3rd Acupuncture Session, 1st shot of HPV Vaccine

I first went to Friendly Care to have me listed in Dra. Aguilar's patients for the day. I'm patient #10. I didn't wait too long to get me listed. I planned to go first to my acupuncture session and then to my OB. I estimated that by the time I get back to the hospital, I woudln't have to wait too long.

I arrived at Sister Regina's clinic around 12:30pm, the clinic was still closed, even the gate. There were no vehicles in front, meaning there are no patients yet inside. And I was correct. I was the first patient of the day and I was immediately ushered into Cubicle 1.

Here is what a cubicle looks like inside. After a few minutes of waiting, Sister Regina came. I was able to ask Sister about foods to avoid, she said None. She just advised me to lessen my intake of cold food. When there is a party or an event, I can drink/eat cold food but just in moderation and not at all times.

Amazingly, this session is not that painful like the 2nd session. Maybe it is because of the day of my cycle. I felt relaxed. When I opened my eyes, it's as if I've been asleep for a while. It seemed I have slept but I did not. (I really wished I was able to take pictures of me with the needles.)

I now know what the cigar-looking thing that Sister's assistant is burning on my tummy during my sessions. It's called Moxa. For this session, I had two rounds of moxa.

After thirty minutes, my session is done. I scheduled another session after two weeks.

After acupuncture, I went straight to Friendly Care. I waited for a few minutes and then it was my turn. Dra. Aguilar had cut her hair short, I thought she was another doctor! :) I asked her the difference between the HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix (the cheaper one). She said Gardasil is anti-cervical cancer and anti-genital warts while Cervarix is anti-cervical cancer only. The anti-genital warts vaccine is optional so I chose Cervarix. The shot only took seconds and didn't hurt as much as I imagined it.

I asked her what to do about another vaccine which she prescribed, the MMR (mumps, measles, rubella). Since Inay is not sure if I had that vaccine when I was young, Dra. said I should take the Rubelle IIG test. This is to confirm if I am or not immune to these diseases. At Friendly Care, this lab test costs P780.

After paying, I went to the second floor where the Laboratory is located. There are many people having their Annual Physical Exam. The window where I submitted my lab test request has a basket filled with urine and stool samples. Eeeww!!! I wrote my name on the log sheet and was called after a few minutes.

After the blood extraction, the nurse informed me that I can get the result after three working days.