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Home » Destinations » Asia » Thailand

Adventures In Thai Medical Care

Published: Aug 27, 2008 by Dave Lee |

Sunset on Patong Beach

After taking the antibiotics given to me by the pharmacist for a few days, my fever had dissipated, and my headache improved, however I still felt tired and unwell. I decided to kick up my care a notch by visiting a local medical clinic. I got a referral from the reception at a big hotel, The Holiday Inn.

The doctor didn't speak much English, but we seemed to manage an exchange of the essential information. He, like me, figured the antibiotics from the pharmacy weren't working, so he gave me a 5-day course of Amoxicillin. The diagnosis was a throat infection after a quick peer down my gullet with a big, yellow plastic flashlight and metal tongue depressor. The visit ran me about $18, with the drugs another $30 or so.

I began taking the new antibiotics, and my headache cleared up completely, though I was still left with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. Aside from meals, water/snack runs to 7-11, and a check of the internet, I spent my days in bed watching TV, reading or sleeping.

My room at Banana's Tacos

Five days passed, and I still felt stuck in a vicious cycle of sleep and exhaustion. I returned to the same doctor complaining of my lack of energy. He said my throat looked better, but had not completely improved yet. He gave me five more days of Amoxicillin, along with some vitamins and pills the pharmacy marked as " energy."?

By now, I was too tired to even wait around in a restaurant for food. I'd begun to get sandwiches from a local deli and Starbucks and bring them back to my room for consumption. One day I fell asleep at 3pm and didn't wake up until 8am the next morning. I'm no doctor, but 17 hours of sleep, and still waking up tired isn't normal.

I watched a nauseating amount of Fox News, developing a crush on spunky anchor Megyn Kelly. The movie channel offered needed respites with Failure to Launch, The Beach, Gladiator, and The Road to Guantanamo.

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About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Comments

  1. VegasDad says

    August 27, 2008 at 4:20 pm

    I'm jealous of your ability to backback around the world. I never got a chance to do that and now with kids I probably won't be able to. It's unfortunate that illness struck. Get well soon and enjoy your adventure. BTW... great photos.

  2. Kristen says

    August 28, 2008 at 12:46 am

    So sorry to hear you're feeling unwell. When I was doing my quasi-RTW, I actually got pretty sick in Thailand (Koh Samui). Luckily, I had booked into a decent hotel as my splurge on the trip but it was a week of feeling like crap. Maybe your trip caught up with you and your body is telling you to chill out a bit? Anyway, hope you're feeling better now. Enjoying the blog and pics!

    Always planning that next trip,
    Kristen :smile:

  3. Kristen says

    August 27, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    So sorry to hear you're feeling unwell. When I was doing my quasi-RTW, I actually got pretty sick in Thailand (Koh Samui). Luckily, I had booked into a decent hotel as my splurge on the trip but it was a week of feeling like crap. Maybe your trip caught up with you and your body is telling you to chill out a bit? Anyway, hope you're feeling better now. Enjoying the blog and pics!

    Always planning that next trip,
    Kristen :smile:

  4. VegasDad says

    August 27, 2008 at 9:20 pm

    I'm jealous of your ability to backback around the world. I never got a chance to do that and now with kids I probably won't be able to. It's unfortunate that illness struck. Get well soon and enjoy your adventure. BTW... great photos.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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