Dreaded Sputum

[RO_AH 1,662]

1 hour ago, angeljolie said:

Had my medical exam earlier this month and I, too, have been flagged for an "unclear" PA chest xray and have been subjected to this dreaded sputum test. It came as a surprise because I never had problems with any of my xrays in the past. I also just had chest xrays (3 views) in December for my annual medical exam at work and they all came back normal. Being subject to SLEC's sputum testing is a hard pill to swallow. I was really devastated and, for days, I felt uninspired to go on. I had sleepless nights. I had so many questions going in my mind-- why me? What if I'm really sick? When will I see my husband again? Although I have no signs of TB at all, it made me doubt my own health, which was really stressful. 

 

The first day of sputum collection, I arrived at 6:00 AM and was 74th (!) on the queue. Second day I was 21st, and third day I was 15th. Since I didn't have a cough, getting sputum out was nearly impossible. On the last day of sputum collection, I was asked to see the pulmonologist for the pulmonary evaluation. All 3 samples came out smear-negative. The doctor showed me why she recommended sputum testing-- on the PA view, she saw infiltrates on my upper left lung. I didn't see anything, tbh (not that I knew what to look for, but it wasn't any different from my December xray). She also told me that these infiltrates were not visible on the AP view (they asked me to do this on the 2nd day of medical exam and this was supposed to be a better view, btw). But since one view had an abnormality, then the sputum testing. 

 

After I was told I had to undergo the sputum test, I began reading about TB diagnosis. I didn't really understand why they had to do chest xrays first but I read that an estimated third of the world population had at some point been exposed to TB (but not necessarily developed TB disease), and therefore would probably test positive on IGRA. The skin test has been proven to be less reliable. So there.

 

Anyway, the waiting begins again. I feel very anxious every time I get calls or text messages from numbers not in my phonebook. The only thing I can do is keep praying that the culture will come out negative so we can all move on. This will be the longest 8 weeks of my life for sure. It's very stressful, to say the least. 

 

On a side note, the embassy revoked my B1/B2 visa 3 days after they sent me an interview appointment (which obviously has been cancelled by SLEC). Was supposed to visit the US this month. The bright side is I got the revocation notice before getting my confirmed booking ticketed (I went as far as booking my flights but encountered an error after entering the payment details). Story of my life.

Thank you for sharing. It helps me understand what my wife is going through. I am sure that you will get through it ok and then get your visa.

[Chancy 6,243]

1 hour ago, angeljolie said:

Had my medical exam earlier this month and I, too, have been flagged for an "unclear" PA chest xray and have been subjected to this dreaded sputum test. It came as a surprise because I never had problems with any of my xrays in the past. I also just had chest xrays (3 views) in December for my annual medical exam at work and they all came back normal. Being subject to SLEC's sputum testing is a hard pill to swallow.

 

I feel for you.  It is tough having to go through that, especially when you never expected it.  Coupled with the stress from yet another delay in the immigration process, you also have to deal with the anxiety from health concerns.

 

In my case, I already expect I'd be flagged for sputum testing.  My x-rays from annual check-ups sometimes show some unclear areas.  My doctors tell me it could be an issue with the xray machine at the lab I used or maybe something left from some non-TB-related illness when I was a baby, but they sometimes ask for another x-ray view for added assurance.  At one medical for a business visa application to some other country, I had to do x-rays 3 times.  I was furious at the time, but got over it when the results came out fine like I thought.  Thinking about those experiences now, I guess they help me be more mentally prepared for an extended medical.  I'd be more surprised now if I don't get asked to do sputum testing.

 

[angeljolie 188]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

@angeljolie That's a terrible combination of bad things happening all at once... I'm very sorry to hear about all that.

 

Silver lining, based on your timeline, your spousal visa process has been going quite fast (petition filed in Aug 2020 and inteview already in Feb 2021). Maybe a small consolation.

Thank you. Yes, it was really a bad combo. But you're right, we take consolation in getting this far relatively faster than most. In retrospect, I probably should have done the medical as soon as I was DQd. Would have lessened the waiting time. Oh well. 

[angeljolie 188]

Thank you, @RO_AH. I'm sure your wife will come thru this unscathed , get her visa and be reunited with you soon. She's lucky to have a supportive husband--it means a lot to a wife going thru this.

 

Thanks, @Chancy. I thought I was well prepared for the entire process but God has a way of saying that He is in control, not me.  Since you already feel like you might be flagged, do you plan on getting your medical done earlier? 

 

40 minutes ago, Chancy said:

I'd be more surprised now if I don't get asked to do sputum testing.

This would be a pleasant surprise. I read of a lady not being flagged despite her having a known case of lung granuloma. She expected for the worst but she was surprised the doc didn't even give it any thought. 

[Chancy 6,243]

13 minutes ago, angeljolie said:

Since you already feel like you might be flagged, do you plan on getting your medical done earlier?

 

I would probably sign up for medical as soon as I can.  Sadly not something I can do soon.  Still no NOA2.  Sigh.

 

[angeljolie 188]

10 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

I would probably sign up for medical as soon as I can.  Sadly not something I can do soon.  Still no NOA2.  Sigh.

 

It will come soon.  

[user555 196]

On 2/8/2021 at 12:48 AM, RO_AH said:

she got the dreaded sputum test

Yea, SLEC is pushing sputum tests on people with little to no evidence. I think I included the evidence in that post, but SLEC has a 93% error rate in reading those x-rays. Of those flagged, only 7% actually have TB.

 

The US has chosen SLEC to be the only authorized hospital in the PH. That does not give me much trust in the CDC. 

 

Here's another kicker. We arrived in the States, and our local health office called us saying they want us to do TB testing again. Why? "We just want to double check what SLEC did." So even the US side doesn't trust SLEC! 

[flicks1998 1,044]

9 hours ago, user555 said:

 

 

Here's another kicker. We arrived in the States, and our local health office called us saying they want us to do TB testing again. Why? "We just want to double check what SLEC did." So even the US side doesn't trust SLEC! 

Did the local health office find anything at all to be concerned about? If you have received the all clear with no evidence of TB I’d try and push that health office to let the Dept of State know. If there are going to be any changes made, it’s going to come from other health professionals confirming that SLEC doesn’t know what they are doing. 

[angeljolie 188]

On 2/24/2021 at 12:50 PM, user555 said:

Here's another kicker. We arrived in the States, and our local health office called us saying they want us to do TB testing again. Why? "We just want to double check what SLEC did." So even the US side doesn't trust SLEC! 

I thought this was standard for all who had to undergo sputum test at SLEC which makes waiting for 8 weeks at SLEC moot. 

[RO_AH 1,662]

Well the test came back negative as expected. On to the interview! I hope it does not take forever to reschedule.

[angeljolie 188]

58 minutes ago, RO_AH said:

Well the test came back negative as expected. On to the interview! I hope it does not take forever to reschedule.

Congratulations! Please let us know when her interview gets rescheduled. I've been waiting 2 weeks. 

 

[RO_AH 1,662]

9 hours ago, angeljolie said:

Congratulations! Please let us know when her interview gets rescheduled. I've been waiting 2 weeks. 

 

Did you send an email asking to reschedule? I did that as soon as she got home.

 

I am also upset that the medical stamp that they put in her passport is the first day of the medical and not the date it was completed. This now gives us less than 4 months for her to leave. With the delays at the USEM and the current inability for me to fly there and get her ,that is quite worrisome.

[angeljolie 188]

5 hours ago, RO_AH said:

Did you send an email asking to reschedule? I did that as soon as she got home.

 

I am also upset that the medical stamp that they put in her passport is the first day of the medical and not the date it was completed. This now gives us less than 4 months for her to leave. With the delays at the USEM and the current inability for me to fly there and get her ,that is quite worrisome.

Yes we also sent an email as soon as I got home from SLEC. Have you heard from them yet? 

 

The validity of my medical exam is 3 months from the clearance. Two weeks down, so I only have 10 weeks to leave. I don't even have a new  interview appointment yet. The stress just never ends! 

[flicks1998 1,044]

8 hours ago, RO_AH said:

Did you send an email asking to reschedule? I did that as soon as she got home.

 

I am also upset that the medical stamp that they put in her passport is the first day of the medical and not the date it was completed. This now gives us less than 4 months for her to leave. With the delays at the USEM and the current inability for me to fly there and get her ,that is quite worrisome.

Write to USEM and let them know.  As I mentioned in some other threads, USEM worked with us quite well when the visa was under a month from expiring.  When they first reached out, we had many missed calls one morning and we had no idea who it was.  We texted the number as it was a mobile phone number and that afternoon we had a call back and it was USEM asking us if we were sure we could get to the US before the visa expired.  Ill check tomorrow and see if we still have that text saved or not and can PM the number if we still have it.  It was about 2.5 months ago.

 

[RO_AH 1,662]

2 hours ago, angeljolie said:

Yes we also sent an email as soon as I got home from SLEC. Have you heard from them yet? 

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