This is a question I would like to put out. My wife thinks every time someone says they hurt somewhere you need to go get a pill of some sort. Heck she even carries her own supply to dole out. Actually for something minor she is usually right. Thought this a bit strange but her sisters do the same. (I must also say her Dad was the village herbal medicine doctor, and brother-in-law is now doing it with the help of Thai govt)

Are all Thai women like that or is it her upbringing?

Not just the Thai women, the doctors are the same too. You're almost guaranteed to be given a bag of colourful tablets and/or an injection when you visit any of the local doctors, no matter how serious your condition is.

With the doctors earning their cash on the drugs they give rather than per consultation,you are going to get given excessive amounts.(Unless the doc is a saint )I prefer to go to the Ek Udon rather then a clinic,as then you get a clear label stating what it is you are taking.You may still get excessive amounts but you can go home and you can google on the drug before you take any.

Well you are not actually given the pills, they are sold, usually at a considerable markup, in those plastic bags. Usually completely unidentifed as to what they are.

But this goes no way towards explaining why Brians's wife in the USA does the same, or maybe it does, I dunno.

Which sort of reminds me, a bit off topic...

About 6 months ago my wife complained of some pain in the nether regions, so we went to the doctor, one of those that operate their practice from street clinic premises, (out in Nong Bua Lamphu as it happens) and all she came out with was 4 bags of colourful pills, completely unidentified, 500B thank you.

4 days later she was in hospital, diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, which I understand to be, and could see from her,extremely painful. She got superb treatment there, as good and certainly more instant than I would expect in the UK.

Anybody can make mistakes, but "trust me I am a doctor" is not one I want to listen to any more.

Waen does the same thing concerning pills. I called her one time and told her that i was sick and she said "take pill". Why can't the doctors recommend pills for women and beer sing for men?

One of my kids developed a rash when we was last over, looked like measles to me, anyway, the mother in law took him to go see the local quack and came back with all sorts of potions, lotions and pills, and a bill for 700 baht.

I was mesmarised at the number of different things a 2 year old should have to rub on and consume, so I asked what it actually was he was suffering from, and it turned out I was right, it was measles, so I just shot into town to pick up some calamine lotion which worked a treat, and all was cleared up within a week or so, apart from the fact that it had spread to my other 2 kids and half the neighbourhood

I would never trust a decision to be made by a local doctor again, the hospital would always be my 1st stop.

I would never trust a decision to be made by a local doctor again, the hospital would always be my 1st stop.

Most of the local doctors work at all the major hospitals in Udon but have their own clinics which they operate in their free time. This is why the clinics are only open at certain times through the day. However IMO the advantage of going to the hospital is that they can't get away with perscribing you more drugs than you need, they won't be making the profit from the drugs so they will just perscribe you what you need.

Agreed Lee, though the hospitals make their money from marking up the price of the drugs much more than local doctors or clinics.

Example, went to an International hospital in another Thai city, doctor prescribed me drugs, said they were a bit expensive - 80 baht each, but said come to my local clinic, they are half price. So I did and they were.

I keep the little bags with the names of the drugs and what they were for on them. Then if I get a recurrence of something. I just got to a local pharmacy and buy them at a third of the price.

Yup, my TW is also a member of the club that spouts, "Oh... I hurt, I've got to see a doctor and (fill in the blank) get a shot, get some medicine, get an X-Ray, etc. etc." Of course, the medicine is taken until the symptoms subside regarless if the medicine bag says "take till finisihed".. "Oh, I feel good now she says!!" and then gets mad when I ask her if she finished all the course of antibiotics.. "No, what for?? I feel good now.."... Arghhghghgh...
Her extended family is the same except, they'll go to quacks or do self medication with whatver meds they can buy or get for free from the district med clinic (annamy)...
It's a frustrating mind set to deal with and potentially dangerous for someone to stop taking meds in the middle of recovery...

Gentle hint, once you have the prescrition don't fill it in the hospital unless your insurance is paying go to the local pharmacy they well sell the same precrition to you at a 50% less then the hospital


The answer to the question, yep, you should see some of the god awful stuff the wife takes and she is not sick. My back can be so bad I can't walk answer take pill LOL.

One friend while on a visit to the states had his wife come down with something took her to the doctor. Dr, says sorry nohting wrong with her. The wife could not understand went to the doctor no pills. Finally they took an old prescription bottle of the mothers removed the label, filled it with some sort of candy. She took them and it was the miracle cure

The humour and anger with Thai health specialists (?).

The humour
Having TW in Udon for 6 months before she came to NZ, and with the weekly visits to the doctor or chemist to get untold pills and drugs, I was quite concerned at what her medical costs, even with health insurance were going to be when she came to NZ.
Her first visa full medicial here in NZ solved that concern. A big Bokke nurse with a huge needle and taking 4 tubes of blood had Thai Girl whoosey and very, very quiet for quite a while. Immediately after that whenever she complained of some little ailment it was 'I take you to doctor'. The comeback was always very quick 'no, no, I not go doctor'.
Now her less urgent medical needs are taken care of by a Thai girlfriend Bee who did her time as a nurse in Cambodia after Pol Pot's reign of terror. The amount of pills that are not NZ, but Thai available brands that Bee can get her hands on immediately is bloody amazing. There is a very strong thai community here so with everybody contributing after each visit back to Thailand, the supply works well.

The anger.
Along with her medical requirements for her visa we also had re checks done on all the long term ailments that thai doctors and specialists had labelled her with from back in Thailand. The results of these and what these f**king turkeys were doing to her back in Thailand, had me seeing red.
Her doctor had prescribed her with arthritis and the treatment was with malaria drugs. The specialist had her with SLE (bloody serious stuff not only with the physical conatations but more importantly the mental anguish she was living with) and had her in as a monthly patient for blood tests and diagnosis. The pills and drugs she was on were knocking her around big time.
The blood tests and medical checks here in NZ found absolutely nothing wrong with her. She has been off the pills and drugs ever since and has never felt so healthy, and full of life.

Unfortunately I cannot say to her what I think of these so called specialists back in Thailand (money grabbing, incompetant p!sswits), as it is putting down what she has faith in, and grown up with.