rickfarang Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 A friend is planning to visit Thailand in the near future, and he is an insulin dependent diabetic. He wants to know whether he will be able to buy insulin without any problems. In the U.S., one can buy insulin and even insulin syringes without a prescription. Can he buy these in Thailand without having to visit a clinic? Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchapstick Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Why wouldn't he bring his own? With an Rx, you can bring it in your carry-on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiceMan Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Your friend should bring more than adequate supplies of insulin in his carry on bag. If he is on a once or twice daily injection regimen then he can buy insulins from a hospital both in pens and bottles for use with syringes. Some insulins that are available are NPH/R/Monotard/Actrapid. If your friend is on a basal regimen, where Glargine (Lantus) insulin is injected once per day, supplemented with a quick acting insulin at meal times, then he will have problems. Glargine (Lantus) insulin is not available in Thailand. That is unfortunate since it gives better diabetic control and less risk of low blood sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted September 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Why wouldn't he bring his own? He probably will, but its important to know if he will have trouble getting more if need be. Thank you for your detailed reply, Spiceman. I think I will ask what kind of insulin he uses and then check its availability with a pharmacist here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Diabetes is on the rise in LOS. There should be not problem getting the medication he requires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 All of the hospitals have insulin. I have a few diabetic friends and they all have their favourite hospitals for insulin. One likes Bumringrad because he gets Danish made insulin and another prefers BNH because he gets fast-acting insulin. I would just go to one of the big hospitals - and the two named here are as good as anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiceMan Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Stick, in my experience all Thai hospitals stock a variety of insulins; both quick acting and long acting, from US company Lily and European company Novo Nordisk. What they don't stock, is an insulin that works smoothly for 24 hours with no peak effect. These insulins are called basal acting because they provide a base line dose, which can be supplemented with a quick acting insulin at meal times. Basal acting insulin was invented in 2001 and the best known is Glargine (brand name Lantus). Google says a field trial was done at Siriraj hospital in 2005 but I don't know what became of it as I can't read Thai. When I tried to buy it, admittedly back in 2006, it was not available. If Glargine (Lantus) has become available recently, I would be delighted to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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