Update

Thanks for all the comments on my sciatica post, the good news its much better. The bad news is it hasn't completely gone away and I'm terrified of doing anything in case I make it worse. As I have no idea what caused it in the first place, I can't really rule anything out. Anyway, I'll keep on the diclofenac for the month and pester the GP then if it isn't gone. The plus side I suppose is that the diclofenac is making my knees feel fantastic!

Medicine wise, I have been spectacularly unproductive. I had so many plans for a weeks end of review and revision, and cracking into some anatomy, but somehow it never happened. I blame sidereel.com and my addiction to Desperate Housewives.... I think maybe I'm like Cal in that I need to be under pressure to be efficient. If I don't have loads to do I just mess about.
Also, this weeks objectives in PBL were pretty wishy-washy even by my standards. Hard to get motivated about. . So here's hoping next week is more exciting! Although, by the look of the timetable, I doubt it.

My mum was here for the bones of a week, and actually despite my worries it went really well. I think Lis was right, moving out is the best thing you can do to improve your relationship with your mother. You appreciate each other so much more. It makes me miss home when things are good between us. Well, i guess Christmas will tell. Which is actually starting to get really close (although not so close that we need to see Christmas food in the shops, take note Mr. Marks and Spencers). How can I have been here so long already? I definitely need to get more productive.



Did anyone else see that article in the Sunday Times Magazine today about the school in the US which treats behavioural disorders (anything from severely autistic children to juvenile delinquents) by hooking them up to electrodes and a battery pack 24 hours a day and shocking them whenever they are "bold"? It was unbelievable, and horrifying, and I just couldn't understand why this institution hasn't been shut down!!!! And, they offer NO psychiatric treatment, just a punishment/reward treatment. Crazy.

This week in primary care I saw a 14yr old with diabetes. Onset of 3yrs. They were amazing because they were so ok with the whole thing. If I was diagnosed with diabetes I would completely freak out, and stress about managing it the whole time. But the patient was really relaxed, had good glucose control, and didn't seem to have any problems with fitting it into her social life. That said, the mother was in the room and did most of the talking. I wonder if she would have said anyting different had she not been there.

In contrast, another one of our group saw a girl of 12, also diabetic (diagnosed at 3yrs), who had a very different outlook on the whole thing. She was very upset about it, had no confidence in her future, didn't think she would ever be able to leave home, get a job, go to university etc. The mother was also stressed out. She didn't seem to be letting the child out of her sight, and was pretty paranoid about the whole thing. But maybe that comes from having to deal with it for so much longer. It obviously wasn't nice when she had to hold her child down to inject it repeatedly each day for so long.

Two very different patients with the same disease. Which I suppose is supposed to get us thinking about disease vs. illness (if we haven't enough already). For anyone who doesn't know, disease is what the patient gets, but illness is how they experience that disease and how it affects their life. Which our medical school are very keen that we think about. A lot. But its probably a good thing, because all doctors start out wanting to always see the patiet and their illness, but so many end up just seeing the disease. Maybe all this focus on it will help protect us? I hope so.

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My parents brought me up on a diet of classical music, but as I grew older I naturally drifted into other genres. But from time to time I find myself returning to it. Which is what happened today when I stumbled upon Classic FM. It also helps that what is playing right now is the top 100 most relaxing classics, and not full on opera (which I can't stand). Drift on......


Other fantastically exciting news from my part of the world: I made my second lentil lasagne in the slow cooker, and it was again delicious! If only I hadn't eaten the whole thing..... And coming up soon, stewed apple (with apples that my mummy brought me from the garden)! T'is the season after all, right? I really don't want to do all that peeling though....

Well, think that's my update for the moment, a suitably random and not very exciting post. I'm working on other ideas, I promise!


See you soon!