MTGS

Posts

Showing posts with the label Pregnancy

Wife Hospital Bill Damn Expensive

November 14, 2014

Today still at hospital, don't know when can discharge, just now went to get the interim bill from the Patient Service Centre, so far accumulated $4.9k+ before subsidy, she is PR and stay ward C have a lot of subsidies, government subsidize about $2.5k+, can deduct from my CPF $2250 (cap at $450 per day, 5x450), cash need to pay about $143, for 4 days normal ward and 1 day ICU ward stay, don't know why they count ICU only 1 day, my wife stayed for 2 days, maybe they got some timing. So yes, you can ask for the interim bill anytime, don't have to wait until discharge then get a shock, ask early so you make decision early. Ward total charges is $1500 before subsidy, the rest are the lab tests, treatment fees, doctor fee, echo, ICU monitoring charges, yes, you stay ICU they will charge for ward and treatment and the monitoring charges, my wife is one day $372 for the monitoring, what the fish man. And pay the doctor ward consultation fee really feel unhappy, one day $40, a

Wife Back to Normal Ward!

November 13, 2014

Finally they returned her back to normal ward, this time she is at ward 64, I think it's also for patients with heart problems, this ward lousier than the first one she was in, previously she was at ward 48, think that one mainly for pregnant women, both are C wards by the way. This ward 64 damn jia lat, floor dirty, the curtain like dropping off, the flask also dirty, everything looks dirty, I wonder if they do any area cleaning. Ward 48 also C ward, how come so much difference, really Cheap ward lol. Anyway my wife is feeling very well, she can't wait to get out of bed, I think she's fine, now waiting for discharge but not sure when, the doctor doing the rounds have no idea, she said have to check with the main doctor, jia lat, every time see different doctor, you ask them how they also cannot answer, this kind of system really not effective, too bad I am not rich to be able to afford personalized care for my wife, in this world if you have money, you are king. And

Visited Wife at NUH CCU

November 12, 2014

Today then I realized her ward is called CCU i.e. Coronary Care Unit, it's also an ICU but it's more for heart patients. Looking at my wife, she is very lively today, maybe because she is getting used to the new and strange environment, so many medical equipment and beeping sounds, and today she was supposed to return to the normal ward but unfortunately there is no spare bed so no choice have to stay there. I brought dinner to my wife's ward, it's a single bed ward so plenty of privacy, I bought from the Kopitiam at level 1, I ate ayam penyet and I bought some popiahs for her. I find the Kopitiam standard quite high, food is delicious, staff quite friendly and place is clean, seems like at hospital their standard is different. Anyway I also took a look around the ward, the other patients seems to be hanging on to dear life, then I look at my wife and wonder what is she doing there, she should be back to normal ward or best still, discharged since she is fine now. O

Big Scare Just Now

November 11, 2014

Today I took leave to stay with my wife mainly to listen to what the cardiologist have to say, we have come to a plan such that my wife will be put on Heparin via pump to bring her INR to normal levels as her INR was 1.0, not good, the normal range should be 2 to 3. Then at about 8pm when I was leaving the hospital for home, my wife called me and said the doctor wants to speak to me, as I went back to the ward, 3 nurses were preparing to move my wife, I asked them what's going on and they told me to speak to the doctor. The cardiologist told me he noticed a blockage at my wife's heart valve and she may need immediate open-heart surgery, then I told him that she looks fine, then he said that if the valve is like that all along then should be ok, but if it's a sudden clot, then she may die suddenly. So they moved her to the ICU, I quickly packed her stuff and brought to her ward in ICU. The cardiologist then asked me more about our first pregnancy, I told him that we cons

Wife Hospitalized!

November 10, 2014

This morning we went to Queenstown Polyclinic intending to get a referral letter to NUH, the doctor says my wife's case is complicated so end up he referred us to NUH A&E, well her case is indeed complicated because she is pregnant and she is still on Warfarin, the doctor was concerned for the baby as well as for the mother, I think A&E also good, no need to wait for the appointment. Then we took a taxi to NUH, damn fast, I think around 5 mins we reached, taxi fare only $4.70. We reached around 12pm+, went for lunch come back to A&E wait for almost 2 hours before we finally got to see the gynae on duty, she's a super busy woman, running everywhere, she's very approachable though, I think my wife likes her. Anyway we told her what she wanted to know, end up she say we should admit my wife for checkup, my wife was reluctant, actually she's feeling fine, just the usual pregnancy nausea and vomiting, the gynae also did a scan for my wife, baby looks fine. By

My Wife is Pregnant Again!

October 10, 2014

Just now she showed me the test strip and there were two lines; two means pregnant and one means not pregnant. So just nice, we are going to her home at the end of this month on 31 Oct so we can also see her doctor and listen to what he say. My wife's last period started on 08 Sep, that means now she is in her 5th week of pregnancy. I calculated using this tool . Anyway I was worried about my wife taking Warfarin while she is pregnant, according to my research online, I found that Warfarin is not good for the baby between the 6th and 9th weeks of pregnancy , and the alternative such as Heparin is less effective than Warfarin, basically Warfarin is the best anticoagulant for patients. Luckily I found this article and this which gave me some relief, reason being that my wife's dosage is 3.5mg per day, quoted from the article: "According to our experience the untoward effects of warfarin are dose-dependent [3] ." "In our study 43 pregnant patients with me

Wife Not Pregnant

September 08, 2014

She checked yesterday with her friend and the result is negative, her friend say check again in two weeks but I don't think my wife is pregnant because she just told me her menstruation is here, if pregnant she won't have menstruation, I think we will try again after that. Suddenly I thought what if she cannot get pregnant again, I read some sad cases where after miscarriage some women have difficulty conceiving again, I hope that is not the case for my wife, but if really like that so be it, the two of us can still live happily together, just that having one more person with us will probably make our household more lively, I can't imagine how it would be like when both of us are in our 40s or 50s and there's only two of us, sounds boring huh. I'll let nature take its course, no point thinking too much.

Trying for Baby Again!

August 27, 2014

Somehow I feel that everything is settled and all I need to do is to have a baby, I mean house, job, wife's PR all settled, what else. I feel even more motivated when I heard that the wife of my 26 year old colleague delivered her baby recently, I'm already 31 and my wife 28 and we still don't have baby, so what are we waiting for. Anyway I already have a plan in mind, once her pregnancy is confirmed, I will straight away buy tickets for her to go home, have discussed with her, the cost here in Singapore is just ridiculous even if she is PR, of course if everything goes well then no worry but for her case is very hard to say, what if there are complications, the cost can shoot through the roof, really no point paying that kind of money. So when she stays in Thailand, I will visit her once every 2-3 months, now I have plenty of leave so no problem. Maybe we might get a car there so it will be easier for her to get to the hospital. Now I'm thinking how much I should g

My Wife's Hospitalization Costs in Thailand

August 14, 2013

The billed amount was 15,333 Thai Baht and it was for: 8 days of hospitalization in a 6-bedded ward. 4x INR each day. 1x Echo-cardiogram. Fees for cleaning her up after her miscarriage. Medication for during stay and after discharge. For those of you wondering what INR is, it's a blood test to check whether a patient's Warfarin dosage is okay. I gave her S$1300 when she left on 01 Aug, the exchange rate then was 1 SGD to 24 THB, so we'll base her hospitalization charges on that. 15,333 / 24 = S$638.87 It's just way cheaper than in Singapore, I remember I paid S$478 just for her Echo in Singapore, really a world of difference. Anyway, next time round I will definitely send her back to Thailand once she is pregnant, and furthermore, her mom is always available to take care of her, she'll just suffer if she stays in Singapore, and I'll suffer financially. So to all Singaporeans with foreign spouse out there, if your foreign spouse is p

Seems Like My Wife is Doing Fine

August 12, 2013

She has been staying in the hospital since 06 Aug, the doctor checks her blood 3 times daily, and she is instructed to be on bed rest and no walking around, not even walking to watch the television, I think it's at another corner away from her bed. Everytime I call her, she is lying on the bed, but she sounds better now. I think her mom is really nice, she has been staying there with my wife since day 1, cleaning her, buying food for her, I asked my wife where her mom sleeps and she says on the table, must be really tough, if it was me I would have body aches, and she's been sleeping like that for almost a week. I should have sent her home when she was 4 or 5 weeks pregnant, staying in Singapore she has to do the chores and all, my mom doesn't help much, and if my wife doesn't do it, my mom will find fault with her, it's just very annoying, it's as if she's taking my wife for a maid, I tried to help out as much as I could but I can't be home all the

Thoughts After My Wife's Miscarriage

August 11, 2013

My wife had a miscarriage on 07 Aug 2013, the doctor took the baby for investigation and my wife and mother-in-law are still waiting for the findings. We don't know what went wrong, is it having sex during pregnancy or eating certain food or exhaustion due to household chores, I really don't know but for our next try, we will be very careful, and I'll have my wife stay in Thailand with her mom so she'll have someone to take care of her. And you might be wondering what will happen to the baby, the doctor offered two options, one is my wife can bring home the baby, two is we let the doctor keep the baby in a jar for exhibition, like in horror movies I think, but either way, we will need to perform a ritual for the baby so that he can go to a better place, we will need to buy clothes, milk powder and some other necessities for him, and the ritual will be done at a temple. We choose the latter, at least our baby can help the educational cause, and we can visit him anytime

My Wife May Need to go for Abortion (Update)

August 07, 2013

You can read my last post here . It's pretty much confirmed now, the baby will not survive, my wife was experiencing heavy bleeding, the nurse at the hospital changed 4 blankets for her, can imagine how much blood there was, they were just waiting for the baby to be expelled naturally, then the doctor will proceed to do cleaning. Me and my wife have mostly accepted the loss, what to do, of course we feel sad, we were thinking of Chinese and Thai names for the baby, I was thinking of having the baby learn Thai, English and Mandarin, now it's all gone, we can only look forward, but still, it's so hard to accept, I'm feeling so helpless. The doctor told my wife that we can try again after 3 months, but next time round, my wife has to avoid any strenuous activity, avoid garlic and ginger, and to see the gynae as soon as my wife is pregnant. I think maybe we will try again next year, let my wife recover both physically and emotionally, we'll see how. Update: The

My Wife May Need to go for Abortion

August 06, 2013

Today my wife called and cried on the phone, she said the gynaecologist in Thailand said the baby is positioned very "down" (I have no idea what that meant, very close to the vagina?) and there will be a miscarriage eventually in a few weeks time, and even if the baby managed to survive, the baby will not be strong, and my wife should go for an abortion. I don't understand why, my wife said the ultrascan shows that the baby is doing fine, and before she left Singapore, she also did a scan and the baby was doing fine, her heart surgeon also said my wife's heart is doing fine, her INR reading is a bit low (1.78) but the doctor have adjusted her Warfarin dosage, so that should be fine too. My wife also told me she had heavy bleeding yesterday night and there was a large jelly-like substance and she is very worried about it. I really don't know what to say, I was at a loss for words. She then asked me whether we should go for the abortion, again, I was at a loss f

Bought Ticket for My Wife to Go Back to Thailand

July 30, 2013

She will be leaving on 01 Aug, I know it's kind of rush but no choice because she is supposed to see the Haematologist at SGH on 02 Aug for her INR test as she is now back to Warfarin. The doctor in Thailand who operated on her will only be around on Tuesdays, so I'm trying to make sure she can get back home as soon as possible so she will have enough time to settle down and go see that doctor, and I'm also looking forward to this doctor's opinion. When my wife did her valve replacement surgery in 2010, the total cost including hospitalization in a 6-bedded room (like our B2 ward) for 12 days is more than 600,000 Thai Baht before any form of subsidy, let's just put it at 700,000 since we are going to compare with today's money. Yesterday the Cardiologist told me that a valve replacement procedure may cost between 30,000 to 50,000 Singapore Dollars, let's just take 30,000, and as for hospitalization charges, let's just say we stay in a B2 ward, accord

Good News and Bad News at SGH High-Risk Clinic

July 29, 2013

The good news is, the baby is doing fine. The bad news is, we have to choose between abortion or keeping the pregnancy but both carries an amount of risk. Another problem is the massive cost because my wife is a foreigner, it's beyond my financial capability. The following letter that I have prepared for her doctor in Thailand sums it all up. Dear Srinagarind Hospital Doctor, Me and my wife have seen the cardiologist (Mdm Tan Ju Le) and gynaecologist (Mr Tan Lay Kok) in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on 29th July 2013. We have a medical report from the cardiologist specifying her prosthetic valve condition. This memo contains additional information provided by the doctors during our meeting, and also things that we need to bring to your attention. According to the cardiologist, my wife is likely to have moderately severe to severe prosthetic valve stenosis. The main concern is whether my wife can survive her pregnancy because there will be increased strain on her he

Going Well at The Gynaecologist

June 28, 2013

We went to see the gynae today, he said the pregnancy is looking very good, he did a ultrascan for my wife and I can see that the egg is much bigger now, it's about 8.5 weeks old and I can see the heartbeat, it's a white coloured patch and it's pulsating, I was happy at that moment when he said "very good". Then the doctor arranged for us to see a blood doctor on 26 Jul, not really sure what it's for but no harm getting more checks, I just want everything to go well. Finally the doctor prescribed more Enoxaparin and that's about it, can go home. Today's spending: S$69.55 for repeat consultation under consultant. S$105.90 for 7 days of LMWH; 14 syringes.

Finally My Aircon is Fixed (I Hope!)

June 14, 2013

Yesterday those Gain City guys came again, did the welding thing, but this time, they opened up the compressor and took out the mainboard, the guy said there's a leak inside, so he went on to plug it, he took more than an hour. After the servicing, it worked well yesterday night. Today when I came home, I was expecting the worse, I thought the aircon will probably stop working again and to my surprise, it's still alive! I hope it doesn't break down again...

Appointment at SGH O&G High Risk Clinic Again

June 10, 2013

Today we went back to the HRC and wow, there seems to be more and more people attending to our case. There were 5 doctors and 2 nurses, seems like a really big deal. Anyway, they did the usual thing, ask how my wife is, so I told them she's feeling nauseous all the time and the senior doctor said it's normal due to hormonal changes and it's a good sign. I also told them about the dark red blood that stained my wife's pantyliner, at first one of the nurses looked worried when I said it happened everyday and I tried to tell them it's not really a lot of blood, it's just one thick red line. I thought it's normal because I did a research on the internet and found that it happened to many pregnant women in their first trimester but I found it difficult to say it out, I mean the pantyliner and blood, just so weird. So they quickly put my wife on the ultrascan, I think they did the usual electronic penis thing but I'm not sure as this time round, I was sittin

High Medical Cost for Singaporean with Foreign Spouse

June 07, 2013

These days I've been thinking a lot about the money I spent on my wife's pregnancy, so far it all added up to around S$1000 and that's only for 3 visits at the gynae, all within a week, and I'm the type who is very careful with spending money so I'm still getting used to spending so much, so fast. Of course I don't forget that my wife is a special case due to her operation but still, even if considering only the consultation and ultrascan charges, it's still a significant amount. I have a colleague who knows a bit of my story and today he suggested getting insurance for my wife but actually I have spoken to my insurance agent last year, way before we decided to have a baby, and she told me that it's tough to get my wife insured due to her operation, furthermore it was a major operation i.e. open heart surgery. Plus she has to be on life-long medication. So when insurance is not available, and my Medisave is untouchable, what else can I do? Pay in cash.

Review Heart Doctor Report at SGH Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Centre

June 05, 2013

So we went back to O&G to review the report with the gynae and we talked about my wife's heart surgery done in Thailand. This time we brought along a memo from the Thai doctor who operated on my wife, we also told the gynae that last time we checked, the Thai doctor said my wife can have baby, but only one child at the most, and there will be a 10% risk. The gynae then gave us two options, one is to go for abortion but we must do it within 24 weeks of pregnancy as that is the legal limit, two is to continue with the pregnancy and they will monitor closely, of course we choose the latter. The gynae then told us that they have to take my wife off Warfarin and put her under Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) for the next 7 weeks starting from today, by the way, my wife is about 5 weeks pregnant now. She said this is because the baby will be developing vital organs from the 6th to 12th weeks so it's important to avoid Warfarin during this period, and the alternative blood th

Search This Blog