reasonable.

Chula hospital has a good recreation, as does Mahidol Hospitals at Surirat or Ramatibiti. Doctors are no a part with the US. 

I recently had a root canal done because of a cracked tooth. Excellent job and they said to take Tylenol if needed. In the US they would give you Tylenol codine.  But I  had no pain so didn't need anything. I attributes this to the excellent dentist. The cost so far for two apps has been 6000B, I'm very happy and pain free.

The novacaine shot wasn't bad either.

[Shark]

14 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

I've found the care at the government hospital very high.

this is my exact point.

I'm a fan of the government hospital it will be even better the moment discrimination really stops.

[Faraday]

1 minute ago, Shark said:

this is my exact point.

I'm a fan of the government hospital it will be even better the moment discrimination really stops.

I don't see any government hospital discrimination on this thread. The op is new to Thailand & was just posting his observations.

[BainaiThai]

In 7 years in Thailand the only visits I have made to private hospitals has been in search covid vaccines...All inpatient and out patient care (including ongoing cancer treatment) at PKK and HH public hospitals or local clinics.

[dj230]

3 hours ago, Shark said:

@dj230how long where you in Thailand again 3 months or so right? So you now have good experience with BKK Hospital great... but your 'anti advertising' the Gov't Hospitals where you basically could've get the same care for a part of the bill price.

Most Doctors working in BKK also work in Gov't Hospitals. Just a small FYI.

Actually i said several times in the thread the doctor at bangkok hospital said the quality of care was similar in government hospitals but the wait times are the issue

and i also mentioned that i was also told by thai friends doctors working in government hospitals (chulalongkorn) are working at other private hospitals or clinics

I've bolded it for you

If you took the time to make a thread about government hospitals and posting your experiences instead of trying to flame me for making one on bangkok hospital, you'd be able to help some people, as that was my only intention of making this thread. If I get a chance to visit a government hospital, I will be making a thread about it as well. 

On 10/14/2021 at 12:49 AM, dj230 said:

Just an update

Surgery was a success, was a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), only took 2.5 hours or so, pain was managed well. Discharge is expected within 24h post surgery

@NCC1701A was spot on though, they aren’t huge on pain killers, they use bolus doses of morphine to manage pain at bangkok hospital post surgery and not a whole lot

although I can’t say for sure how bad the pain was, since the surgery wasn’t very invasive, so maybe it wasn’t needed 
My friend says she is in very little pain, just sore around the incision sites, was able to eat fine post surgery, able to walk around fine as well 

price was on the lower end of a few hospitals I asked, most wanted 200k+, Bangkok hospital bill was 179k even though the website said 206k for a 1 night stay post op, maybe she got a Thai national discount.

they said regularly it’d be 224-269k because it was an acute infection of the gallbladder/emergency surgery 

I think the cheapest I she found was 145k at bangkok Christian hospital or yanhee hospital was around 100k (that’s what she found at least). Bumungrad was 216k but didn’t include emergency surgery. 

I was talking to some local Thai friends and they said in terms of government hospitals in bangkok, chulalongkorn is good, I have yet to experience a government hospital, curious if anyone has a quick summary of the differences.
 

Surprisingly the doctor at bangkok hospital said the quality of care is similar to private hospitals but there is long wait lists for surgeries and that’s why most people use private hospitals in more urgent cases

 

On 10/14/2021 at 2:45 PM, dj230 said:

wow that's insane, 1700 baht is usually the price of a consultation (or around that, i think it was around 1000-1200 baht at bangkok hospital the one time i went, or maybe it was 800 baht), I'm glad she got it taken care of and hopefully she is doing okay now

i can't remember but i remember a few times when I went to the dentist for surgery they mentioned a possible allergic reaction to one of the medications they used, i still can't remember if it was one of the local anesthesia's but i think local anesthesias are mainly just epinephrine and nerve block so i dont think it would be that, maybe an antibiotic but i think it was something specifically used at the dentist

any chance shes allergic to latex? would explain being allergic to you if you use condoms lol and possibly could have used latex gloves at the dentist

Some of my local thai friends mentioned the same about chulalongkorn doctors also working at other private hospitals/clinics as well, any chance you know if there is long waitlists for surgeries? That is what the bangkok hospital doctor mentioned.

Although yanhee hospital was significantly cheaper than bangkok hospital, I was under the impression yanhee specialized in cosmetic procedures, they have great customer service though (response times). Since it was a gallbladder laparoscopic surgery my friend chose to have it done at bangkok hospital.

Can't confirm 100% yet but was told I could use the discount card as well, if so, Bangkok hospital just got a lifetime customer. Customer service /healthcare was amazing in my books. One random thing I noticed from the chivawattana card is a lot of hospitals are connected, I wonder if the same doctors/surgeons are also working at the same hospitals? BNH, Simitivej, bangkok hospital, were 3 that my friend was looking at going to and they're all on the chivawattana discount card.

Also another update on the pain meds/pain control, although I am not too sure how bad the pain was, my friend was prescribed tylenol (paracetamol) to take home. I never had laparoscopic/minimally invasive surgery but I can only assume you'd get at least tylenol 3's (tylenol + codeine) in canada/toronto and in my case with bigger surgeries like a liver hepatectomy, bowel resection, abdominal hematoma, they prescribed hydromorphone post surgery to take home. I will admit though, I rarely had to take any painkillers prescribed to me post surgery and actually saved them all for deadly headaches/migraines.

My friend might have told them she had little pain which is why they only prescribed regular tylenol.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by dj230

[Marc26]

On 10/14/2021 at 12:17 PM, Benroon said:

So true - I sliced my big toe in half horizontally, bone included, blood everywhere in Sri Lanka. When I got to this tiny country hospital this enormous Sri Lankan doctor winced at first when he saw it, then told me they currently had no anaesthetic there - that's ok I said local will be ok and I can just hold onto something, however he meant ANY !!!

So I asked him what was going to happen he said he would have to scissor the bottom flap of my toe off as it would die quickly and become infected, and that I would have to let him know if he scissored through any 'live stuff' he used those exact words - he did twice, I let him know twice with a scream I didn't know I had.

Mid scream about 4 tiny Sri Lankan nurses popped their heads around the curtain to see what wimp was making all the noise with a kind of oh it's one of those western wimps expressions! A head nurse then asked me if I could be a little quieter as I was disturbing the other patients! wtf. It was pain right out of the top drawer.

So live scissor cutting over, folIowed by stitching through ALL live stuff, but by this time was hallucinating, jumped up off the bed to go and only then passed out ! 

Man up you lot ! 

I had a cebascious cyst get badly infected right in the middle of my back

The doctor at the emergency room suggested she put me under for the procedure and I was actually scared to go under, for some reason

She kept on questioning me if I were sure

I was adamant and she gave me local anesthesia 

Well as soon as she started cutting into the middle of my bag, and I almost passed out even with the local, I understood why she was insisting on going under!