I give you my heart...

 My impure, but healthy heart... 

Attention to all the old farts on TF

(yes, I fall into that category).

As I've gotten PMs asking me about it, I thought I'd give a brief summary of the comprehensive check I had done at Bumrungrad Hospital during my visit over the New Year.

  To find the check, I went to the Bumrungrad Hospital website and looked through the health check options they had　(Packages ==> Health screening). I chose the full-Monty: The comprehensive health check for men (3rd from the right on their chart). Unfortunately, they just upped the cost to 13,000Baht. There are a few cheaper options, but the full check has all the cancer screenings, so it's worth paying a bit extra. The test center is on the 9th floor of the hospital. You pay your bill up front, then you move from room to room following the cute nurses who beckon you to follow them. It's a non-intrusive series of tests, so at no point do you have tubes, fingers or laparoscopic cameras jammed into your orifices.  You get blood drawn, X-rayed, a complete look-over from a doctor to make sure you have 10 fingers and 10 toes, you pee in a cup and poop on a scoop (don't get the scoop mixed up with your i-Berry scoop), you jog on a treadmill for up to 12 minutes (unless you're totally out of shape or have a heart problem, in which case they might stop you in just a few minutes), and then you have hot jelly rubbed on your back and tummy as they do a complete ultrasound to check your internal organs (check for kidney stones, liver size, prostate size, etc). No, I didn't get offered "full service" when I had that done.  The next day, you can go in and meet with a doctor to get your results. In my case, I had only one abnormal result: He said there was a problem with my heart response when I first broke into a jog. He said it was either just a problem with the test, OR I had a serious oxygen deficiency to my heart as a result of a blocked coronary artery. Hmm…  To clarify the problem, the doctor asked me to have a coronary CT scan done...to the tune of 22,000Baht...on Christmas day!! So while you were all enjoying Christmas, I was sitting in a freezing cold hallway in a paper robe barely covering my ass, and being fed nitroglycerine and having radioactive contrast dye shot into my veins. Merry F&%king Christmas, eh! The results were good. Zero blockage or narrowing of the arteries, and no calcification (*pats himself on back for having never smoked cigs*). Note that if you get this done and they DO find something, it's all reversible with the right diet and cholesterol busting drugs, so don't be worried about what you'll find. Just do it earlier rather than later -- and in medical terms, later usually means too late. And the best part of all this: They give you all of your results in a nicely printed form, and all the CT scan data on a CD ROM.  http://www.encounters.jp/Photos/xray.jpg'> 

So unlike Japan, where the doctors pride themselves in not telling you anything about your condition, in Bumrungrad they give you results that are so comprehensive, you can take them to any doctor in the world.

That's definitely worth the price!

You got me inamorato25!

I'll take that heart and raise you a rum and 7!

That's is just fantastic. Over Christmas I was sitting at a dental clinic in BKK, Silom Dental. Truly amazing, quality work at what I calculate to be 16% of the cost in Santa Monica. The primary dentist who treated me was so patient and nice, I brought him my GF for a check up the next day. In March in BKK, I am going to get the Full-Inamorato at the hospital. And send in the GF, too.

That last pic is very nice, you're a handsome guy!

@ Gorgeous: Yeah, I think they give out that info normally in Thailand. For me, it was my first time. Very cool.

@ Mayo: What? My bare chest? Thanks

@ Deester: No, YOU get my emotional heart. You know that!

@ Bobby: A beer Chang right back at ya!

@JBJE: Yeah, the level of health care in Thailand vs. price is incredible. The thing that sells me on it is that you never have to wait, it's so efficient. And the Starbucks downstairs is a nice touch. So by all means, go for the Full-Inamorato when you're there!

@ Baboe: I'm not only a handsome man, I'm a sexy man! lol

Mike well I think it was worth every Baht you spend Im sure you feel releaxed and thats good for your heart , I did the same test in Rome and it cost me much more as you can imagine well I think you are a little better off , I just have a slight narrowing of the arteries nothing to worry about i just must be a little careful nice journal e grazie di cuore )

Happy to hear you are ok Mike!

Take care ja....

Hey Mike did you get your prostate tested?

well, i work at Bumrungrad hospital call me next time when u r there... hehe might get discount

hmm i'm serious

@ Sirjoe: Well, if I lived in Italy, I would certainly have LOTS of narrowing of the arteries. The cheese and pasta there is soooo good! At least here in Japan, they don't have a lot of good fatty stuff, so it's a pretty bleak culinary environment.

@Vacanti: Thanks, buddy!

@Duanja: Kob khun krap

@Dave: Not directly, no. But in that test, they do a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test. My dad died of prostate cancer, so I've been keeping any eye on the numbers. As long as they're low and there's no change, then the probability of any cancer is very low. So no, I didn't let the doctor sodomize me with his finger. lol

@Neung: I get a discount! Cool. Well, next time I plan to have the lasik surgery done on my eyes, so I'll be PMing you in the summer

Thank s for that...You didn't tell us if they checked your Bat though...Do they make you operate that for 12 minutes too...or just check the reaction when your "beckoned"???? Hmmmnnnn

Mike.. ce penso io al tuo cuore che non avrai mai piu bisogno di andare a fa un controllo al ospedale

@Bali: They told me to head down to Nana plaza to get that checked, but I couldn't find it. (Nana that is, not my BAT). lol

Ann: Non sapevo che parlassi Italiano! E allora, sei tu la ragazza che avra' il mio cuore. :-D

its good to hear everything was ok mike, my dad died when he was 47, maybe i need to get my heart checked like you

Good for you!!!! and it is nice to hear that everyting is ok for you. I'm thinking about medical check up too, especial my heart, it's been broken for many times :-p gotto check if it's still in good condition! hee hee

wow for that price they better.. and yes, i bet it was cheaper than anywhere else.. still a good money maker though.. i have trust issues.. but good to know that all is well..