mercury28

My husband and i and our 2 children are having our medical's done in Knightsbridge on 1st February.

I just wanted some peoples view points who have already had there medical's done.

I have ulcerative colitis which i control with diet and alternate treatments, so am on no western medicines, and only see my consultant once a year.

My daughter has a heart murmur which is being monitored every 2 years. She has no problems, and is on no medicines.

Are these the kind of medical problems that will stop our application going through?

Can anyone tell me what they test for when they take your blood? and just generally tell me what to expect, i am finding the build up to this very stressful!!

How long after the medical's, does it take to find out whether your application has been accepted?

Any advice, and other peoples experiences would be great to hear.

Thanks
x

Grendel

I'm not sure whether your particular health problems could block the visa, but there might be somebody here who is a little more knowledgeable about such things.

However, from what I remember the blood test was pretty standard - they're looking for serious issues like HIV and signs of chronic illnesses, ie. anything that could lead to long-term treatment that could cost the Canadian health service a lot of money. If you have a problem like that, you probably know about it already so the test shouldn't reveal anything surprising.

We were very worried before our medicals - not for any particular health conditions, but because we didn't know what to expect and this was the final stage of getting a visa we'd waited for over 3+ years. If I remember correctly, the doctor checked our weight and height, eyesight and hearing, asked us to fill in a long form regarding our medical history, took blood for testing, and checked our heartrate and blood pressure.

I failed the blood pressure test, which has to be 140/90, and was given three months to get it down to the right level (I was also ordered to undergo an echocardiogram, ECG and another test I can't remember - all told, they came to £500+ at a private hospital I had to use). I did get it down, thanks to regular exercise, reducing stress at work and altering my diet. The impression I had (and I may be wrong) was that taking blood pressure medication would put up a red flag to immigration officials, and should be avoided if at all possible.

Other than that it was pretty straightforward. Try to relax about it, although that might be hard at the moment. Thousands of people go through the medicals every year, probably feeling exactly the same as you. We were told Canada only wanted to block people who would be very expensive to treat, and even some of those are given visas as long as they can provide proof of medication or imminent treatment. The vast majority of applicants have no problems.

Good luck, and I hope it works out.

nativenewyorker

We have just got back from having our medicals in Nottingham. I was really worried as I am a hypertensive diabetic with a list of medications as long as your arm! However the Doctor was very reassuring and ticked category 'A', because both conditions are very well controlled.

I took a report from my GP which had results of all blood tests etc. The Doctor said there shouldn't be any problems, but now begins the long wait!

Try not to worry, as long as you are not going to be a huge drain on their resources then hopefully there shouldn't be a problem. We were reassured that the Canadian medical practitioners are very sensible so you will be fine.

still waiting

our family of five had our medicals in knightsbridge, my oh and my youngest had previous medical issues, the doctor held onto our files until we sent him letters from the consultants stating that the conditions were static,he then sent on our files and it all went smoothly from then on.
the doctor was very helpful so relax it will be fine.
good luck

singingringingtree

We are having our meds at Knighstbridge on 29th January, so I guess we will both be watching for the postman around the same time! OH has recently suffered from trauma and anxiety related to a work incident (police) and has had raised B/P, so we got letters from the doctor saying for BP OH has had all the tests and he puts it down reactive anxiety to the incident at work and 'white coat syndrome', and that he is coming to the end of the anxiety and trauma period and should be off meds in next eight weeks. Cost us £110 for the letters, but hopefully will save him undergoing expensive tests.

Best of luck!

snowshoveller

if you can find one

re: OP, so long as whatever you have is well controlled and likely to remain so for the foreseeable you should be ok

lins and Stef McLachlan

Hi
We had our medical in November at Knightsbridge. They do the chest X-rays on the premises. Blood tests and Urine tests for Adults, Urine test for children. Weight and Height....if you are over BMI 35 and on the pill...prepare yourself for a lecture about the dangers of the pill. I was exactly 35...but on a reducing diet from my GP having already lost 2 stone. Now only BMI 32 so it is still coming down (thank god)

Pretty straight forward overall. If you are a woman with larger breasts, you may have to have an additional X-ray as the breasts show as a shadow. They do charge an additional £40 if you need a second....but as I was not told about that I refused to pay the additional fee. Ladies should be careful that they are not either about to start their period or immediately after....as blood in the urine will lead to further investigations. I did not have a breast exam.....just lymph nodes under arms checked. Did not have a smear test...took the results from my last one with me.

I was found to have a previously undiagnosed heart murmur and an irregular pulse, so I have had to have an Echocardiogram (so further tests) This showed that I have a slightly leaking Aortic valve (backflush) which does not require medication or an operation....just monitoring over the years....so should not be a drain on their health system. I also did not have any symptoms. It was a huge shock for me.

When we went for the medicals we took a printout from our GP showing any medical history over the past 10 years. My husband was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and High blood pressure last year, which is managed with diet and tablets....he is stabilised now.....so they needed his latest review. Again, as you have to pay for medication in Canada....not a drain on their healthcare. So my advice would be to see your GP and go in there armed with all the medical reports you can get your hands on. Also get a copy of the last smear test, then they will not be tempted to ask for another smear test.

The Radiologist phoned next day to say that the consultant had checked the X-rays and that they were all clear....which I thought was nice. They only wanted two photos for each of us....not the three you are asked to take.

We are at the stage that the additional tests went back to the DMP and reached CHC 21st December 2009, so have a nerve racking wait to be either refused on medical grounds (I hope not) or passports to be requested.

Hope this helps and good luck with your medicals.
Stef

mercury28

Thats why i am slightly worried, the thing with Ulcerative colitis is that is very unpredictable. I can be fine for years with very little symptoms, or i can flare up chronically for no reason.

I am on no medication, i try and control it myself, BUT the problem is with all the stress of the last year (Long story) I have been flared up, and really bad since christmas.

My husband is going crazy with me, for being flared up right now, like that is help me.

Emmjay

HI, sorry not sure about your medical problems, but:

I have just had my medicals in Manchester and, as far, as i am aware everything was okay. I have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), which is controlled on medication and I have mild asthma and allergies, which again is under control. I told the doctor about them and she did not seem worried.

They also checked my weight (chubby), height, blood sample, urine sample, hearing, eyesight, blood pressure and boobs and stomach for lumps/masses etc. They do not give you the results but send them on to London.

I am keeping my fingers crossed to hear good news. I do not see why ulcerative colitis should be a problem, if it is controlled with meds, but not sure about the heart murmur?

Hope all goes well for you and yours, good luck

Emmjay

singingringingtree

Interesting, giving a boob-check seems to vary from doctor to doctor. Seems to be the exception rather than the norm. Though, as we are paying so much, it's good to get this professionally checked in my opinion.

mercury28

I guess my colitis might not be the problem, as i don't take medication to control it, only alternate medications and diet which i pay for myself. Apparently they are meant to predict the future of your medical condition over the next 10 years. Well i have no idea how they can do that with colitis as it changes from one day to the next.

It's our daughter whom i am worried about, she has a heart murmur with no physical symptoms, but at some point in the future she will need a trans-catheter device closure. I have no idea how much that costs, but i think my husband read some where that they allow $25,000 over 5 years, so any medical bills over that amount will be deemed as excessive consumption, and the application will get turned down.

It is just such a worrying time, it is such an expensive process to immigrate, specially when you didn't have a lot of money to start with!! And basically if it is turned down on medical grounds, then i might as well have chucked thousands of pounds up the street. My husband is so stressed out about it, he is thinking about stopping the application now, as we are now due to pay our final payments and medicals equating to near on another £3000.

Babycoach

From a nurse - dont even mention the colitis. How are they going to know?
Say as little as possible and it will be fine.

Babycoach

Nurse again lol! Take some Bach Rescue Remedy ( the Quees does!) its safe and does not show up on tests! for both of you and chill out, it will all be worth the drama. Go do some meditation classes both of you while you wait I can feel the stresss.

lins and Stef McLachlan

Hi
The medicals cost us £814 for a family of 4 and you will pay $495 each for the adults only for the RPRF which amounts to £576.47 (using todays 1.70 rate) so a total of £1390.47.....not the £3000 you think it will cost. I think that you need to take a deep breath and wait and see what the medicals bring..........says one panicking person to another. We are in the same boat....it is a good feeling though that we have paid it all now........but even we could still be turned down on medical grounds.......and there is not much we can do about it.....other than to wait and hope.

Your health issues have been ongoing throughout the process you started.....and you thought at the time that they would or should not be an issue.....KEEP THE FAITH. Having already invested a considerable sum, not to mention the worry along the rocky road that is immigration....thus far....you really would be throwing money away to throw the towel in now. Some people have been granted PR with far more serious illnesses being held under control.

If you pull the plug on it now...you will always be wondering if it might have all worked out in the end. My advice is to stick with it.
Hope this helps
Stef

mrsr0binson

We had our medicals in August last year.
Sadly the Dr. was a total ASS; he was more interested in showing us pictures of his dogs, then in performing our medicals . I had a FULL breast exam, where he promptly told me that he had 'great concerns'. He worried the living crap our of me and insisted that I have an immediate mammogram; (at a further cost of £175). To cut a long story short, I had to go thru a great deal of stress, additional money (£425) and unnecessary tests, to satisfy his doubts, before we could proceed. On the plus side, it only took 3 weeks from him sending our completed medicals until we received our passport requests. I do sbsolutely agree that I feel better knowing that I am going over to start our new life with a clean bill of health and I will be taking with me some wonderful pictures of my boobies

Good luck with your medicals. I'm sure they will be absolutley fine - we had no problems regarding our other existing medical conditions at all....