[evenstar]

hi

I was just wondering if anyone with these conditions (either current or in the past) has gone to a medical and what the outcome was.

I have FMS but am getting myself better and am back working. Im pretty worried though that when it comes time for my medical it will not go well, and i cant say id be suprised if i wasnt allowed to immigrate.

[Jo Jo]

I have IBS and it wasn't an issue in the medical at all. I'm afraid I can't help with any info about the FMS or ME.

[veronica]

my daughter has virtually cured her IBS by cutting down on wheat as much as possible. if that helps at all

[Silverwing86]

Hi Evenstar,

I have Fibromyalgia (and IBS as a symptom of) and had a very arduous time with INZ during our application. I was not the main applicant and we (purposely !) did not claim any points for my qualifications or work experience. We proactively supplied letters from my GP and the specialist who diagnosed the FMS when we submitted our ITA's, in an effort to save time down the line as we suspected they would want more information on this.

I believe though, that the main problem was that I wasn't working, and receiving a disability pension, at the time of the application. What also complicates matters is that so little is yet understood about Fibromyalgia that no definitive long term prognosis can be given, which unfortunately, happens to be exactly what the Medical Assessors want.

INZ's Medical Assessors have become very (overly ?) careful since the medical policy changes in November 2005, which means they try to cover their backs as much as possible. We went through 4 (!) rounds of providing extra information to the Medical Assessors before the Visa Officer made the decision to grant me a Medical Waiver (apparently unusual in the SMC ?).

The most frustrating thing was that the Medical Assessors simply didn't seem to be reading all the information I was providing (letters from my GP x2, specialist x2, myself x2 and, as a last ditch effort because there really was nothing more I could provide, 1 from a psychologist I was seeing for help with the grieving process over the loss of my father), very well !!

It got really ridiculuous in the end when the Medical Assessors stated that they didn't think I would be capable of either doing the work I had claimed points for in the ITA (which I hadn't !!) or keeping house :mad: !!! That really took the cake as it was never questioned before, or even mentioned, at any time, either by them or by me and besides being totally irrelevant, it was also completely untrue !!

I took particular offence to this and told them so in my letter of response. I was polite about it of course, but expressed my displeasure in no uncertain terms (good thing I'm a good letter writer :D) and in the end I think the Visa Officer was so disgusted by their ambiguous ("we think, but cannot be sure..." - how is she supposed to make a decision based on that ??) and plainly incorrect conclusions that she decided to grant the Medical Waiver. Of course this took (yet more !) time as it had to be evaluated by the manager before it could be granted.

All in all our application from submitting the ITA to getting the positive decision on PR took 10 very long and frustrating months, but boy was it worth it :laugh ! We've been here for almost 9 months and, needless to say, are absolutely loving it !!

I think the main thing when you get into such a situation is to keep calm, be patient (and I do know how hard both can be !!) and comply with whatever they want (within reason of course, as you have been able to read above).

Again, I strongly believe that it wouldn't have been such an issue if I had been working at the time, so if you're back at work at the time of your application, I believe things should work out just fine.

Keep in mind also that if a medical waiver is refused there is always the possibility of putting your case to the Residence Review Board (http://www.residencereviewboard.govt.nz/Pages/RES_FAQ.aspx), and I have even heard of cases going to the Minister of Immigration for evaluation !

May I ask where you are in the process at this point in time and are you the main applicant ?

My apologies for this extremely lengthy post, but I remember how desperately I was looking for answers and reassurance at the beginning of the process and wanted to be as thorough as possible.

If you have any more questions or would just like to chat about it some more, feel free to send me a PM any time. I would gladly help in any way I can.

Good Luck !

Silver

[evenstar]

Oh wow, youve pretty much hit the nail on the head with everything i wanted to know!!!! I tried to PM you but couldnt figure it out!

I also have fibromyalgia, am 25, have had 5 years of not working and trying to get diagnosed, but ive now been in work part time for the last 6 months an so far its going ok (but very fatiguing).

As yet we havent started the process of filling out forms. We have just had to buy our first house so we wanted to get that out of the way first. My partner, who is a plumber, is going to be the main applicant. Our plan seems pretty similar to yours, were not going to include any of my qualification for the same reasons you stated. I am hoping to get a new job soon as at the moment im a sales assistant and i would like to be a receptionist (in the hope it will be less tiring and that hopefully i could then get a job in NZ doing the same thing)

You really have been soooo helpfull with your reply and thank you so much for taking the time to reply. My GP isnt very helpfull and im worried she could make things worse for me when it comes to migrating but i will cross that bridge at the time.

If you dont mind me asking, with FMS, how are you finding things being out there? You really have made my day!

[Silverwing86]

Hi again Evenstar,

Very glad that I could be of some help to you !

Regarding Private Messaging, if you click on the username on the top left hand corner of a post, you are given several options, the second of which is to send the user a private message. Hope this helps clear it up...

Being here is definitely beneficial to my psychological state of mind. I feel less pressured here in more ways than one and that is good for me. Having come from a country 1/8th the size of NZ with more than 4 times the population (The Netherlands), well, let's just say that IMO all that space is great ;) !

Physically so far there's not been as much of a positive change as I would have hoped, but there are reasons for that and it's also early days yet, who know what the future might bring. One thing that's always kept me going is that I'm an incurable optimist :laugh !

Will send you a PM with a bit more detail...

Cheers,
Silver