Question to general practitioner Maarten: I have diabetes, can I have a blood test in Thailand?
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 and writes about medical facts.
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Dear Martin,
I am 65 years old and I have diabetes 2. I weigh 83 kg and I am 1.78 tall. I take Metformin 3 1.000 times a day, Flecainide acetate 50 mg 1 time, Simvastatin 40 mg 1 time, Gliclacide 30 mg 1 time, Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg 1 time. I now have a new drug Sitagliptin, but I have to have a blood test in six months.
I hope to be back in Thailand then. Can they measure the fasting and average sugar there? Then I will email it to my GP in the Netherlands.
Thank you
Regards,
G.
*******
Dear G,
No problem.
You can arrange your own fasting by not eating 4 hours before you have your blood drawn.
By medium sugar you probably mean HBA1c. They can then determine that at the same time.
I would also bring glucose tablets in case you become hypoglycemic, which is not impossible with your medication. Glucose tablets are, as far as I know, not for sale here. Keep in cans and always make sure you have them with you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Maarten