S.A.D.

 

If you have always been enticed by psychiatry and have wondered exactly what it is like to have Seasonal Affective Disorder, please feel free to come visit us in Upstate NY. It is March 29th and today is the first semi-sunny day in weeks… there have ONLY been a handful since October. I have never been one to associate with any specific kind of disorder… but after reading about SAD, I KNOW this is applicable. Don’t get me wrong… life is great!! Sunshine just makes it exceptional~ oh how I love the warm energy soaking into my soul~

I have found that it is just not physically or mentally healthy to move from

Sunny Arizona to Overcast New York.

Don’t Do It. For the LOVE of God, Save Yourselves.

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From Wikipedia:

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is a mood disorder. Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter.

Subsyndromal Seasonal Affective Disorder is a milder form of SAD experienced by an estimated 14.3% vs. 6.4% of the U.S. population. The blue feeling experienced by both SAD and SSAD sufferers can usually be dampened or extinguished by exercise and increased outdoor activity, particularly on sunny days, resulting in increased solar exposure. Connections between human mood, as well as energy levels, and the seasons are well-documented, even in healthy individuals.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of SAD include extreme fatigue, oversleeping, not being able to get out of bed, overeating, carbohydrate cravings and weight gain. It can also be accompanied by the regular symptoms of depression, such as low mood, loss of interest in activities and trouble concentrating.

United States

In the United States, a diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder was first proposed by Norman E. Rosenthal, MD in 1984. Rosenthal wondered why he became sluggish during the winter after moving from sunny South Africa (or Sunny Arizona! ) to New York. He started experimenting increasing exposure to artificial light, and found this made a difference.

Hard Day

…got a bit overwhelmed today by debt, lack of money, and so much to do… but this made me feel better..

Feelin like a Docta!

Baby #3 was delivered at 2101 last night… by yours truly! The doc stepped aside and I did it all.. it was so awesome. The dad didn’t want to cut the cord, so I did and I got blood from the cord, etc. and then delivered the placenta. Afterwards I wrote the delivery note. Wow. Life is truly amazing. What was once a big ‘bump’ in a woman’s stomach turns into a breathing, perfect baby. I wish I could take you all in there to see it! But I’m sure the mom appreciates the lack of an audience

On to #4….

Baby #3, Soup and Rice

It’s about 8pm right now… I’m waiting to be paged for baby #3.  I just got home… I’ve been going since about 7am this morning.

I started off seeing Mama #2 and Baby #2 this morning (I got to deliver her last night!!!), on maternity and writing my first postpartum note.  She was going to surgery to get a tubal ligation (tubes tied) at about 8am so I chatted with her on the gurney ride (her not me) down to the OR. I met up with the Dr and he reviewed my note (which used to bring me some strange feeling right at the belt area… but after 8 months of this… it’s no biggie) and liked it, and signed it.

I went to change into scrubs.. and low and behold.. who do I see in the changing room? Nope not Bette Midler… guess again.  My good friend Amanda!  She is rotating on surgery right now… we talked for a bit and when I went out to find the doc, he told me we had a consult in the ER.  It was woman who had an abnormal increase in beta-hcg and was 11 weeks with abdominal pain… most likely an ectopic pregnancy.  She had really wanted this baby, but there was no sign of an intrauterine pregnancy on the US, so we had to give her meds to dissolve the pregnancy… otherwise it can rupture and be a true emergency.

[Sigh] Back to the OR.  I scrubbed, assisted with a quick tubal and we were on our way back to the office (at this point it is about 10am.. office hours started at 830a… eeek!).  The patients were very understanding and only one rescheduled.

It was a full office day of measuring bellies, listening to baby hearts, and doing pap smears…

AND… meeting Mama #3.  She came in at 39 weeks for a routine visit and whatdoyouknow?!?!?  She was 5cm dilated and 100% effaced!  The only thing she was missing was contractions.  She was one tough cookie.  This was her 3rd baby and she needed no pain meds for the last 2 .. so go figure.  We told her to go walk around for a couple hours… and come back…. she came back 2 more times and the story was still the same.. no pain.

So we finished up our office hours and I went up to Labor and Delivery to help check her in.  I started an IV, took a history and wrote a note.  She was waiting for her husband to get into town.. he was on the road.  So we didn’t rupture her membranes right away.  The Dr. finally came up, we ruptured her membranes, and he said he had another consult in the ER.  This time a hemorrhagic ruptured cyst… we looked at the US with the radiologist, and discussed the differential.  It was fun!  We went back up to L&D to see Mama #3  and she is finally having contractions!  So he told me it would be about an hour (that was about 45 minutes ago).

Now I’m eating soup and rice.  D is in class, so I thought I would share my day (which isn’t over yet) with y’all!

Today is a repeat of yesterday… it’s going to be about a 14er… and unfortunately I’m not talking altitude.

Much love…

may your babies always be fast

your soup always be thick

and your rice always al-dente.

My first baby…

So… as I said in my last post, I just started OB last week… Friday at 7am, my first OR day of the rotation began and we had some easy GYN surgeries… tubal ligation, D & C w/ hysteroscopy, and then a really (unexpectedly) LONG surgery which was supposed to be a laparoscopy, but instead became an open laparotomy and then basically an open abdominal surgery (we had to even call in the general surgeon). We were performing an salingoophorectomy (fancy for taking out the fallopian tubes and ovaries)… but the lady had a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries, so it took 4 1/2 hours!!!

Although I am first assist on all these surgeries (just me and the attending physician) and I get to do a lot….I find myself looking at the quick runs of V-Tach on the monitor and wondering what the anesthesiologist is doing as opposed to being very into the surgery…(some surgeries = boring!)

So parallel to this GYN day in the OR, we had to visit a lady on labor & delivery who was admitted for labor induction around 10am… she and her husband were great!!! I thought of her the whole day… she didn’t want Pitocin at first, she just wanted her membranes ruptured and was hoping that would throw her into labor.. but no such luck. So around 4pm we started Pitocin… and viola! Contractions! She was dilated at 4cm already and 80% effaced so now that she had contractions… she was about ready to go!

I went home at about 545p and was paged about 45 minutes later! She was in labor! MY FIRST BABY!! They were more excited for me than themselves. I gowned up and all of a sudden there was a head full of hair just waiting to be pushed out!

So the doc had me help deliver the head… I put my hand on the baby’s head and my other hand on the perineum, and out came the head! The cord was wrapped tight around the neck, but the Dr. was soooo good he calmly clamped it and cut it and the baby was out. It was a beautiful baby girl… the couple kept telling the baby… “you’re Gretchen’s first baby!”

It was truly a miracle….  yes… I cried (just a bit)… it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.  The baby didn’t cry right away… and the mother started getting worried… but finally… the crying began… and I teared up again. Such an amazing sound.. this noise that 5 minutes prior that didn’t exist, lungs that were filled with new air.  Ah… wow.

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The only photo of a baby that I have is me with my Godson Ryan… this was taken late July 2006…

This is him a year later August of 2007….

It is so amazing that a little fetus can turn into this little 1 year old who looks at me with such confusion!

Much love!

OB ehave!

Hey y’all! Just started OB/GYN today… I’m loving it so far. In just my first day I am doing the OB exams (fundal height, fetal heart tones, feeling if the baby is vertex…) it is pretty exciting! The doc I’m with also does GYN so I am able to do pelvic exams as well. I am on call tonight, so we’ll see what happens! I’ll keep you posted!!

As for D, he is well… he is volunteering a ton with South Jefferson Rescue Ambulance and getting to drive quite a bit with lights and sirens. We worked together on Sunday… he drove and I helped in the back w/ the patient… it was mighty fine, and I’m mighty proud. He is also in class 2 nights a week and working his part time jobby job.

Only 3 more rotations here in NY!! Wowzers.

MoveOn.org

From MoveOn.org:

It’s clear from this video that the administration knew all along that the war would be a disaster and didn’t care.

Ohh… look at their cute little pet…. elk?

My best friend at home (in FLG, AZ), Heather, lives a few minutes out of town, she has a 1 and 1/2 year old son (Ryan, my Godson), a husband and a dog… she is a busy lady. She told me that she would never get another pet… so what is the meaning of this????

This big boy is hanging out right against her house…Heather tells me that Ryan will go to the window and point and say “Elk, elk, see him? see him?”

I absolutely love these photos… they crack me up every time I look at them! This is the neighborhood pet elk. I suggested that they name it something bold and masculine like “Fluffy” or “Precious”. But I guess it is a neighborhood decision.

This is actually how close Heather got to take the photo… and, alas, he just chills. Oh I miss Flagstaff…

Human Rights and Peace en Mexico!!

Hola amigos!!!

I just returned from Mexico … I was there for a week for the Global Assembly with the Internatioal Federation of Medical Students Association of which I am the National VP. You can check out our national organization at:

www.ifmsa-usa.org

and the global IFMSA organization at:

www.ifmsa.org

It was such a great experience! There were 700 medical students from over 90 countries. It was amazing.. it was great to speak with so many medical students about the human rights violations in their countries and the hurdles that are faced in these countries.

Here at the airport when I first landed I was waiting with a couple from Lebanon, Mat from Israel, Muhammed from Kuwait, Imula, Andrea, Arp, Greg from Hungary, Dibson from Brazil, a couple guys from Tunisia, Flo from Austria, and Rose from Mexico.

I ended up seeing them throughout the conference and we are going to stay in touch at home… here are some more photos!

Chad and Anne from Australia

The last night of the plenaries… these are all of the presidents from the National Member Organizations and the flags that they use to vote on motions and bylaws!

Here’s the US Delegation (minus Preston-the National Exchange Officer). Three of the folks shown are from AMSA (American Medical Students Association) who we are planning a merger with over the next year… AMSA is about 70,000 U.S. students and IFMSA is a meager, but strong, 1000 U.S. members so it will be good for all of us

This was our standing committee on human rights and peace (SCORP).. there are 6 standing committees all together… it was nice working in more of an intimate setting with a good group of people.

Check out:
Physicians for Human Rights

the President, Leonard Rubenstein, was our keynote speaker in Mexico.

I’ll post more later!!