Maarten Vasbinder lives in Isaan. His profession is general practitioner, a profession that he mainly practiced in Spain. On Thailandblog he answers questions from readers who live in Thailand.
Do you have a question for Maarten and do you live in Thailand? Send this to the editor: www.thailandblog.nl/contact/ It is important that you provide the correct information such as:
- Age
- Complaints)
- History
- Medication use, including supplements, etc.
- Smoking, alcohol
- Overweight
- Any laboratory results and other tests
- Possible blood pressure
Photos and attachments can be sent to [email protected] everything can be done anonymously, your privacy is guaranteed.
Dear Martin,
I have some questions about my future plans to move to Thailand in a few years.
I am almost 58 years old (in August), 1,79 m tall and weigh 86 kg. My BMI is 26,53. I have type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and since the end of April 2023 I am an ICD carrier.
After an AT Atrial Tachycardia and a myocarditis they decided to implant me with an ICD. Because of this I use a lot of medication:
- Pantomed 40 mg, once a day at 7 am
- Bisoprolol EG 2,5 mg, once a day at 8 am
- Lipanthylnano 145 mg, once a day at 8 am
- Metformax 850 mg, once a day at 8 am
- Calcium carborate 1 mg, once a day at 8 am
- Magnetop 45 mg, soluble in water, at 8 o'clock
- Lisinopril 5 mg, once a day at 12 noon
- Atorvastatin Sandoz 80 mg, once a day at 21/22 hours
I'm on all these meds, but both my GP and my cardiologist tell me my blood pressure is too low. When I measure myself it is around 11/7 and at the cardiologist it is “only” 10/6. I suspect this is because of the Lisinopril so he reduced my dose from 5mg to 2,5mg. My question is if this could be the cause of it and if I could possibly stop it.
I also wonder about the “statins”. Previously I only took 20 mg a day, but now that has quadrupled!
Another question is whether it is feasible to live with a defibrillator in Thailand, taking into account the heat and humidity, as this is my plan for the future. If necessary, I can come to Belgium every six months for the ICD check-up. However, I see that there are not many hospitals that perform this check outside of Bangkok.
Thank you for your answer.
Yours faithfully,
*******
Dear M,
You will be treated entirely according to the protocols of diabetes and protocols are aimed at the average.
1.- You could take lisinopril every other day.
2.- You can stop the lipanthyl.
3.- Statins seem to have more disadvantages than advantages according to reports of the last 20 years. In principle, high cholesterol is not dangerous, as much as the industry likes to claim it is. Even the Framingham study has come to that conclusion, as have Cochrane and many others. It does not extend the lifespan, but the side effects can be very annoying.
Why do you take Magnesium and Calcium? and no vitamin D3 5000 IU per day and Vit K2 (MK7) 200mcg?
Why are you taking Pantomed? Do you have stomach problems?, or do you take an anticoagulant?
The IUD also works in Thailand. They can also replace them.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Maarten
Do you have a question for Maarten and do you live in Thailand? Send this to the editor: www.thailandblog.nl/contact/ It is important that you provide the correct information (see list at the top of the page).