Ask general practitioner Maarten: Result INR test
I am 63 years old and weigh 80 kg, blood pressure 120/74. I do not take any medication and have no underlying illnesses. I took an INR test for the first time and had an elevated PT value.
Question to GP Maarten: Increased blood pressure again
After a period of perfect blood pressure I haven't checked it for the last 2 months. For a week I have around 175/100/65 in the morning My situation has not changed, I moved to a quieter environment and lost 8 kg, now 119 kg at 200 cm.
Ask Maarten: Medicine no longer available in Thailand?
I have been taking Lispril 4mg for 10 years. I have never experienced any side effects. The medicine is prescribed by a Dutch doctor. Two years ago I emigrated to Thailand. Lispril 10 mg was always available through pharmacies. As of May 2022, Lispril 10 mg is no longer available. However, the 5 mg and 20 mg of Lispril.
Last December they removed my gallbladder and gallstones. Since then my stools have been watery to very thin with sometimes a good turn in between, but that is not 10% per year so far.
Currently I take 1 Rasilez 150mg in the morning for high blood pressure. When inquiring at the pharmacy here, she told me that this drug was unknown. My blood pressure is currently between 140/75 and 145/80. Can I stop taking this medicine or do I have to take a medicine and which one?
I am 78 and I consider myself lucky again that there is a family doctor like Dr Maarten in Thailand. I am in good health for my age. The blood tests that my cardiologist does every four months show all values within limits, but I take 2 g of Livalo every 0.5 days.
Question to general practitioner Maarten: Self-test for thrombosis and alternative medicine?
I am 68 years old and have had thrombosis several times. Have been living in the Isaan for over 1 year. Take acenacoumarol, do tests yourself and the thrombosis service sends me a weekly email about how much I have to take per day. That self-testing is no longer possible because I no longer have strips. If I had a different drug before the test, I didn't have to keep checking.
I am 66 years old and for some time now I have started to suffer from erection problems. I already went to a doctor for this and he prescribed me Cialis, first 5 mg and then 20 mg. It works but sometimes during the act my erection decreases and it takes a really long time to come.
I have a question about medication and an alternative variant. Because of anxiety after a burnout, I use 1 mg citalopram once a day. This medication is not available here (including in the hospital). However, another comparable medicine that I could be prescribed after a 'conversation' in the hospital.
Ask general practitioner Maarten: Vitamins and supplements
Thus, I took the vitamins you recommended, in particular I chose a composition of vitamins that I bought in Belgium, which can be found in: “VITANZA duoFit” tablets.
My stock is almost out and may I ask which Thai product is equivalent and contains approximately the same amount (or more) of vitamins?
I am Belgian, living in Isaan Moei Wadi(Roi Et), 56 y, 54 KG, 1 M 70, former smoker (stopped <1 year), do not drink alcohol. I have had COPD for years (10) and take Seritide 50/250 2x a day and Berodual (puffer) if necessary. The Seritide (2x p/d) was replaced in Belgium by Relvar 92/22 (1x p/d) but according to my pharmacist, here in the Isaan, they don't have that in Thailand and I continued to use Seritide 50/250.
Question to general practitioner Maarten: Are these medicines easy to obtain in Thailand?
Question to GP Maarten: Swimming in a pool and directly under the skin rash (red skin, itching, red bumps)
Last week I arrived in Thailand from the Netherlands and went swimming the next day and within 1 minute, I'm not exaggerating, my whole body was covered in red spots, small bumps everywhere and a terrible itch. No other complaints whatsoever. I've never experienced that before, I took a shower like lightning. Everything rinsed well and rubbed with tiger balm. After an hour everything has disappeared and the itching and red skin have disappeared. Other residents just swim without complaints.
I went to the hospital with my swollen left foot. The lab results and a photo are attached. The doctor couldn't find anything when I asked if it might be a reaction
on an insect bite I was given a medicine for 5 days. However, this did not help. Sometimes my left foot is painful.
I would like to get your opinion on something that happened to me earlier this week. I am a man of almost 65, do not smoke and drink moderately and live part-time in Hua Hin. Monday night I got out of bed to close the window. When I lay back down I suddenly got a stabbing pain in the back of my right thigh. A pain that got worse and worse in the hours that followed, so much so that I cried out in pain with any movement of the upper or lower body. I guarantee you that I have never, ever experienced such pain.
I have a somewhat unusual illness among the members. I have looked for information on the internet about this, but apart from the name there is very little information about it. The name is Adermatoglyphia. The complaint is that my fingerprints have disappeared.