Umm. Wow.

Quote from lecture today:

"So, I have to ask this question: So, like how many people watched the first episode of House this week? So, one: every one who raised their hand, you should have been studying. Two, when they gave the patient interferon and they said oh she has fever she must not have MS. That is absolutely ridiculousBecause the first side effect you were supposed to learn about interferon was that it causes flu-like symptoms, including fever. So that fact that she had fever was like, Duh. She's getting interferon."

I love my life.

For those interested in how to remember side effects of interferon, here's a little something from my friend Cohen.
1. Hold out your hand
2. Stick out your thumb: thumb is like thromb, so THROMBOCYTOPENIA
3. Stick out your index finger: this is like your grandma scolding you, so GRANULOCYTOPENIA
4. Stick out your middle finger and say FU to the FLU
5. Hold out your ring finger, if you think your engaged but there's no ring you have PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES
6. Hold up your PINK pinky... and get some PINK for RASHES and ALOPECIA
7. Raise up your now open hand... just like IFN RAISES your immune system, leading to autoimmune diseases.

Yes, we really are that nerdy.

Go and enjoy your life! And remember that medical school is for losers. ;)

Seriously?!!

People need to find a better outlet than mass emailing 300 to 1200+ people via class list serves:

From: Grady C. (class of 2012)
To: class of 2011
I'm selling a banana that I brought for lunch today. Even though I had half of it, it is otherwise in really great condition. Consuming it would be go a long way towards making you a healthier human being, which is an invaluable trait to have as a 21st Century physician. Willing to part with it for $0.50 OBO. Let me know if you are interested.

Cheers,
Grady

From: Jason L (class of 2012)
To: class of 2012, class of 2011, class of 2010, class of 2009
Seriously? Again? Let's try somewhere else with some cheap beer.

From: Jason L (class of 2012)
To: class of 2012, class of 2011, class of 2010, class of 2009
My bad, assumed this was the after exam party. Ignore my last email.

Really people? Some words of advice: either hit "DELETE" or "REPLY", rather than "REPLY ALL". The lists serves exist to notify the student body of things that some people might be interested in.

And by the way, the class of 2011 is not sending you all the list of things being sold. Grow up and stop being stupid. You are making your class look really bad.

You are now in medical school, start acting like a professional with your classmates, who will be your colleagues.

Who's Excited?!

That would be ME! Why? Because I'm going to one of my favorite places this weekend with a bunch of my friends!

This weekend is the regional American Academy of Pediatric (AAP) meeting, and it's on Mackinaw Island!!!! YAY!

First, a little about Mackinaw for all you non-Michiganders: First, hold out your hand (you're now looking at Michigan in miniature). Mackinaw Island is a little island located just north of your middle finger, Mackinaw City being at the tip. Mackinaw Island (and city) have quite a cool history (at least when it comes to military, both have forts and the Grand Hotel used to be used as a base camp). What's really cool about the island, though, is that there are no cars at all. Instead there are horses and little horse-drawn carriages and a whole bunch of bikes. It's awesome!



I have not been to Mackinaw since I was in high school (I think). When I was younger, and my mom had not yet retired, she coached the forensics (speaking, not dead people) team at her high school. Every spring they would have a tourney at the Grand, and I got to go with her. What was even cooler was that because she was a coach we got to stay is some of the best suits in the place! (Mackinaw is also a 7th grade trip in my school district)

But we're going back, and by we I mean the 6 of us on e-board for the Pediatric Interest Care Group at school. We got excused from our afternoon labs and are leaving at lunch to make it in time for the last ferry over to the island (it's a 5 hour drive from school)! And we're staying at an apartment, cause one of the girls has great connections (she's friends with the granddaughter of Reba, of Reba's Fudge).

Needless to say, I'm super excited for a weekend away with friends and am even happier that we'll be on Mackinaw Island. The extra benefit is the potential networking with all the different pediatricians!

Being an adult

A few weeks back I called my mother to complain about a situation I was having surrounding doing dishes, or lack thereof on my part. I think at one point I mentioned that it was unreasonable/impossible to do them every three to four days (or any more than once a week)*. At that point my mother very calmly said something along the lines of "Katie, normal people do dishes daily, every other day at the very least." At this point I felt very foolish, as expected.

Well, today I was a real adult. Not only did I do dishes (including the ones I used after doing the dishes the first time), I took out the trash, cleaned the kitchen floors AND counters AND did laundry (which you all know is one of my least favorite things). AND still found time to watched a movie with my roommate and some friends!**

Be impressed. This does not happen often, in fact the pretest probability of all these things happening on the same day is like 2%.

The reason behind it? Post-exam. One of the few nice things about test every 2 weeks is that there's 2 nights in a row that either have nothing or next to nothing to do***.

This is what medical school makes you into, a person who has no time to be a real person****. So, here's to the day after the exam! When you finally find time to be normal.



*This would not be an issue if our stupid apartment would fix our washer, which we have been nagging them about since the beginning of July.

** The movie was 21, about a kid trying to get money for medical school. For some reason, not understood by all the medical students in the room, the kid thinks he needs to pay up front for school. HELLO, IT'S CALLED UNCLE SAM. He's very nice to poor medical students. Anyways, it's was actually a really good movie about this kid who starts counting cards in order to get money of Harvard Med. We, all those who watched it, recommend it. Go rent it or something.

***Only 16 pages of notes today, making up about 22 very full flashcards (I share some day soon).

**** Another example:

Lansing Obama Campaign Organizer: Why are you not volunteering with us?
ME: I'm a medical student.... in Detroit
LOCO: So? There's a campaign office in Detroit.
ME: I know, but I go to class for 8 hours every day.
LOCO: So?
ME: And then study for 12.
LOCO: You need to get more sleep.
ME: I know. Not likely.

I'll take a side of hydrops fetalis with that

You know when you get this email from the Dean of Basic Science that they are not kidding around:

Dear Class –

One of the unknowns used in the microbiology lab this week is Listeria monocytogenes. This pathogen can cause intrauterine infections resulting in neonatal septicemia and meningitis. It is used in case 7D.

The strain that we use is an avirulent mutant with reduced invasiveness.

However, if you are pregnant then you may choose to be excused from lab this week. If you choose to participate in lab then you should not handle case 7D.

Please contact your counselor or me with any questions.

For those of you interested in knowing some of the side effects: Hydrops fetalis, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion. The babies that survive are left developmentally challenged with numerous problems.

The question than stands, what person in our class who has any potential of being pregnant would even come to lab that day?!

How did I end up here? Working with nasty nasty buggies? Pretty sure I wanted to be a doctor, not a CDC researcher.

Lenka's "The Show"

Give it time to load, or click the link below.




I need to stop finding music I like or I am going to end up broke and begging on the street corners for food.

P.S. Can you tell that tomorrow is test day by the massive procrastination?!

Sick...

Eww... Gas went up to $4.20 yesterday, and forecasts say that it's going to spike at $5 before the end of the coming week. Umm. AHHHHH! I hate Michigan right now (the non-stop rain isn't helping much either).

This is one reason I got a special thing on my iPhone that tells me where the cheapest gas in the area is... Now hopefully I can just convince my phone that I am in Detroit, rather than Seattle.

Two Interesting Articles

Not commenting, just posting. I'm trying to be nice with my words, as I seem to be struggling in that arena lately. But the articles are interesting and worth sharing.

Best Friend and Confidant

I am super blessed to have my mom be a huge part of my life. She is pretty much amazing. Although we do not talk to each other every day, I would say we talk to each other at least once a week, more if I am having a mental breakdown over an upcoming test (or posting of test grades) or people issues.

That makes these next two weeks hard because 1) I have a test coming up, 2) I am having minor issues, and 3) my mom is in Italy for the next two weeks.

Let us just say that I am more happy for her being in Italy than her being here to talk about my issues.

But yes... My mom is in Italy, for a trip that I keep telling her I should be going on. We have this joke about Italy, mainly revolving around my college graduation. My mom, my best friend, my best friend's mom, and me were supposed to go to Italy as graduation presents for me and my best friend. It did not pan out, and I ended up going to Thailand for the year. However, my best friend and her mom did end up going to Italy together last February.

What makes the trip even more ironic is that it is a photography class. When my mom told me this, she even mentioned that I should be the one going.

But that is not the point of this post, the point of this post is to say that my mom has safely arrived in Cortona, Italy at her castle of a hotel and is taking beautiful pictures of Tuscany (which I cannot wait to see).

Have a wonderful time mom, and I cannot wait to see your pictures when you get back!!!!

Eating Where you Poo...

...Or playing the Third Wheel.

There is a common expression that says you should "never eat where you shit". When it comes to actually doing this, I highly recommend the cliche in real life (trust me when I say we have learned something like 100 different bugs that are transmitted fecal-orally in the last 2 weeks). But, as we know, this usually refers to social settings. Put in other terms, do not get busy with/start dating the people you work with/see everyday.

I have to admit that this has come rather easily for me as I seem to ward off any potential suitors but unknown magical means*. However, let me talk a little about medical school. In medical school you throw lots of down right horny young adults together where they sit in class with the same handful of people for hours on end. Then they go home and have to study... and who better to study with than a classmate, right?

The problem arises from the fact that most medical students do not have social interaction outside of other medical students. And while we are all told when we begin medical school not to date classmates, it kind of becomes incestuous quickly.

Most of last year's non-studying time was spent discussing** drama related in or around people in our class dating one another. And this year has gotten even worse -- mind you we have only been in class for 6 weeks. It seems every time I turn my head more of my friends are dating... each other.

This has lead to me being a perpetual third wheel, which honestly is getting old. It's awkward studying with friends when at any moment their significant other can/will show up. It's awkward having a friend invite you to study, only to find out it was a sympathy invite cause you are like the only single one in the bunch.

I hate having to study by myself, I much rather study with friends. However, if the romantic alignments continue to surface through the year, as I am assuming they will***, then I might have to give in and be a complete recluse. Hmm.

It also makes lunch rather awkward, but that's a whole other story.

The sad thing is that I miss my friends. And while I understand that there is some one more important/interesting in their lives, I wish that they would still make time for friends without the involvement of their significant others.

* However, I think it's cause I'm kind of a bitch.
**And of course by discussing I do means gossiping. And to add more honesty, outside of the material we are studying, it's the only thing we ever know how to talk about with people, cause we are all socially awkward.
*** Fraught with all the drama that comes with them and the awkwardness that ensues after they end.

Oh Med School

**Language warning.. but still really funny**
We've actually covered a lot of this already, but of course not in the depth needed for boards. But it still gives a little glimpse of medical school.



found via KevinMD.com

Interesting...

Just when it started to get boring... Just kidding. I really respect Senator Biden for putting this out there and am glad that Obama's comments on it being a struggle for families. Makes me respect them a little more... and goes to show that you don't have to be republican (or vote it) to be pro-life. And even if you are pro-life it goes to show that we do not have to force our views on anyone.

In the interview Sunday, Mr. Biden tried to walk the line between the staunch abortion-rights advocates in his party and his own religious beliefs. While he said he did not often talk about his faith, he said of those who disagree with him: “They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life — I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception.”

Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, was also questioned about his views, on the ABC News program “This Week.” Last month, in an interview with the Rev. Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church in California, Mr. Obama skirted a question about when life begins, saying that determining such a thing was “above my pay grade.” On ABC on Sunday, Mr. Obama characterized his response then as a little “too flip,” adding, “All I meant to communicate was that I don’t presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions.

“What I do know is that abortion is a moral issue,” Mr. Obama continued, “that it’s one that families struggle with all the time, and that in wrestling with those issues, I don’t think that the government criminalizing the choices that families make is the best answer for reducing abortions. I think the better answer — and this was reflected in the Democratic platform — is to figure out, how do we make sure that young mothers, or women who have a pregnancy that’s unexpected or difficult, have the kind of support they need to make a whole range of choices, including adoption and keeping the child.”

Sorry for the political streak all... but I really cannot help myself. It's kind of the only interesting thing going on. That is if you don't call learning 30 bugs that cause diarrhea fun. :)

On that note, but this time next week I will be able to diagnosis your bacterial infection based on what type of diarrhea you have, if you are, you know, ever interested.

The Bully in the Playground

I just read a link that one of my friends posted on facebook concerning the fact that McCain refused to do the interview with Larry King due to conversations held the day prior between one of the campaign's speakers and Campbell Brown (CNN correspondent).

What was more concerning to me was actually watching the exchange to which the Republicans took offense. Brown was asking for what experience Palin has in being the "commander-in-chief" of the Alaskan National Guard. She was not over the line, and actually called out the falsehood that the campaign speaker was touting (saying that she had a role in deployment, etc). The article also mentions that McCain-Palin were actually thinking about pulling out of a debate because the moderator was Tom Brokaw.

I guess what scares me is this: Is this something that McCain plans of doing for the rest of his time? Including if he got the presidency? And if so, what would he do as president to stop the potentially "over the line" press?

If he cannot handle the qualifications of his running mate being challenged, how would he react to his policies and actions being challenged? And can he really not stand up to scrutiny? And if so, would anyone really want him in the oval office?

Where and when would the bullying stop? And when will he act like an adult, let alone the potential president, and learn to deal with criticism?

I'm sorry, but more politics.

1. Ding Dong the Mayor's Gone!
And all I can say is it is about time!

He agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice and to plead no contest to a felony count of assault on a police officer; to pay restitution to the city of $1 million; to surrender his law license, forfeit his state pension to the city and be barred from elective office for five years; and to serve 120 days in the Wayne County jail, followed by five years’ probation. (NYT)

Hallelujah! He deserves this and so much more.

2. Campaign 08
Sorry, but I have to comment on Sarah "Barracuda" Palin... cause it's getting ridonkulous.

Mainly, let's comment on her demeaning statements about Barack Obama's lack of experience. Hmm, let's see... Obama may have started as a community organizer, but this shows that he actually cares about the people around him. And he made major changes where he was during his activist era.

But even from there, let's look at the fact that he's representing Chicago and all of Illinois, for that matter. That means that he represents 9.7 million people. How many does Palin represent? Count 'em up... 1, 2, 3, ... 683,000 (and change). That means that Obama has been representing 7x as many people, in about the same about of time that she has been governor. How is he less experienced again?!

I'd also like to share some facts, provided by MoveOn.org... granted it's slightly biases and I haven't checked the details... but I think it proves the point (their references are at the end):

• Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." ^{1, 2}
• Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'" ³
• Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools. She hasn't made clear whether she thinks evolution is a fact.⁴
• Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being manmade." ⁵
• Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP. ⁶
• Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. ⁷
• Palin opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. ⁸
• As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor." ⁹
• She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." ¹⁰

Please note that some of these things I do not see as bad... but maybe just a little misguided.

Anyways, the further this election goes on the more disgusted I become of McCain/Palin. At every chance they get the try and take nasty stabs at Obama and Biden. What do Obama and Biden do? They commend McCain on his military service and stand up for Palin, asking that people not address family issues that seem to be rampant.

Obama and Biden represent nothing but class. They refuse smear campaigning and have defended themselves against all the false statements that McCain/Palin seem more than willing to put out.

Do they not realize how petty and low they are looking?




Sources
1. "Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'," Associated Press, September 3, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24701&id=13709-10206609-VO09X5x&t=6
2. "Palin wasn't 'really focused much' on the Iraq war," ThinkProgress, August 30, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24702&id=13709-10206609-VO09X5x&t=7
3. "The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/
4. "McCain and Palin differ on issues," Associated Press, September 3, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24703&id=13709-10206609-VO09X5x&t=8
5. Ibid
6. The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/
7. Ibid
8. Ibid.
9. "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record," Time, September 2, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=24704&id=13709-10206609-VO09X5x&t=9
10. The Sarah Palin Digest," ThinkProgress, September 4, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/

Why I Hate Mast Cells

I do not know where you all stand on the whole allergy spectrum, but I generally consider myself pretty lucky. I have seasonal allergies, which generally means my life sucks a few months of the year, but at least I do not have to worry about anaphylaxis from eating a trace amount of peanuts/shellfish hidden in some other lovely thing. However, I currently am hating my mast cells.

BREAK FOR BIO LESSON:
Allergies, also known as hypersensitivity reactions, are caused when your antibodies (Igs, or immunoglobulins) recognize things they should not recognize. More specifically, there are specific antibodies known for instigating an allergic response. These are called IgEs. Now, IgEs are generally not found free in high quantities in your body because they are sequestered away on the membranes of mast cells.
Mast cells live in various different tissues, including your nasal mucosa. When the IgEs on the membrane bind an antigen (aka particle that it does not like), it causes a change in the mast cells. This causes a release of histamine and heparin; histamine is what is responsible for the whole leaking out of nastiness from your capillaries (or smallest blood vessels). However, it also causes the formation of leukotrienes and is chemotactic for eosinophils (meaning it brings in more cells to fight off a non-existent infection). While anti-histamines will prevent the initial release of histamine, they do not work on the formation of leukotrienes, etc.. this is what is known as the post-histamine reaction.
Basically, when it comes down to it, mast cells are the reason behind the horrible runny nose and puffy eye thing that most allergic people having going for them...

Anyways, my mast cells have decided to be extra vicious this year... starting about a week ago. It got to the point that I caved in and bought medication. Now, seeing as I go to class 8 hours a day and study for another 10 hours I need something that was non-drowsy and long-lasting; I went with 24hr non-drowsy Claritin.

However, my symptoms did not abate. So, on recommendation from my mom I went and got a nasal spray... which I HATE. Mainly because in order for them to be effective you really have to be able to sniff them in, and when you cannot use either nostril, this becomes difficult. And even in you can, when they hit the back of your tongue the taste disgusting. Needless to say, I tried... It helped a little.

Enter today... Class. By the end of the first lecture I was miserable. Like, unable to breathe, and drippy (sorry, disgusting, I know... but you really have to understand the misery). It got worse with each sequential hour of lecture. Finally I got up and left.... head congestion had gotten so bad I could not focus and I was running out of tissues (I brought a new travel pack to school today).

As soon as I walked out of the lecture hall my nose cleared a little. Now, I could say that I am allergic to class... and that would be slightly correct. But I seriously think there is something in the lecture hall exacerbating my allergies (and upon talking to a friend he said he was having the same type of reaction, only to a much lesser extent).

Anyways, I decided that I need to see a doctor about getting some heavier hitting drugs... possibly even steroids if nothing else... cause I cannot go on like this. So I headed over to the university health center, where there is a clinic that med students can go if they are feeling sick. Upon walking in... still with head congestion to the point of not thinking, and still sniffling as if my life depended on it, the nurse told me that they only offer 1 courtesy visit per medical student and although they would see me, any future visit would cost money. Also, she told me to basically find a primary care physician.

At this point I wanted to scream I'M TRYING but right now I'm dying and need help. Needless to say I walked out and went to CVS where I got the pseudoephedrine containing Zyrtec. Which left me incapacitated in my bed for a few hours.

Now I'm awake and although able to breathe slightly, I'm still feeling like crap. At least I can think a bit better. My nose still hates me though.

and so the title of this post: I HATE MY MAST CELLS!

Eww.

I have a feeling this next micro unit is going to make me not want to eat. I'm being a nerd and pre-reading (mostly cause I'm so anxious over the last exam I'm freaking out over the next unit). The bugs are nasty and so are some of the tests:

"c. String test. A gelatin capsule attached to a nylon string; the free end is secured at the mouth and the capsule is swallowed. Capsule dissolves in the stomach and the string continues through the duodenum to the jejunum. After 4 to 6 hours or overnight incubation while fasting , the string is removed, the bile stained mucus is squeezed onto a microscope slide and the preparation examined microscopically for trophozoites."

Another reason to watch what you eat when traveling, cause you do not want to get tested for Giardia. Sick... The whole swallowing thing sounds painful, as does retrieving said string. And I feel sorry for the person who has to squeeze the "bile stained mucus" onto a slide.

Hmm... I think I'm skipping lunch today.

New Favorite Song

So... I've mentioned before how I'm in love with the free music at Starbucks. Well, I've found a new "favorite". Chris Bathgate, "Yes I'm Cold". Highly recommend it... go check it out and enjoy.

(P.S. Does anyone know how to add a song to a post? Like a