Recently I was at Charter Medical in Smithfield in Dublin to attend their Health Screening Clinic. Here’s a little post on how I got on. 

 

Let me start by painting a little picture of me. I am 32 years old, I train a minimum of 4 days per week, I eat a good, varied diet and I work as a personal trainer. So you’d think I’m pretty healthy right? Right! But there are always little niggles, little concerns that we have. I am no different. And having never had a full health check before (I genuinely didn’t know you could do such a thing!) – I thought it was about time.  When I heard about the Charter Medical Health Screening  – I thought it would be a perfect way to make sure I’m ticking all the boxes when it comes to my body and how it is functioning. 

 

What happens at the screening: 

I arrived at my appointment time – fasting (we were asked to fast 12 hours in advance so as to facilitate the blood tests). I checked in at the reception and had to fill out a questionnaire prior to beginning. The questionnaire allows you to write down all or any concerns you might have or want to discuss with the doctor. Shortly afterwards was taken by a nurse to begin the first stages of the examination which were as follows: 

• Urine Sample – no explanation needed here! 
• Waist, weight and Height  – do see if you are within the healthy limitations
• ECG Test (to check for any problems with the heart) – comfortable and completely pain-free, simply hooked up to a machine with some pads. 
• Blood Test 
• Lung Test – performed by breathing as long and hard as you can into a mouthpiece. 

There were some elements of the screening that I did not have to do – so you can find a full list of tests that you can request by clicking HERE. After these stages I was given a seat in the waiting room and offered tea and toast – as I’d been fasting I was more than happy to accept. The next phase was to meet with the doctor – Dr. Eimear Lavelle. 

 

Dr. Lavelle performed a routine examination of the body including an abdominal examination, a breast check and I also requested a smear test. I’ve been pretty good with checking my own breasts and have always stayed up to date with my smears. Last summer I did go through a scary time of finding a lump in my left breast. Anyone who follows my social media – might remember me talking about how my anxiety had returned in the late summer – this was largely down to this discovery and my worry surrounding it at the time. I was seen at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin in October, an ultra sound was performed and it was determined that my lump was normal tissue and nothing to worry about. I cannot stress how important it is for women of EVERY AGE to have their breasts checked and their smears done. I had my very first smear at 23 years old. At the time I think I had to pay for it (it was nine years ago so I can’t quite remember) as the cervical check program runs for ladies of 25 years and over. If you are over 25 and haven’t had your breast or cervical health checked – the only thing I can say is DO IT. It’s so important to take care of you from the inside out.  Being able to cover both of these at the Charter Medical screening is fantastic.

 

Dr. Lavelle took time to talk me through any and all concerns I brought to her. I actually felt like we could discuss anything. Eimear (I can call her Eimear right?!?)  explained that the lung test had shown a mild obstruction and so we discussed this further. She recommended a chest X-ray just to be sure that all was ok. I presumed this would take a bit of time but I was directed to the radiology department straight away and waited for – not kidding about 4-5 minutes – before I was brought straight down for the X-ray. Once that was done I was free to go. 

 

My results arrived a couple of weeks ago in the post – extensive and detailed – and the news was all good. The results booklet goes through all results including: 

• Pulse and blood pressure
• Urinalysis 
• Lung Test 
• Medical physical exam results
• Full blood count
• Kidney profile
• Liver function test
• Bone profile 
• Fasting lipid profile
• Fasting glucose 
• Iron profile 
• Thyroid function test
• Ferritin level
• Vitamin B12 levels 
• Folate Levels
• Vitamin D levels

My report also included: 

• Chest X-ray results

 

 

My Verdict: 

We are all so quick to spend money on beauty products, clothes and nights out and far slower to put it into ourselves the right way – in a way I believe that really matters. The Charter Medical screening is basically an NCT test for your body and will identify any issues whatsoever that you might have. The testing is thorough and covers all bases from bloods to sexual health and everything in between. Knowing that you can have all these tests done in an hour or two at one facility is fantastic. If you have any health concerns that have been niggling away at the back of your mind or if you have gone some time without having a full health check up – then I cannot recommend this service enough. For me the Health Screening has given me complete peace of mind and I really don’t think you can put a price on that.

 

The Charter Medical health screening is available for both men and women and is usually priced at €495. However, when booking, if you mention my name you can avail of the complete service for just €350. Start 2017 right. 

 

For more information visit Charter Medical on Facebook  or at www.chartermedical.ie