June 25, 2007
· Filed under Medical, Running
Discovered a slightly shorter way of getting to work today. Of course, this won’t help for much longer since we’re moving soon, but I’m pleased nonetheless.
Managed to wake up and go running before work! It was quite a fight, but I’m hoping to start a trend. Of course, running in the morning when I have to be at work at 8 is one story. Running before work when I have to be there at 6:30 is an entirely different story. We’ll see.
The attendings we worked with today were great. They were very friendly and great teachers. We also had a very interesting teaching conference on the differential of rash and fever and Kawasaki’s disease. I have a lot of reading to do!
June 25, 2007
· Filed under Medical, Pictures
Actually, tomorrow is my first day of work as a pediatrician! Very cool. One interesting thing about pediatrics is that most pediatricians don’t wear white coats because they think this scares this kids. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’m quite pleased because I hate wearing a white coat. Too hot and annoying. However, this does pose certain problems as to how to carry all my stuff around. This is my solution:
Isn’t it cute? Sadly, the material doesn’t seem to work well for stickers. Hopefully they won’t fall off too quickly. It has a couple pockets so I can carry around my notes, a couple quick references, and (most importantly) stickers and toys for kids.
June 15, 2007
· Filed under Running
Running’s been going fairly well recently. I’m trying to maintain a consistent base of 20-25 miles/week in preparation for starting half marathon training in a few weeks. The real question, of course, is can I keep running, let alone train for a half marathon during my intern year?? Obviously, I think the answer is yes. My friends and family seem a little less confident.
I’m aiming to do a half marathon sometime during the first two weeks of October so that I can take part in the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon. Thankfully, this coincides nicely with my vacation so that I don’t have to worry about coordinating my call schedule with a race. The World Wide Half last year is what turned me into the semi-crazed runner I am today. Last year I ran the BAA Half Marathon. This year I’m trying to decide if I should do the same or try something else. There are a ton of half marathons at that time of year so I have plenty to choose from. One option is the Baystate Half Marathon which is in Lowell, MA. Another option would be to pick a fun place to travel and do a half marathon there. So many options… After Eddie and my trip to Bar Harbour, Maine last year, I would love to run a half there. Unfortunately, they only have a full marathon there. Maybe in a few years…
June 12, 2007
· Filed under Medical
I often get headaches, although, thankfully, not migraines like my husband. I usually get one or two a week and they resolve with ibuprofen. For the past two weeks, though, I’ve had a headache pretty much everyday, and ibuprofen doesn’t seem to help much. Very annoying. They tend to get worse as the day goes on. Given the fact that I’m now officially a doctor, I figure I should be able to diagnose myself. Also given that I’m a complete hypochondriac, this should be pretty amusing. So, here’s my differential diagnosis for daily headache in a 27 year old female:
1. Tension headache: what? who’s starting residency on Wednesday??
2. Prednisone side effect: Refer back to my previous post and note that headache is the #1 side effect. Against this theory is that my last dose of prednisone was 4 days ago. On the other hand, headache is also listed as one of the withdrawal symptoms of prednisone. Tricky.
3. Sinus infection: Seems pretty unlikely given that my nose is fine, and I don’t feel sick at all.
4. Pseudotumor cerebri: ooooh, fancy medical words. This is very unlikely, but does occur in young women (typically obese) and can present with headache. However, you also usually have visual changes. Also, let’s keep in mind that the incidence is 3.3 per 100,000 women aged 18-44. I think I’m probably safe.
Okay, I’m sure there are lots of other possible causes, but thinking is just making my head hurt more. Time to go play some video games. 
