Welcome to the other side. Glad to have you. I too had your issue, then I found if it's a thread you are interested in, the quickest way to keep up within it, is to make a comment, and when you are about to click there is a while square just below the comment box that is marked as start following replies. If you click that every time you go back to it, you'll be current.
Outside of that I think it's not real easy to stay up to date in a thread, especially a big thread.
Be Well.
GW/SteveN