Tuesday 31 August 2010

It's been a while

I know I haven't updated my blog in a while so I thought i'd start with just a little something i found on someone else's :) Feel free to fill it in too!


4 Things in my bag

- Purse
- iPhone
- Perfume
- Eyeliner

4 Thing in my purse

- Cash (touch wood)
- Cards
- Pictures
- Lottery ticket(s)!

4 Favourite things in my bedroom

- Clothes
- Shoes
- Makeup
- Laptop

4 Things i always wanted to do

- Go back to Florida and go crazy in the theme parks like when i was little :)
- Own a Range Rover
- Go to St. Lucia on a romantic gettaway
-Meet Michael Buble

4 Things i'm into

- Music
- Makeup
- X Factor
- geek alert...medicine

4 Things i bet you didn't know about me

- I love watching really heavy rain from my window
- I am absolutely terrified of anything that buzzes, BEES
- I always cleanse and moisturise before i go to sleep
- I hate full fringes

Sunday 8 August 2010

A relaxing end to a hectic week...

I didn't think i'd have much to say on this for a while seeing as term hasn't actually started yet, however I think the events of this week might be of interest!

On tuesday morning I got a call from my mum who had just arrived at her work. She said she was having palpations that had lasted for over 15 minutes and asked the first aider to record her pulse which was off the scale. Her left arm was weak, but she was experiencing no pain whatsoever, just a "heavy feeling" in her chest. As my grandad (her dad) died of an MI at the age of 48, she was clearly panicking that she may be going through the same thing.

Annoyingly, her fellow employees allowed her to drive home from work when she was feeling this way. We quickly went to casualty and mum was swiftly hooked up to an ECG monitor where her pulse was recorded at 198bpm! No wonder the first aider was unable to count it properly! As there was no sign of the pulse rate decreasing, the doctor administered the infamous intravenous adenosine. Nothing happened. He then gave her another dose and held her arm telling her "this might be unpleasant" and it certainly was, she tells me! A temporary heart block does not sound like your average treatment.

So anyway, having successfully reduced her heart rate mum was admitted to the receiving ward where she spent 2 nights being carefully monitored. It turns out she had an episode of Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). Although this is usually self limiting, it can persist and may need preventative treatment. In mum's case, she was given Verapamil.

Although relatively common, dad and I were extremely worried and I don't think we stopped rushing around for the rest of the week. Thankfully she is now ok and is even taking a bit of time off from work as her job is really stressful! The medical staff were extremely efficient and kept her informed at all times - something that usually goes unnoticed when the NHS is concerned!

Overall, i think a nice glass or 2 of wine is on the cards tonight :)

Wednesday 4 August 2010

So here we are...

As this is my very first entry (!) i'll give a bit of background as to why i'm starting this blog...

So as you've probably already gathered, my name is Allana and I study medicine. I went to St. Andrews University for my first 3 years and got a BSc (First Class Hons) and now i'm beginning my clincial training at Glasgow University. Before I went to uni, I spent ages scouring the internet to find a decent medic blog to give me an idea of what life as a medic really involved. I came across a few, however none seemed to give me a true insight into the course and profession.

So I started St. Andrews in the September of 2007 not really knowing what to expect - the same as every fresher really. Fast forward 3 years when (much to my surprise) i'm graduating from there with a first class degree and ready to begin the next step. It makes it seem all too easy, however, summing up 3 years of hard work in 2 sentances. In my opinion, I think I would have significantly benefited from following a blog of a medic who, as well as discussing the excitement of their course, also vented their frustrations about the intensity of medicine.

Graduating from St. Andrews!
As geeky as it sounds, I absolutely love medicine and would  like to share my experiences (both good and bad!) with those who choose to follow. Although it will primarily medicine related, I will try and put in some light reading about other issues and generally what I get up to!