My First Doctor's Appointment in Dubai...

I believe I am a healthy person. I have never been confined in the hospital. I'm trying my best to live a healthy lifestyle. I so love walking. I have a friend who makes sure she's not wearing heels whenever we meet up. She knows 'mahaba-habang lakaran lagi ang mangyayari pag kasama niya ako'. I do not fancy fatty foods. I eat fruits and vegetables. The downside is i also love eating (lots of) rice, red meat, mcdo's burgers & fries, snickers and cheese cakes! :-(...I do not smoke. I do drink alcohol in moderation before but totally 'cursed/banned' it when i passed out in one of our drinking sprees with my room mates ie. i did not remember a single thing!. I was crying the next day, not because of hangover but because I saw my comforter, bedsheet, pillow case & shirt soaked in the tub at our bathroom! - lesson learned the hard way. :-)

But earlier this year, I began to feel otherwise. I'm having persistent back & neck pains. I have difficulty in breathing. I'm also having palpitations. I was afraid I might have a serious health condition like heart ailment. Seryosong 'Bawal Magkasakit' dito sa abroad. So I decided to seek doctor's advice today to have a clear diagnosis on my condition. (nagtapang-tapangan ako). :-)

How To Make An Appointment

1) since i have company's health card, i made sure that the hospital i'm going to is accredited by health insurance.
2) call the accredited hospital, in my case i chose Al Zahra Medical Centre ( referred by a friend/officemate)
3) i don't know what's wrong with my health so i made an appointment with internal medicine for a complete examination.
4) make sure to abide your appointment date & time ( mine is today 06 Feb 2010 @ 4:00pm)

receipts, doctor's business card & my health card

The Big Day

I was in Al Zahra at exactly 4:oopm. I went to the reception & told him that i have made an appointment. He checked his computer & asked me to fill-up a registration form & a health questionnaire. He verified my health card. (It is very important to bring your health card otherwise, you might end up paying all the bills). He gave me some papers & ask me to go to the cashier. I paid AED75 only (AED25 for registration fee plus AED50 for the consultation).

After 5 minutes of waiting, the nurse had called my name and ushered me to the doctor- Dr. Elias. Dr. Elias had interviewed me & asked me about my medical history. He also wanted to know if i'm suffering depression right now (stress-related question i think). Do i feel very sad and lonely? To these, i answered him No. :-)

After almost 25 minutes of consultation, he asked her nurse to perform these medical examinations:
1) Blood Pressure- my BP is 110/70; doctor's advice- OK
2) ECG- result is OK
I felt relieved upon knowing that i don't have any heart ailment as per doctor's findings. :-)

3) i don't know the medical term but it got something to do how's your lungs condition/breathingtest.
4) body temperature, height & weight
5) and of course, the use of stethoscope- the most common medical device that is use to listen to internal sound of heart & lungs.

They also made some laboratory tests:
1) blood tests (blood sugar, blood count, thyroid etc..)- results will be on Monday
2) X-ray- results will be on Monday

On Monday, I will get the results of the complete examinations. I'm full of hope that they'll all be okay.

It is really recommended to have a regular medical check-up. Remember, prevention is better than cure. Let's take care of our health at this early. As the old saying goes, 'our health is our wealth'.

Al Zahra Medical Centre @ Zheikh Zayed Road

a glimpse of Zheik Zayed Road :-)