Pain management

[lucrative]

Hi
New to theforum,i will be moving to Hua hIn later this year,my only problem is i am a fibromyalgia sufferer (for those that dont know this is an auto immune disorder that at times causes unbareable widespread pain) i am currently in Australia and recieve good medication called fentanyl (Durogesic) in the form of a slow release patch changed every 3 days. my question is,will i be able to find a clinic in Hua Hin that will be able to cope with this type of disorder and will i have any problems sourcing strong pain medication. any help or tips would be appreciated,thanks in advance

[margaretcarnes]

Hi there - yes I know a couple of people who are sufferers - one uses the patches. I don't know if they are available in Thailand, but for any heavy duty medication you may need to provide a certificate from the doctor treating you in Australia. This is certainly the case for morphine, and likely any morphine based treatment.

[lucrative]

Cheers Hot Chilli
I had intended to come armed with as many Doctors referals and introductions as possible,i was even considering getting weaned off the patches before arriving and starting fresh with a Doctor or clinic there ,i was hoping someone may of been in a similiar situation and could refer me to a Doctor/clinic there.

Thanks for your imput

[lucrative]

woops soory mistook your ataus as your name....thank You Margaret :-)

[Lev]

Welcome to the forum, I've moved this to 'health issues' as you will get a better response there.

[lucrative]

Ok thanks amin... i am a newbie any help is appreciated :-) cheers

[Dr Mike]

Did you ever get satis answer about availability--if not I could enquire at the hospital pharmacy. Anyway bring a good supply with you--be sure to carry the prescription with you--your drug store/chemist may have to keep it in that case get another scrip from your Dr or a copy from the drug store.

[lucrative]

Hi Dr Mike
No i didnt really get much of a response regarding the availability of the fentanyl patches i currently use. I did find out it is not advisable to bring them through customs via the immigration website. So i am not sure what avenue to take. My Doctor here can only prescribe me 2 months supply at a time( as these are subsidised by the australian govt).Once i have left the country he will no longer be able to supply me. So i will need to find an alternative once i am in Thailand. I did read on another website someone bought fentanyl patches from a hospital in Bkk for 1000 baht per patch , way beyond my budget. so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[T.I.G.R.]

Hi Offline -

I have had chronic pain problems for many years and when we got here in 2006 I was on some pretty serious pain meds.....but like you may face, they didn't last long and I couldn't get similar replacement medications.

After I ran out of what I had brought with me I was surprised to find Thailand's doctors reluctant to issue anything but Paracetamol with codeine or similar additives, even with a pretty strongly worded letter from my U.S. Physician. Finally I was prescribed Tramadol which I've been taking 200-300 mg a day for nearly four years, supplementing with Tylenol, Neofenac, Ibuprofen etc. It took a year or two before it did much good but I've been fairly happy with it until lately.

Last week for Osteoarthritis in my Hips and left knee which are keeping me from sleeping the Doctor at Hua Hin Hospital gave me some Glucosamine and Fish Oil capsules...........so that give you an idea of what you might come up against here in Hua Hin. I've used Bumrungrad in Bangkok a couple of times for other stuff and they do better on their meds but it's not that cheap if you're going to be on a tight budget.

I don't know how you'll do getting patches or whatever but keep the Tramadol in mind and bring whatever over the counter stuff you can just in case.


Good luck.

[Norseman]

I've been taking 200-300 mg a day for nearly four years, supplementing with Ibuprofen

That's my problem too, but I use 600mg tablets and I can't find it here in Thailand.
I had to make two trips back home in one year to keep the level of medicine on a safe level to a 100k price because of the air fare.
This is a huge problem for me because I'm not able to get the correct and prescribed medicine here.
Where do we get this kind of medicine?
Dr Mike Please!!

[Amarita]

Remember: you should not take Tramadol together with
antidepressiva. That can give you new illnesses that you
dont want. The problem with starting up new medication in
Thailand is that you as a nonmedical person dont know
how this medications interfere with each other.
Please: use a good doctor.

[kjellsnell]

I broke my neck in 2006 and after the accident i have pain which i medicated whit tramadol. I buy my tramadol at the pharmacy up in Izzan where i live when i not stay in Hua Hin. I pay 300 bath for 100 pills of the medicine tramadol and......you dont need a precribtion to buy tramadol in Thailand, not in Izzan anyway......

I kombinaded the medicin tramadol whit whit weekly thaimassage and that accely helps. Tramadol and thaimassage is what i recomend even that i must rest one day after the massage, but the next two days after that i have less pain and can do things i cant do whitout the massage. The massage is painfull for me but i can stand it cause i know it gives me two god days.....

God Luck!

[bapak]

lucrative.. "My Doctor here can only prescribe me 2 months supply at a time( as these are subsidised by the australian govt).Once i have left the country he will no longer be able to supply me".

Not correct... Australians going overseas can get 6 months supply of medication.. Section 20.. It was 3 months but early this year increased to 6 months. I have been getting heart/diabetic medication for years like this.

[Dr Mike]

Bring as much as you can--WITH DOCUMENTATION
the patches are available here, 3 strengths,probably only from Hospital pharmacies AND you will need a prescription from a Thai Dr. So again bring notes from your Dr and one option is to get an appointment with a pain management Dr at the BKK Hospital in BKK. Our hospital in HH s opening by stages but no clinics for several months.

[T.I.G.R.]

I have to make a correction to my original post. It wasn't the Hua Hin Hospital that prescribed Glucosamine and Fish Oil. That was done by a pharmacy my wife uses in Bangkok......the Hospital actually gave me Paracetemol with some pink dots in it......have had it before but don't know what the additive is, and anyway it wasn't effective for pain relief in my situation.

Also on the Tramadol, it has been very effective in helping me with my Neck pain but seems to have no effect on the joint pain caused by Osteoarthritis. The only think I've found that has worked lately has been Ibuprofen which we brought from America years ago.

You can also purchase most medicines here, Tramadol included, at any Pharmacy....however sleeping pills and some other stronger medicines including narcotics have to be given to you either in a Doctor's office or at the Hospital pharmacy.