Monday, February 27, 2006

Fat, not.

I wonder if I already mentioned this in an earlier entry... I recently bought a battery for my bathroom scale, and weighed myself for the first time since last May. I found that I now weigh less than I ever did in my entire time in Boston. My BMI is sitting at 19.5. Not too shabby, but I don't understand how it happened. I haven't exercised much, my diet is pretty atrocious; I should be getting fat, not thin.

Anyways, in related medical trivia, it turns out that I'm a walking, talking, poster child for pneumothorax. I'm told that if I take up smoking, I'll quickly end up a great patient for my peers to examine.

In unrelated unimportant news, Rococo, Magic Pants, J, and I went to see 'Match Point' at the theatre after the exam on Friday. It was a pretty good movie; I left thoroughly satisfied. Afterwards, we hit Montana's for rib tips and dessert again; I think that just about does it for the Montana's routine, though. :(

I also recently made it through Rococo's entire DVD collection of romantic comedies, so it seems I should have more time to study in the future, unless I finally borrow seasons 1 through 6 of 'Friends'. Decisions, decisions.

6 comments:

Marysienka said...

even if you don't smoke, you could be candidate for spontaneous pneumothorax. i heard they arent fun, so dont try it ;)

i dont know how you people like Friends so much. my sister is addicted to it and the few times i watched it, i didnt laugh. perhaps it just has do to with the fact that im no into comedies that much...
anyways, hope you have a great day!

Tall Medstudent said...

The thing about Friends is, that I don't really enjoy it that much. About 1/3 of episodes are simply painful to watch (typically, the middle third of every season). For example, the Joey-Rachel story arc at the end of season 9 and beginning of season 10 was just terrible. The writing was bad, and the actual story was very weak, with personalities suddenly changing, to fit the plot. In general, the characters were too two-dimensional to be interesting; Ross and Rachel were typically the best-written characters, which is why their story arc was the only really compelling one.

Unfortunately for me, I am a 'completist', in that after seeing part of the series, to find out what happened to Ross and Rachel, I now need to see everything. It is a sickness.

Yep, that was probably a pneumothorax. You blow a hole in a lung, the lung can collapse, and that side of the chest can fill with air. If the lung acts as a one-way valve, then it can be very dangerous: that's called a 'tension pneumothorax'.

Marysienka said...

Seems like 5 weeks of condensed pneumo was enough for you ;)

Tall Medstudent said...

Luckily, I made it through the course without developing any symptoms of anything more serious than an upper respiratory tract infection.

anon said...

I wish I had the fat, not problem! Since I was sick for over two weeks, I kinda dove into whatever I wanted to eat. I've gained 5 lbs or so, but nothing that won't come off with some hard work. This pnuemo stuff sounds complex and scary. Make sure to take care of yourself! :o)

Anna said...

but hey, at least if you got a pneumothorax you could help out a friend. i know that i'd be much happier putting my first chest drain in a mate not a patient... and you'd get 'patient persepctive'. our communication skills department would love that!

time out after getting this degree? you must be joking! how the hell will i pay off my loan?!?

on the whole working thing, i'm really confused as to how medical studies/jobs work over the pond. what levels are interns and residents and attendings?