MabuhayJimmy
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Posts posted by MabuhayJimmy
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Hi everybody!
I'm a F-1 student, married to a citizen. Sent in application to change status...i-765 and 131 approved... 130 and i485 not done yet..we have the first interview now in couple of weeks..most likely it will just be one interview all evidence shows we really are inlove and married for real....
problem is though...we fight a lot................................little bit to much...and..ah I dont know
what ..will happen..if we get an divorce within the 2 years after greencard approved? :/
If you're fighting too much it means you and the other person are not able to feel "safe" enough to really say what's on your mind. If you really do love each other and want a life together, then both of you need to read a book called Crucial Conversations and agree to apply the principles. Good luck.
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Thanks for the post, it's an inspiration.
My fiancee's been in treatment since August, and will complete it by End of January 2010.
She gets her first culture results later this week, the smear was negative.
Looks like they did not require another sputum as part of the re-administered medical. What a relief. I'm hoping for the same thing.
Congrats, I hope all is well now!
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I haven't posted for a long while for two reasons:
1. I was depressed
2. I have been extraordinarily busy with work
An update: she began treatment late August and is scheduled to complete it at end of January 2010.
I have leased a condo for her downtown so she could be close to St Luke's Clinic rather than commute from Bulacan each day.
She is responding well to treatment, and over the rash/ itching side effects. She is no longer contageous and they have reduced her meds.
I am hoping to go there in December and see what I can do (if anything) to expedite the final testing, and see if the Embassy will grant her an interview in December of January.
Advice with respect to expediting the final testing (another medical AFTER being deemed cured!?), and getting an interview prior to this would be appreciated.
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I am so sorry for you and for her. Have they recommended a course of treatment and a date in which she can retest?
Again I can't even imagine how disappointing this must be.
Thanks Jauque.
Every three months there will be x-ray and sputum test until 6 months treatment is done. After 6 months treatment, she will another sputum test, the for another 2 months we will be waiting for the result.
She has an appointment everyday for treatment from 2 pm to 4 pm Monday thru Friday. No take home medicine except Sat and Sunday because clinic is closed those days.
Some Info she sent me:
What is TB?
TB is a serious disease cause by the organism MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS that can cause a person to become very sick if left untreated. TB usually affects the lungs but it sometimes affects other parts of the body such as the meninges of the brain, bones, lymph nodes, pleura of the lungs, gastrointestinal and genitourinary system.
How is TB SPREAD?
TB spread through the air when a person with TB disease coughs, laughs, sings or sneeze. TB can remain suspended in the air by means of droplet nuclei. This droplet nuclei is capable of reaching the deepest part of our airways called the Alvelous. A person sick with TB disease can give out as much as 500 droplet nuclei each time he coughs and these droplet nuclei can reach about 78,000 per day if left untreated. However, once treatment for TB disease is started, droplet nuclei can be lessened by about 28 droplet per day.
TB can sometimesstay alive in the air for several hours specially in a small places with no fresh air. Fresh air and sunlight make it harder for TB germs to stay alive.
You cannot get TB germs from people infected wit TB disease by:
-sharing drinking containers or eating utensils
-sharing food
-saliva shared from kissing
-sexual intercourse
-shaking hands
-sharing toothbrush, towels, or bed lines
-using toilet seats
The ONLY WAY you get the TB germs in your body is by BREATHING them IN.
SPUTUM MTB CULTURE TEST
- This Sputum examination allows the TBorganism to grow in a culture media regarless of wether the sputum AFB smear is positive or negative. This is the GOLD STANDARD to diagnose TB disease. It will take 6 to 8 weeks before the result are released.
DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY TEST
-Psotive MTB cultures allow to performance if this test. This test will provide information if the TB organism is sensitive or resistant to the first-line treatment drugs such as RIFAMPICIN, ISONIAZID, ETHAMBOL and PYRAZINAMIDE. It will also tell us if a person has MULTIPLE Drug-resistant (MDR TB), a kind of TB that is life-threatening and hard to treat.
HOW IS TB TREATED?
TREATMENT FOR TB INFECTION
-Even though the TB germs in yourbody are dormant (sleeping)
they are very strong. Many germs are killed shortly after you start taking your medicine. but some germs stay alive in the body for a long time. As long as you have TB germs in your body, thye can wake up, multiply and make you sick with TB disease. The only way to get rid of TB germs is by taking TB medicines.
One way of treating TB infection is by taking ISONIAZID for 6 to 9 months.
Any medicine, including TB pills, can cause side effects. Inform your doctor right away if you have:
-fever
-rash
-tinging or numbness of your finger or toes
-nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or cramps
-Juandice
-blurring of vision
-changes in your hearing such as ringing in your ears
-diziness
-bruising
-easy bleeding when cut
-tingling or numbness around mouth
-loss of appetite
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That's for chronic pneumonia. I am very concerned of her acute emotional stress. That in itself lowers resistance to tuberculi bacteria. She should have been given isoniazid and ethambutol 8 weeks straight after that! That's my opinion though (which lacks the diagnostic evidence that I should see). I am only basing this on the fact that 2 of her X-ray results showed consistent scarring.
Tell her... TO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY...
NO COLD drinks, air, NON WHATSOEVER!!!!
NO SMOKING, NO AIR-CONDITIONING that makes her chilled. If she has to go to a place air conditioned she must keep herself warm.
Keep away from people. Crowd causes stress. Stress causes respiratory risks.
SHE MUST SLEEP AT LEAST 10 hours at night.
SHE MUST EAT even if she does not want to.
SHE MUST TAKE B complex vitamins to activate/enhance her nervous system and thereby improving immune centers in her brain.
No carrying heavy weights of any kind.
When she gets to San Diego, bring her to UCI Med. Orange County, see James Williams. He's good.
Thank you doctor, I gave her your instructions last night!
I'm so sad, the result is "positive" for TB.
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what day did st lukes tell you to call for the culture results?
sasha414, the clinic told her to call on 7/28. She called a few times last week, but no results ready.
Then finally they called her on July 24th, 8 weeks and 1 day after the negative smear result in May.
No results communicated, just come and see the doctor for the results.
We are so on edge right now!
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I went through sputum test too,i called them 2 days before the date they gave me to call them..They told me that i can report to the clinic from mon-fri and i asked them the result and they said they are not allowed to say anything and the result was negative..I hope the result of your fiancee is negative,your in my prayer...
Thank you davra, your post gives me hope. She finds out Monday AM, I'm all in knots right now.
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That's for chronic pneumonia. I am very concerned of her acute emotional stress. That in itself lowers resistance to tuberculi bacteria. She should have been given isoniazid and ethambutol 8 weeks straight after that! That's my opinion though (which lacks the diagnostic evidence that I should see). I am only basing this on the fact that 2 of her X-ray results showed consistent scarring.
Tell her... TO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY...
NO COLD drinks, air, NON WHATSOEVER!!!!
NO SMOKING, NO AIR-CONDITIONING that makes her chilled. If she has to go to a place air conditioned she must keep herself warm.
Keep away from people. Crowd causes stress. Stress causes respiratory risks.
SHE MUST SLEEP AT LEAST 10 hours at night.
SHE MUST EAT even if she does not want to.
SHE MUST TAKE B complex vitamins to activate/enhance her nervous system and thereby improving immune centers in her brain.
No carrying heavy weights of any kind.
When she gets to San Diego, bring her to UCI Med. Orange County, see James Williams. He's good.
Thank you doctor, I gave her your instructions last night!
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Jimmy, I am a medical doctor practicing here in Cebu City, Philippines. I would advise you not to speculate on anything right now although I would know that this is hard to do. Whether positive or otherwise, it is against medical ethics to discuss medical concerns over the phone unless in materially improbable circumstances. Your fiancee need to go to Manila immediately. Where is she from, if I may ask?
Just a side bit: Undergoing an 8 week sputum test means that her chest x-ray was not clear. That means, there is scarring. The sputum testing is only a way to find out if in her respiratory cavity, there are bacteria present that are multiplying within her lungs. They are usually fought off the body. Everyone of us are chronically susceptible to get it. In any part of the world. By the way, some show no symptoms at all over a number of years because these bacteria remain "inactive". Hence the reason for sputum testing. To answer the question, do these bacteria develop or bring TB and if these bacteria are antibiotic resistant.
Thank you for your reply doctor.
She did have a chest x-ray that was not clear, both in May 2009, and in November 2008. Her sputum smears were negative both times. I had her tested last November with a sputum, but no culture. In November the smears were negative, and the doc diagnosed her with "pneumonitis". Neither of us were aware of the culture part of the treting, we just trusted the doc at the local clinic she went to. He said it was "environmental" and there was no treatment they could administer.
After the St Luke's Clinic X-Ray in May 2009, she had to wait 3 weeks for the St Luke's Clinic sputum test and culture appointment. During that waiting period I sent her to a Pulmonary doc at St Luke's Hospital, no tests, just an examination, and he reviewed the November 2008 X-Ray. He was certain it was TB. He couldnt beleive the other doctor didnt perform the culture, and added she could have been cured by now.
Finally, when she took the last sputum in May 2009, the St Luke's Clinic doc said "it's 50-50 you have TB".
So you see we've had the whole spectrum of opinions. After 7 weeks and no call from St Luke's Clinic I was beginning to feel we'd dodged the bullet.
What would be so discouraging would be if it's positive we've "lost" 2 months she could have been in treatment. And it begs the question why it took so long to diagnose? Unless they were trying to detemine which drugs will best treat it? I know I shouldnt speculate, and it's really hard not too.
She is currently in Bulcan (Metro Manila), and will go see the St Luke's Clinic Doc on Monday. As luck would have have it she is taking an IT certification test today, so she couldnd go to Manila.
Again, thanks for your insights.
Jimmy! As my line of work dictates, may I ask what medications were she given at the moment of diagnosis at St. Luke's? If you say none, I am going to be very angry at the fact that she was not given an immediate dose of anti-bacterial isoniazid and ethambutol for 2 weeks. I know I am giving you a cause of concern now but I would like to know more about your wife's case. Please reply soonest. Maybe I can help.
It was Clarithromycin, twice daily for 7 days.
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Jimmy, I am a medical doctor practicing here in Cebu City, Philippines. I would advise you not to speculate on anything right now although I would know that this is hard to do. Whether positive or otherwise, it is against medical ethics to discuss medical concerns over the phone unless in materially improbable circumstances. Your fiancee need to go to Manila immediately. Where is she from, if I may ask?
Just a side bit: Undergoing an 8 week sputum test means that her chest x-ray was not clear. That means, there is scarring. The sputum testing is only a way to find out if in her respiratory cavity, there are bacteria present that are multiplying within her lungs. They are usually fought off the body. Everyone of us are chronically susceptible to get it. In any part of the world. By the way, some show no symptoms at all over a number of years because these bacteria remain "inactive". Hence the reason for sputum testing. To answer the question, do these bacteria develop or bring TB and if these bacteria are antibiotic resistant.
Thank you for your reply doctor.
She did have a chest x-ray that was not clear, both in May 2009, and in November 2008. Her sputum smears were negative both times. I had her tested last November with a sputum, but no culture. In November the smears were negative, and the doc diagnosed her with "pneumonitis". Neither of us were aware of the culture part of the treting, we just trusted the doc at the local clinic she went to. He said it was "environmental" and there was no treatment they could administer.
After the St Luke's Clinic X-Ray in May 2009, she had to wait 3 weeks for the St Luke's Clinic sputum test and culture appointment. During that waiting period I sent her to a Pulmonary doc at St Luke's Hospital, no tests, just an examination, and he reviewed the November 2008 X-Ray. He was certain it was TB. He couldnt beleive the other doctor didnt perform the culture, and added she could have been cured by now.
Finally, when she took the last sputum in May 2009, the St Luke's Clinic doc said "it's 50-50 you have TB".
So you see we've had the whole spectrum of opinions. After 7 weeks and no call from St Luke's Clinic I was beginning to feel we'd dodged the bullet.
What would be so discouraging would be if it's positive we've "lost" 2 months she could have been in treatment. And it begs the question why it took so long to diagnose? Unless they were trying to detemine which drugs will best treat it? I know I shouldnt speculate, and it's really hard not too.
She is currently in Bulcan (Metro Manila), and will go see the St Luke's Clinic Doc on Monday. As luck would have have it she is taking an IT certification test today, so she couldnd go to Manila.
Again, thanks for your insights.
Jimmy! As my line of work dictates, may I ask what medications were she given at the moment of diagnosis at St. Luke's? If you say none, I am going to be very angry at the fact that she was not given an immediate dose of anti-bacterial isoniazid and ethambutol for 2 weeks. I know I am giving you a cause of concern now but I would like to know more about your wife's case. Please reply soonest. Maybe I can help.
The pulminary specialist at St Luke's Hospital (week of May 11th) didnt prescribe her anything. He just said go to the clinic at the end of May as instructed for your sputum smears and culture, and do whatever they tell you.
She WAS given a week's worth of antibiotics from the St Luke's Clinic (big pills, I'd have to see if she kept the name) after her 3 sputum smears were negative (May 28th). The antibiotic she took made her feel better after she completed it. She gets a dry cough off and on, it was present around that time.
By the way, since November 2008 I have noted the following pattern with her---when she is exposed to:
- actute emotional stress
- smoke
- gas or paint fumes
- heavy dust
- very hot humid weather
- significant lack of sleep
She can have trouble breathing, and may get chest pain. If it's not TB, I will certainly be able to get her treatment here in the San Diego Area, we have some very good pulminary docs here according to my physician.
I'll see if I can get the name of that antibiotic---she probably remembers, she said she could "taste" it all day.
Thanks again!
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I am not sure what does the phone reply means. I went through sputum culture too, and then few days before the date I was told to call them for sputum culture result, my fiancé called them. He was told that I should go back to SLEC for vaccination and bring my passport. They didn't exactly told him that my sputum culture was negative but when they said I will have vaccination, then we already assumed that my result is negative because they don't give vaccination unless you are cleared.
But hoping for you guys that the result favors you. Keep prayin'!
Thank you adiiann, in our case they did not mention vaccinations, the letter or her passport.
And THEY called her a few days before she was told the result would be ready. For those reasons, I am worried.
Did you meet with doctor to get your result?
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Additional question:
Has anyone or anyone's fiancee received a call from St Luke's Clinic telling them to "come talk to the doctor to get your sputum culture test results", and "passed" the medical?
I'd like to hear from both "yes" and "no" experiences, and also how long it took to get the call from the clinic.
Thanks.
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Jimmy, I am a medical doctor practicing here in Cebu City, Philippines. I would advise you not to speculate on anything right now although I would know that this is hard to do. Whether positive or otherwise, it is against medical ethics to discuss medical concerns over the phone unless in materially improbable circumstances. Your fiancee need to go to Manila immediately. Where is she from, if I may ask?
Just a side bit: Undergoing an 8 week sputum test means that her chest x-ray was not clear. That means, there is scarring. The sputum testing is only a way to find out if in her respiratory cavity, there are bacteria present that are multiplying within her lungs. They are usually fought off the body. Everyone of us are chronically susceptible to get it. In any part of the world. By the way, some show no symptoms at all over a number of years because these bacteria remain "inactive". Hence the reason for sputum testing. To answer the question, do these bacteria develop or bring TB and if these bacteria are antibiotic resistant.
Thank you for your reply doctor.
She did have a chest x-ray that was not clear, both in May 2009, and in November 2008. Her sputum smears were negative both times. I had her tested last November with a sputum, but no culture. In November the smears were negative, and the doc diagnosed her with "pneumonitis". Neither of us were aware of the culture part of the treting, we just trusted the doc at the local clinic she went to. He said it was "environmental" and there was no treatment they could administer.
After the St Luke's Clinic X-Ray in May 2009, she had to wait 3 weeks for the St Luke's Clinic sputum test and culture appointment. During that waiting period I sent her to a Pulmonary doc at St Luke's Hospital, no tests, just an examination, and he reviewed the November 2008 X-Ray. He was certain it was TB. He couldnt beleive the other doctor didnt perform the culture, and added she could have been cured by now.
Finally, when she took the last sputum in May 2009, the St Luke's Clinic doc said "it's 50-50 you have TB".
So you see we've had the whole spectrum of opinions. After 7 weeks and no call from St Luke's Clinic I was beginning to feel we'd dodged the bullet.
What would be so discouraging would be if it's positive we've "lost" 2 months she could have been in treatment. And it begs the question why it took so long to diagnose? Unless they were trying to detemine which drugs will best treat it? I know I shouldnt speculate, and it's really hard not too.
She is currently in Bulcan (Metro Manila), and will go see the St Luke's Clinic Doc on Monday. As luck would have have it she is taking an IT certification test today, so she couldnd go to Manila.
Again, thanks for your insights.
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My fiancee had negative sputum smears at St Luke's Clinic, May 25 - 27.
TODAY, 8 weeks and 1-day later, she got a call from the St Luke's Clinic. She was told her sputum culture results are ready, and to come to the clinic.
She asked them what the result was.
They replied they are "not allowed to tell, especially over the phone, the doctor will inform you".
There was no further instruction such as bring your letter or your passport.
She cannot get there until Monday.
I think this is a BAD sign. I am very worried.
Does anyone have experience with this, or know if this likely means they want to tell her in person she has tested positive for TB?
Being a health care professional myself I can tell you that giving out any medical information over the phone is not a common practice. In fact, I do not know any clinicians that tell their patients or clients personal medical details via phone.
The reason being, you never can truly never know who you are talking to on the other end of the phone. Disclosing personal medical information via phone is unethical and if disclosed to the another person other then the patient/ client, can be in direct violation of HIPAA laws (patients right to medical privacy).
I cannot speculate into whether or not the diagnosis is unfavorable to you or not. But can tell you, I have worked under a few different doctors and the policy is to always have the patient come in for the results positive or negative.
Hope this eases your mind.
Thank you for the reply, it does ease my mind somewhat. Honestly though I am caught between numbness and feeling weak---I havent seen her since Febraury and we were so hoping to get married in November here in the US.
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My fiancee had negative sputum smears at St Luke's Clinic, May 25 - 27.
TODAY, 8 weeks and 1-day later, she got a call from the St Luke's Clinic. She was told her sputum culture results are ready, and to come to the clinic.
She asked them what the result was.
They replied they are "not allowed to tell, especially over the phone, the doctor will inform you".
There was no further instruction such as bring your letter or your passport.
She cannot get there until Monday.
I think this is a BAD sign. I am very worried.
Does anyone have experience with this, or know if this likely means they want to tell her in person she has tested positive for TB?
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Hello all
My sweetheart was told there was a small spot on the left lung and to go for the Sputum Tests. She did that and then we went into the 2 month waiting period for the results. We received no call prior to the June 30th Deadline and called today, July 1st, 2009 as instructed.
She was told to bring her Appointment letter, Passport, and receipt for Air21. They said Next Monday, which will be July 6th or Thursday which will be July 9th.
I think from what I can read in here is that she will finish the St Lukes processing and then she will be sent over to the Embassy for the interview. Can someone please verify for me if this is the case?
I am thinking of joining her in Manila for the interview so I need to book a flight quick. God I PRAY THERE ARE NO TYPHOONS.
Thanks everyone
God Bless
Brian
Congrats guys, my fiancee is going on 8 weeks post sputum test, and no word from St Lukes. There was no TB present in the sputum, and now we're waiting on the culture results. I'm praying hard its turns out the same way for her!!!
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I am in a similar situation.
My fiancee had something in her chest x-ray on May 8th that caused her to come back 3 weeks later for a sputum, May 25th - 27th. This is AFTER they told her initially she “passed”. She was devastated. The sputum was "negative", and they gave her enough antibiotics for 1 week. They told her she will have results in 9 1/2 weeks on August 4th.
We are 5 weeks into the wait so far.
If she tests positive she may or may not have to go to St Luke’s Clinic every day for the meds (which I think are free). If she has to go to there each day I will get her a furnished apartment, the taxi ride each day back and forth from Bulacan would be too brutal. I think a few hundred dollars a month might get her a safe clean furnished place, I'm not sure. It doesn’t matter, I will pay.
I have told her that I love her, and I will wait for her NO MATTER WHAT. I mean it, I wont give up on her EVER. I love her more than ANYONE in the world. If I have to move there or to another country in Asia to have a life with her, I will. I tell her this EVERY DAY.
Your fiancee needs you more than ever, let her know that you are her ROCK. Ask yourself what life would be like without her? Would you be happy? Fulfilled? I have a great job, and make a verrry good salary. But she matters more to me than any job or lifestyle.
Note: In November 2008 I had her tested, sputum but no culture because we didn’t know about the culture or it's significance. The sputum was negative then too, and doctor said it is “phneunonitis”, that there was no TB.
Between the medical exam "failure" and the sputum at St Luke’s Clinic May 25th – 27th, I had her evaluated by a pulmonary specialist at Lt Luke's Hospital. He reviewed her November X-rays (no access to the May X-rays from the St Luke’s Clinic), examined her and said he thought “for sure it's TB”.
After after the sputum results May 25th - 27th, the St Luke's Clinic doctor said she thought it was 50-50 she has TB.
So what heck, who knows---we’ve had the entire spectrum of opinion. I suppose this is why they have the culture test to tell for certain.
All we can do is hang in there, meditate, pray, excercise...whatever gets you through...and keep supporting her man!
Chin up!
At first it was hard for me to accept. I couldn't believe it. One more month of waiting. Almost every step of this process has been nothing but hurry up and wait. The second time was much harder to accept. She had gone to another doctor to do the test before she went for the official test. They didn't find anything but this doctor was not one that was recommended by the embassy and the results could not be accepted. She wanted the reassurance anyway. After we got the results, I flipped out. Even accusing her of sabotaging herself to fail so she wouldn't be able to come. (I had doubts at the time) In the end, knowing that it's out of our control, what else can you do but support her and encourage her. I too have a strong feeling that, after the second visit, that there was a chance that she might never past and might not be able to come over here. For now, I have to push those feelings aside.Be sure to let us know how it went. I wish you and her the best of luck.
First, I want to thank everyone for all their kind words and support! Well, Janet is now back in Manila, and will report to St Luke's tomorrow morning at 6am to start these sputum test(s). After her last trip, as soon as she arrived back home in Cebu she went and had another test done there, which produced negative results (which I know can not be used for the Embassy). She has already started to take medications for the test I'm told. We will see what happens from here. I'm not going to get into this mode of thinking the worst at this stage. It sounds as though pretty well all of this is curable with proper medicines, and if that's what it takes, that's what we will do. I was asked what would happen between us if she don't pass. I told her, I will wait and we will find the cure. She responded by saying, "Thank You." I told her I have already made a committment to her, and I will be by her side through all of this. I will do a lot of praying, and wait and see what happens in regards to janet's results. I will keep you all updated. Thanks once again for your support!
UPDATE: I had to send janet back to Manila for the sputum test which did involve spitting in a jar(s) for three days. Now we are on hold for a minimum of at least two months awaiting the results. If she is negative, then we can proceed to the interview. If positive, then she will be put on medications for six months (is what she is telling me) and then have to jump through the whole exam again coz her medical papers will be expired. I'm a bit confused by all of this yet, so I could have some details a bit wrong here. In the event she will need this "six month treatment" plan, does anyone know the approximate costs of all of this? Janet is telling me at this point she must go there daily to take this medicine. Why can she not take it where she lives in Cebu? I must assume they give it to her and watch that she takes it. My concern is the cost of having her basically move to Manila for six months and go through all this. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being a money miser, but only concerned of having enough resources in the event this happens to pay for all of this. Anyone have an idea of costs involved if this is the issue? Is this a common thing in the Philippines? Sounds like possible tuberculosis to me. I'm trying to plan for a worst case scenerio here. Something tells me we will be looking at treatment. Hope not but I got a funny feeling about this deal at St Luke's. Any advise or past experiences would be appreciated. Thanks, Lyle
***HELP CALLING US EMBASSY FOR APPOINTMENT MANILA
in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion
Posted · Edited by MabuhayJimmy
Hopefully you've resolved this by now, if not I'd probably just go to the embassy to schedule the interview. I wnt there with my fiancee in December to ask a question, they didn't seem to mind us being there but I was glad I brought my passport to show I'm a US citizen. I don't think that would be a problem if you went there to schedule the interview. I hope all goes well at the interview!