Sleep Test in Bangkok

[thailand]

Hello! Newbie here. I've been living in Bangkok during the cold months in the US and I decided to get a sleep study done here before i come back home. Just posting to share my experience so far.

The sleep study was at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok with Dr. Benjamas as the primary doctor. Service was most excellent, meeting with the Dr at 3:30 pm, check in at 8:00, wired up at 9:00, asleep by 10:00. Met again with the Dr. at 11:30 the next morning and was presented with a full color report and a DVD. I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea disorder (OSAHD), severe degree (as I fully expected).

Both visits with the Dr. lasted well over an hour, she was very careful and deliberate in making sure I was a happy customer. It is one of the best medical experiences I have ever had.

In addition to the standard report Dr. Benjamas provided me with a "medical certificate" which was a full written summary in addition to a CPAP prescription. The CPAP prescription was accepted by CPAP.com and my CPAP is on its way to my home in the US. Hopefully this will be a start to resuming a good nights sleep.

Total cost: 35,000 Baht, or $1,100. Best of all it is not on my "official" record in the US (I have zero trust in the future of the US health care system). One could easily pay for the flight here, take a one week bike trip along the coast with Grasshopper Adventures, then take a sleep study and still save money over the cost in the US (if you have a $7500 deductible like me).

I also went to the ER last night for an unrelated issue, full service plus x-rays were less than $200. This is a very, very nice hospital which is incredibly affordable. Unfortunately CPAP's are heavily taxed, thus not so affordable here ($2000 for a complete Dr. approved setup, 2x the US cost).

I found this site very useful and informative and I hope that my small contribution serves other people well.

[Laos Film Director]

Do they sell cpap machines in Thailand? I spend time in both the USA and SE Asia. I always worry that in an emergency, I may need to to buy a cpap machine while I'm in SE Asia. Are they readily available?

[cliffspab]

I had a very well managed sleep study at Bangkok Christian Hospital. I recall it costing less than half that. Bumrungrad is one of the best hospitals in the region and priced accordingly (although still cheap compared to the West).

They sell CPAP gear here but it's actually more expensive than importing it from the US or elsewhere.

On a side note, Bangkok is also a good place to find very cheap and excellent dental care. Even including travel and a nice holiday you'd still be well in pocket for many of the more expensive procedures.

All the docs here speak English.

[Pugsy]

I have a sneaky suspicion that the OP here was just here to promote getting medical treatment in Thailand.
No overt links anywhere that made it blatantly spam but I left it for Carolyn to approve or not.
OP hasn't been back since making the post either.

You all are of course free to form your own opinions about the post and reply if you wish but IMHO...it's spammy and needs to just die off into the archives.

[ChicagoGranny]

Medical tourism is a big deal in Thailand. One hospital reports,

Bangkok Dusit’s revenue from foreign patients accounted for almost one-third of sales

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... tal-empire

See also https://www.google.com/search?q=medical ... e&ie=UTF-8

[ChicagoGranny]

One could easily pay for the flight here, take a one week bike trip along the coast with Grasshopper Adventures, then take a sleep study and still save money over the cost in the US (if you have a $7500 deductible like me).

I would suggest you know little about severe obstructive sleep apnea and don't have it yourself, if you think it would be good for a patient with OSA to take that long flight (jet lag) to Bangkok, then take a week-long cycling trip before getting a CPAP process working well.

I smell a stinker.

[chunkyfrog]

Medical tourism is becoming more and more popular as conventional care falls short of our needs.
Not only is it often less expensive--your life might depend on it.

[Goofproof]

I have a sneaky suspicion that the OP here was just here to promote getting medical treatment in Thailand.
No overt links anywhere that made it blatantly spam but I left it for Carolyn to approve or not.
OP hasn't been back since making the post either.

You all are of course free to form your own opinions about the post and reply if you wish but IMHO...it's spammy and needs to just die off into the archives.

Nail on the Head! Walks like a Duck, Quacks like a Duck. Jim

[Goofproof]

Medical tourism is a big deal in Thailand. One hospital reports,

Bangkok Dusit’s revenue from foreign patients accounted for almost one-third of sales

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... tal-empire

See also https://www.google.com/search?q=medical ... e&ie=UTF-8

It's a little different here in the U.S., you cross our border against the law. After that it's all free! Jim

Even Asia can't beat that price!!!

[D.H.]

If it's $1100 for everything (doctor's visits, lab test, machine, and prescription), it's a very good price and probably would cover the airfare. Also, if you give the summary to your PCP in the United States, (s)he can place it into your records.

The downside is that you would need to stay a few days to overcome jet lag (since jet lag could distort the results of your test) and that you would loose at the least one day in each direction due to travel time.