(Please let me know if this should be posted elsewhere.)
Had my medical exam today in Montreal, here is my recap. In short, I was missing vaccine boosters despite having reviewed the list over and over again, and a few details could be interesting to pregnant women or women trying to conceive (especially as concerns X-rays and vaccines); otherwise it was pretty straightforward!
My appointment was at 7:45am. I arrived about 5 minutes in advance and had to wear a mask. There was only one other person before me. The lady at reception took my 5 photos, passport (she gave it back straight away), vaccination documents (she kept them), and consulate letter. She took a passport-style photo and gave me a few forms to fill out (personal information, medical history and consents to vaccination). At around 8, I gave her back the forms and sat back in the waiting room.
I got called for the X-rays at around 8:25, at the same time as another lady. We got into cabins and put on a paper gown. I got done first and came out, leaving my things in the cabin. The technician asked if I might be pregnant, and when I said it was a possibility, I had to sign consent forms. She explained that she would protect my abdomen and that while there was indeed a very small risk of harm, I would actually receive 10x more radiation from the sun in an airplane than from an X-ray picture. She took two pictures, and 10 minutes later I was dressed and back in the waiting room.
At about 9:00, I got called by the nurse. She inquired about one prescription that I have, likely because it seems to be an off-label use, and then went over my vaccines. I thought I had them all covered (I read the US list many times!), I had got a few at a pharmacy in January and February to get up to date, but she told me that I was missing three boosters: Hep B, MMR, and varicella. (I did know about the varicella, as I got the first shot less than a month ago.) I think one of the shots I got as a child was the wrong one for the US. She also said that as I'm trying to get pregnant, I should *not* have gotten a live varicella vaccine at the pharmacy. I got a bit confused about the rest. If I remember correctly, she also said that had I not gotten that dose a few weeks ago, she would have been able to give me MMR and (my first dose of) varicella together today, in a safe form. Also because of the possibility that I'm in the very early days of a pregnancy (or perhaps because I got the live varicella shot less than a month ago), she said she couldn't give me the MMR and varicella shots now. So she gave me the HB shot, but wrote a note that it was not advisable to give me the other two today. She said that I can get them later (I still have time before the interview), but that it wouldn t change much, since my current vaccine status doesn't prevent me from entering the US. I asked her to confirm this about 32 times! It's really bothering me, but she said I would have one year to get up to date, and even then, the authorities might not even follow up.
She printed the updated Quebec vaccine records and gave me a copy, along with my original records that she had kept. Then she noted my height and weight, did an eye test (she didn t check my glasses but asked me to read a line with my glasses on, one eye at a time), and took a blood test. That part was done at 9:30.
At about 9:50, the doctor called me. She went over the form (I verbally added two details about my ancient medical history that I had remembered, just to be transparent, but she didn t worry about them or write them down). She temporarily left the room to allow me to put on a gown (I kept my underwear on), and she checked my eyes, ears, knee reflexes, listened to my heart and lungs, and she lifted the gown to palpate my abdomen a couple of times. We were done at 10.
At 10:15, another lady at reception called me to settle the bill. I paid about $440, this includes one HepB shot ($51). She said it would take about 10 working days for the results to get to the consulate, and I would get an email when that would be done, but the consulate already has received notice that my examination was done today.
After I left, I was unsure because I remembered reading on this forum that at least one person had a urine sample collected in 2021. So I called and asked if that was an issue, but the man on the phone said that none needed to be collected.
So that's it! All in all, it took 2.5 hours, the people were very nice, and the waiting wasn't too bad. Let me know if you have any questions!
Vonlee
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5:21 am March 6, 2023
