^ i'm only going by generalisations and vague understandings here, but something tells me thai hospitals may be a step up from those in india.
there are many factors that could easily make an individual's experience far worse than anothers, such as language barriers, ecomonic standing/poverty/population mass of each country.
but having known folks to have been in hospital in each country, my cousin came back looking skeletal, POW style from an indian hospital, whereas people fly from australia to have surgery (ie cosmetic, dental) in thailand by choice or wanting to save a buck. perhaps india too, i'm not sure.
i don't want to start some discussion of ethnic/cultural generalisations, and a lot might have changed in the 10+ years since a sibling lived in india, but the logistics of a successful health program in a country of a billion+ and mass poverty is a little staggering.
i imagine that like a lot of places, the rich classes/castes alone get the best available medical care.
india is a rapidly changing country though.
i am also under the impression that a strong 'opiophobia' exists within much of south east asia. after the long history of both colonial exloitation and the illicit opium/heroin production history of the golden triangle, it can be hard to get adequate (legal) pain relief in some of these countries, as the stigma is huge and caused by an intense political backlash to the prolferation of heroin addiction in the region.
thailand i'm not so sure about, but i am pretty certain that most of the opiate pain relievers we take for granted in the west (prescribled, not black maket) are banned in the Philippines. such is the history, the stimga/fear/propaganda of the poppy and her various derivatives.
it's an inhumane practice, denying really sick or injured people a drug that will relieve their pain, specifically in palliative care.
there seems to be this widespread view now that drugs that could potentially cause pleasure or stereotypical addictions are frowned upon.
pleasure is sinful, no? really hypocritical of course, but we've been conditioned into thinking this way. maybe not you and i, but certainly lots of people and especially governments.
if thailand has a similar culture, the tramadol = pain relief idea could be an established one, which is a shame because of its risky interactions and inadequate pain relieving properties in people that just need to be numbed out of what ever it is causing them immense discomfort. like surgery, cancer for example.
i could be very wrong about this (it's a geopolitical guess based on the region and i'm too tired to find supporting evidence right now. thailand's days as a drug tourist mecca are not
quite over, but a brutal government crackdown several years ago could indicate a widespread ban of otherwise accepted opiates/opioids in medical treatment too. not a wise place to try and score off strangers; prisons are harsh, sentences can include execution or years in squalid tropical hellholes.
perhaps somebody has more info on this?
careless/obnoxious/dismissive drs can be found the world over, i'm afraid.
but yeah - the story above shows the dr to be absolutely negligent. who knows what would lead to such abysmal treatment? a lot of drs in australia are pretty ignorant of the particulars of certain drugs. they know a lot about the brands/meds that have their name plastered all over their pen, notepad, coffee cup, stationary holder though.
i'm sure i've heard similar tramadol stories in the western 'developed' nations too.
some doctors seem to resent advice from people who have done a google search or two and are 'trying to tell them how to do their job', even when a) the patient's body/mind/health/life at risk .
especially with things like tramadol - to a paranoid doc that suspects drug-seeking behaviour, and are reluctant to prescribe a more tradtional pain reliever to conventional opiates/opioid. it works for some people, but certainly not all.
if it is dangerous and full of deadly contraindications, either your life is in their hands, or they'll be dignified enough to do some research to support or refute your claims before administered said drug.
...if they understand good enough english to comprehend you that is. i'm not saying this like we should expect that - australians aren't always known for showing restraint or good judgement when holidaying in such places.
i think the moral of all of this is that developing nations are an unsafe place to take unfamiliar medications, or to party and act like a dickhead aussie with all the bravado of 'im not at home, there are no consequences, my boss is in another continent i'm going to go wild' showing no respect for the locals or your health.
from what i've heard, tramadol is available OTC as an analgesic in india. i don't know if the institutionalised knowledge and attitudes towards drugs there are significantly different, but that's always been my perception. we are talking about a country that seems quite open to certain globally-banned drugs, as things like bhang are part of indian culture. not to mention hashish.
if you listen to traditional indian music - sitar and tabla - tell me that isn't some of the stony shit you'e ever heard. of course, government regulations don't always make sense when it comes to drugs. america wants all consciousness expansion abolished, unless it's in pill form from a massive pharmaceutical company.
anyway, i'm rambling. one of you
i've been everywhere, man cats needs to help me out here
