An overview of my Medical Appointment Today

[Mrs W. 0]

Hi all

I am a UK Citizen married to a US Citizen. I have been in Florida for 4 years on an E2 Visa. I just got married Sept 15th, and so am getting to work on my AOS application asap!

It just so happens I will be in Minnesota for the next 2 weeks so decided to get my medical done whilst I am up here as I have the spare time. I made an appointment on Friday for today at the Twin Cities Medical & Occupational Health Centre. They told me to bring my passprt and all my immunisation history paperwork. It was $175 CASH ONLY for the full medical. It was a really nice health centre and I think I was the only one there - maybe because it was Monday morning? The nurses were really nice too.

I had quite a lot of tests:

Urine sample & test to see my protein level and blood sugar levels. She told me instantly everything was good there with a dip stick test.

Height.

Weight.

Eye Sight Test Chart.

Overview of my medical history, and immunisations were all transferred to one supplementary sheet. i was asked the usual questions and my pulse and blood pressure results were added to the sheet.

Blood Samples - 2 tubes. They have to send these off to test for HIV/AIDS and/or Syphillis. (They took the blood from the inner elbow of my left arm. Easy. She got a vein the first time.)

Mantoux test for TB, even though it will show positive in a few days when i go back because I had already had a BCG injection as a kid, and this will make the test read positive. (They injected me just under the skin on the inner left forearm.)

I also had to have 2 chest X Rays, because they knew my TB Mantoux test would read positive, they tried to speed up the process by haivng the Xrays today, rather than waiting until I came back for a formal positive reading from the Mantoux test. It is the X rays which really show whether you have TB or not. $54 extra.

Tetanus injection. I needed to have one of these because it has been more than 10 years since my last one. (They injected me in the top of my left exterior arm, almost in my shoulder) $20 extra.

Physical exam by the doctor. A lot more general questions. Nothing out of the ordinary. He also tested my reflexes on my knees. Felt my neck & throat. He held his arms out and made me push down on his, then we swopped and i resisted the pressure on his. Same thing with my legs, he held my shins down and vice versa as i sat in a seated position.

That was about everything. I was all done in about an hour.

I have to go back on Thursday to review my mantoux test, blood work, and X ray results, and then I will get 2 copies of the paperwork - one for me, and one to go in my visa application paperwork.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Please do shop around for prices when making these appointments, my first quote was $500 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for the physical, and upto $200 extra for X Rays!!!

Let me know if you have any questions......

MrsW.

[Jasman0717 9]

Nice post, thanks for sharing

[Dakine 26]

I just wondered ifTwin Cities Medical & Occupational Health Centre is considered a Designated Civil Surgeon?

[Mrs W. 0]

Yes of course. I got their info from the USCIC website. They wouldn't be able to conduct immigration physicals if they were not approved Civil surgeons by the USCIC.

Nice post, thanks for sharing

[John & Annie 0]

Annie had her medical done at a clinic like that one and it was really cheap.

FYI, just because you had BGR does not mean you will show positive for TB. Annie had BGR and did not show positive.

[~*Maria*~ 1]

I had my BCG done when i was 3 mos old, had the TB skin test done over here in July this year, it was positive,.. 16mm in size ... but it was a (false positive) its just that the Tb skin test can't tell the difference between actual TB and a BCG vaccination.

My chest X-Ray was clear, but i knew that anyways lol ......

The CS was kind enough to include a letter stating that all future TB skin tests would have a positive result, and stated that i should refrain from getting any more as this could cause severe reactions (blistering) to my skin!

[~*Maria*~ 1]

I'm glad the doctor can get blood out your veins, i'm not so lucky *sigh*

after 4 or 5 attempts he/she gives up on my arm and moves to my hand, well more or less between my knuckles.....my veins are so small that only the smallest butterfly needle can be used, or my veins collapse. By this time, i'm like a pin cushion, next day i have this huge bruise, that takes 2-3 weeks to go away, maybe my blood is too thick, or because it's one of the rare blood groups who knows.... anyways to fill 2 tubes for whatever they want to test it for usually takes them 15 mins to fill

Patience is a virtue, while I sit and laugh at them trying to get blood out of me

They just get frustrated

[Mrs W. 0]

I'm glad the doctor can get blood out your veins, i'm not so lucky *sigh*

after 4 or 5 attempts he/she gives up on my arm and moves to my hand, well more or less between my knuckles.....my veins are so small that only the smallest butterfly needle can be used, or my veins collapse. By this time, i'm like a pin cushion, next day i have this huge bruise, that takes 2-3 weeks to go away, maybe my blood is too thick, or because it's one of the rare blood groups who knows.... anyways to fill 2 tubes for whatever they want to test it for usually takes them 15 mins to fill

Patience is a virtue, while I sit and laugh at them trying to get blood out of me

They just get frustrated

Oh wow, im sorry to hear that. i dont even have a bruise. My arm is sore though from the tetanus shot, but there is no reaction from the mantoux yet....

[Mrs W. 0]

Update -

I went back for them to read the Mantoux test, and it was negative. I did not have any reaction - even though I had had a BCG injection as a child!

It was a different nurse, and she even refunded me my $54 for the chest X rays as she said they should not have been done until a reading was taken from the Mantoux.

I was in shock! A refund! Wow!

Anyway, she put my 2 original medical documents into a sealed envelope for immigration, and gave me 2 copies of it anyway, and told me not to open the envelope.

All my readings were negative, and off I went. 'That was easy!'