The Medical

I had my medical on Friday. And it was absolutely fine!

I had to fast for 12 hours before my appointment, which was at 10am. So I was able to fast over night at least,  not too bad really. No breakfast, and only water to drink, although black tea and coffee was allowed.

The closest approved surgery was 25 miles away, and it was only two years old, so was pretty nice and spacious. I had to take the rest of the paperwork with me, my passport and my glasses (as I was wearing contact lenses).

When I first got there I went to reception and paid my £260 for the exam, the receptionist then pointed me in the direction of the toilets and gave me a small pot to pee in for the urine test.

The whole appointment was 40 mins long and everything was done by the one doctor, a semi-retired gentlemen who was very professional, friendly and reassuring.

He filled out the rest of the medical form, reading out the questions as he went. These were mostly along the lines of if I suffered from any conditions and if I smoke, drink take drugs etc. I was then asked to strip to my boxers, keeping my t-shirt on, he then weighed me, and took my height and waist measurements. Next up I had to hop onto the bed where he took my blood pressure, listened to my heart and checked my ears, mouth and stomach. Whilst I was there, he took about five viles of blood for the many test that they do, like liver, kidneys, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis and cholesterol. The extraction of the blood was fine, just a little sting in the arm and you don't notice anything after that.

Overall it was pretty quick and painless. He said he should have the results in about a week, where he will then call me to advise the outcome. He will also send me a sealed envelope containing the results, which I enclose with the rest of the application.

My fingers are crossed until next week.