Thread: Lying Doctors at Param 9 Hospital

I see. You originally sought medical care because of slick marketing. Got it.

Cheers for all the info everyone. the drug I was given is Betahistine. feel a bit sharper this morning, I may go and buy some anti-biotics and do that for a few days, I was mainly concerned as i have a few soi dogs that sleep in my drive way, they have giant ticks on them and every so often they crawl into the house, very big things they are. i was mainly worried as if one of those bites you you can get real fucked. The doc said if that was the case I would have a fever though, which I don't.

Originally Posted by Blake

That is scary DaveyG and sorry you are not feeling well. I have heard Thailand had great medical care and most doctors are western trained. Why do you think this happened? Is this a private or public hospital and do you think what type of insurance you have would have made a difference?

It's a private one, in my experience the hospitals are clean and have all the latest equipment, but the docs seem pretty substandard in my experience at this hospital anyway, apart from one guy, who actually said another docs diagnosis of a back problem I had a while ago was wrong.

I guess Medical schools in Thai Unis have a "no fail policy" too. I think I'll pop back to Oz for my next heart bypass surgery!

Originally Posted by ajarnfalang

Davey,

I would say this to ALL foreigners staying in Thailand. If you are sick, GO TO Bangkok Hospital. THE END. While in Thailand I've had the best medical treatment I've ever had, but I always go for the best.

Where in Bangkok is it falang?

Locate Bangkok Hospital - Bangkok Hospital Map and Location

Sounds like Blake has been reading some of those "medical tour" pamphlets I've been dropping.

Originally Posted by johnny larue

I see. You originally sought medical care because of slick marketing. Got it.

aha.... You must be a barrister? Trying to twist my reasoning with a closed hypothetical question (which is an assumption far off the mark) that will either confirm your own logic or undermine the basis of my argument...?

Nice one.

Originally Posted by martyboy

It seems you might have been medically trained as you are well informed. (TEFL or Medicine????) Just a side thought about viruses. (Suffer me you moderators) How do you think they evolved and from what? I am interested in biological evolution, natural selection, intelligent design etc. I understand viruses are unlike bacteria in that they are merely pieces of DNA or RNA and need a host cell in order to reproduce (although they can exist for many hours outside a cell but cannot reproduce) Where a bacterium is a self contained whole cell in itself and doesn't need another cell to reproduce although it might take nutrients from other cells.
Some viruses have an 'envelope' similar to a cell wall, made of protein. Where the hell did these little SOBs come from? I can imagine the DNA/RNA of a very primitive organism even a bacterium surviving on its own but the surrounding capsule is a mystery.

neither , Martyboy, but almost 20 years ago i suffered a year of total insomnia and would spend nights awake reading medical books. Molecular/chemical biology not my strong point. As for the evolution of viruses, you could actually apply the question to every living organism on the planet, how/where and why. There are worms in East Africa which have no other raison d'etre other than to inhabit the eyeball of a human host. What is the purpose of a hippoptamus? With regards to viruses developing a solid protein shell, it could be that they developed same merely for protection purpose, like armadillos, crustaceans etc and then our antibodies had to develop even stronger attack methods.I understand that once the HIV virus is inside the host cell it develops a protein wall called a capsid with protects its own genetic material.How it "learnt " how to do this, hmmm..this is what scientists are looking at now, ways to destabilise the wall. Some viruses nowadays are doing things which they havent done for millions of years which is mutate beyond the abilities of the human body's to produce new antibodies to attack the new mutated form - I am refering chiefly here to HIV which is as far as I know the only virus whereby definition of contraction is that HIV antibodies are present, ie in theory the body has successfully fought off the intruder after initial seroconversion, yet the virus is still in virulent form because it multiplies once it becomes aware of the genetic code of the HIV antibody - and that occurs even in patients where only 1 substrain is present. Its like knocking an apponent out and he just keeps getting up for more, completely refreshed. Some people end up with multiple substrains after repeated exposure to different geographical substrains eg Asian/African/South American. Result is that the body then has no idea how to deal with the new mutated and protected form(s). In essence HIV is a relatively uncomplicated virus but behaves in an unusual way.

I read somewhere that the H1N1 is already mutating and that the base tamiflu vaccination will be rendered obsolete pretty soon. For it to do so quickly is quite impressive.

The rate of mutation is proportional to the rate of reproduction so the greater number of generations of the organism the more likely mutations that increase virulence and drug resistance occur. That's what is worrying about the present swine flu pandemic. Currently fairly non-virulent but as more and more generations are produced, as in a pandemic, there is a likelihood of adverse mutations. It's quite possible that when it recurs in the autumn, as suspected, it could be a real killer. On the other hand it could be even less virulent that the current strain. Let's hope the latter!
It's understandable that small changes in the genetic material of a virus change it's characteristics, the problem is the way we react to those changes. The HIV virus seems to have a mind of its own.
There was some brief mention in the news a few months ago about some very positive research into a 'cure all' vaccine that can be used against any strain of flu virus no matter how it mutates because it attacks it in a different way. Don't have further details but it sounds promising.

Originally Posted by lemmax

Some, but I seriously doubt that most are western trained.

Most Thai doctors get their schooling right here in the Land of Here's-Four-Different-Colored-Pills-And-Don't-Call-Me-Ever!

Training is pretty uniform, however, diligence and aptitude on the part of the students varies greatly but the pass rate is still really high. If I have to go to a Thai doctor, I've learned you find a professor in the specialty you require, go to his clinic, that way when you get to the hospital he or she will give you extra special attention because you paid them some cash at their clinic. You get a doctor who 'should' be up on the latest, is competent enough to teach it, and he gives you a little special attention.

I have also gone to Bumrungrad a few times and I have no complaints other than the cost. The doctors I used there were US educated.