OET Listening Parte A: Chloe’s Medical Consultation

Hello Chloe.

I understand you've been in the medical ward recently.

How are you feeling now?

Oh, much better thank you doctor.

What exactly was the trouble?

Well, it all started about six months ago when I went to my local GP and he gave me some Valium.

As soon as I started taking it I began feeling terribly anxious.

Then one afternoon, I didn't dare cross the road because my legs suddenly felt too heavy to walk.

A couple of months later I started getting these dizzy spells.

That was probably about four months ago now.

They'd last about an hour.

I left the hospital three weeks ago and since then I haven't had any problems.

Okay, good.

Can you tell me anything else about that day in the street?

Anything else about your symptoms.

Well, I felt like I was going to fall over, like I was all... shifty,

as if I was moving even though I was standing still.

Everything around me was normal,

but I felt all trembly and quite unsteady on my feet.

It didn't last very long, but like I told you earlier, I didn't feel like I could walk properly.

My legs were heavy and I had these palpitations.

I guess it was like a panic attack or something.

Whenever it happened, it felt like my heart started banging in my chest and I got all breathless.

I went to see my GP, then he sent me here.

Right... you mentioned your legs felt heavy.

Not only my legs, my arms too.

Whenever it's happened, it felt like I couldn't lift anything.

I've had like this tingling sensation too.

It usually happened later in the day, in the evening, when I was coming home from work or from doing the shopping, something like that.

I've been very busy with working and cooking and doing all the other household chores.

I guess I've been feeling a lot of stress.

Do you have any other health complaints?

Yes, I have arthritis in my hands.

I've been told it's in the early stages and that it's only going to get worse as I get older.

When the pain's bad, like it has been recently, it makes it so difficult to do things.

What about your personal situation, are you married?

I am, yes, almost two years now.

We don't have any children yet though.

When my husband and I first got married we talked about starting a family.

We have tried, but nothing's happened.

We saw someone recently, a gynaecologist, a couple of times, about trying to fall pregnant.

She told me to continue with the temperature chart

and she talked about timing for intercourse, things like that.

My husband also had a test and we're going back in a month or so to get the results

and see if there's anything else we should be doing.

Would you say you and your husband have a good relationship?

I think so, yes.

We have our little tiffs sometimes, but what couple doesn't.

What sort of things do you fight about?

Oh, I don't know, silly things.

Like how clean the house is.

My husband's a bit of a neat freak and sometimes I just haven't got the energy or the time to do it,

and my hands hurt.

And anyway, it's his house as much as it is mine,

so it's his responsibility too.

Oh, you're right, there.

Now, Chloe, I'm going to write you a prescription for some Ativan.

It'll help with any anxiety that might have been experiencing.

And I'd like you to come back and see me again in two weeks.

Okay... thank you doctor!