A Bit Of This And That..

Hey there folks! So I’m back in Bangalore and we’re finally done with the second internals! 2 weeks from now we will be “promoted to 5^th term” and we will thence be known as “The Exam-going batch” but until then Home is the only destination. :)

So we had our theory papers and we literally went crazy trying to finish everything. Pathology especially was a tough nut to crack and despite spending 3/5^th of my study time on Pathology most of us walked out rather disappointed with our performance. The bouncer in the question paper was Polyarteritis Nodosa which is a type of vascular disease.  Although Blood Vessels was covered in class and we had a vague memory of the topic being covered in class, none of us were prepared to write a 5 mark answer on it.

Basically Polyarteritis Nodosa affects the small to medium-sized arteries and it’s characterized by a “Rosary Bead” appearance. But alas, even this nugget of information failed to cross my mind during the exam. So instead I uselessly wrote about Henoch Schonlein Purpura (HSP) which is also a type of vasculitis with palpable purpura, glomerulonephritis and pain in the abdomen. Acute Pancreatitis was another question I didn't expect so I wrote a little about the pathogenesis and then went on about Grey Turner's Sign which is bluish discoloration around the umbilicus and it's seen in Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis. Funnily enough, Aadi and I were quizzing each other just the day before the exam and that's how I thought of writing these random things.

Micro went without much ado because the paper was easy and contained many questions from our earlier Bacteriology test paper. Forensic now seems funny because although I didn’t waste too much time and began studying by 5PM, I had truckloads to finish and to top it all I fell asleep with dreams of waking up at an unearthly hour and finishing what was left. Alas, Sleep overpowered me and at 7AM, I woke up teary eyed and hoped for a miracle. As the words failed to make any sense, I resigned myself to my fate. As the dreaded hour approached, Nammu tried to pep me up by asking some questions but my cluelessness did nothing to improve my mood. Nevertheless, it takes courage to walk into the battlefield knowing that you won’t come back victorious. After vehemently arguing with roll numbers 31 and 34 that I possessed no knowledge whatsoever, we looked at the question paper and well… I began writing whatever little I could remember and concocted plausible answers for most of the questions. Fate, they say, is a fickle friend. :)

After this, we began preparing for the practical exams in all earnest. Reddy, Nammu, Likki and I were had the same practical time table so we began with Pathology and later Abhi and BP also joined us. We began with the histopathology slides (which we got from Icaboo) and then we did a bit of Hematology as well.

Our Pathology practical exam goes like this:

• Spotters: Instruments, gross specimens, histopathology slides, hematology..
• Haemoglobin estimation (by Sahli’s method) [which I managed to screw up to some extent]
• Blood group determination (where again I couldn't answer many of the questions regarding blood banks despite preparing posters on the same subject)
• Urine analysis (where you’ve got to perform chemical tests on the urine sample to look for protein, sugar, ketone bodies or blood as abnormal constituents. Here again, I freaked out over the procedures and walked around hurriedly in hope of a miracle.
• Hematology slide: usually a type of anaemia or leukemia is given and you are expected to recognize the slide and write a report regarding the same. Usually, there is a case that accompanies the slide that gives a clue. Now here’s how it looks:



Acute Myeloid Leukemia



Megaloblastic Anaemia 



Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (look for smudge cells but
don't depend on them :/ )

 So on the ill-fated day, I found myself grappling with a slide that looked suspiciously like CML but the case suggested CLL. Alas, Luck and Logic had deserted me and having found no smudge cells that are characteristically seen in CLL, I presumed that the slide was on CML (even when it clearly said “70 year old with mild organomegaly and lymphadenopathy.. -_-) So when V Sir peeped into the microscope, he looked surprised and annoyed that I hadn't even recognized the slide right. Now how could he sarcastically reply to the lame answers I would give? Nevertheless I felt downright disappointed with myself and the only question that Sir asked was causes for massive splenomegaly (The previous day Sahana had told me a few but all I could remember was Portal Hypertension, CML and my fav, Hairy Cell Leukemia) So after this disaster, I know I have some Serious Issues with Path.

• The histopathology slide was Chronic Pyelonephritis and this was evident from the periglomerular fibrosis, thyroidization of tubules and inflammatory infiltrates. I blabbered a little regarding vesicoureteral reflex and bacterial infection and the rest went on uneventfully.

There is "thyroidization"of the tubules: look at the colloidal material
in the middle of the tubule. Fibrosis around the glomerulus and
relatively larger number of inflammatory cells.

Forensic passed uneventfully thanks to the mnemonics we made to remember the bones of the wrist joint (Can He Talk Less So That They Piss) and elbow joint (Head Mistress of TLC) in the order of the appearance of their centers of ossification. Microbiology also passed uneventfully (Uppi was in a good mood and restricted himself to Antimicrobials which isn't covered yet in Pharmac) and finally it was Pharmacology (by now I sounded like a full blown frog) and Siddu Sir began by asking "So you want to go to JIPMER?" (Me: *stares blankly for 3s* and Sir repeats and then it flashes to me that he's talking about the JIPMER fest Spandan, he later informs that the management will not permit any entrants in the fear of any such similar requests in the future. -_-). It went okayish (Sir: BZD anatagonist? Me: Flumazenil! *withathat'ssoobvioustonethatInowregret* Sir: Morphine antagonist? Me: *It'satthetipofmytonguebutItjustdoesn'tflash*....... NALAXONE/ NALTREXONE!! *Whew* But I couldn't wait to get out of the place and I literally ran back towards the hostel and began packing my bags because it was time to head home! A massive speedy pack-a-thon later BP, Likki and I set off towards Nammooru Bangalooru :)

Movies I've watched lately:

• Lakshya: A beautiful movie directed by Farhan Akhtar and starring Hrithik and Preity. Meaningful, well crafted and yes, it's got Hrithik <3!
• Queen: I loved this movie. It's like Bollywood has finally come of age! :)
• Bahubali: Don't ask, don't judge. I succumbed to parental pressure. -_- Not bad. -.-'

Musicophilia: I've been listening to a lot of songs lately all thanks to Hippo aka Froggie's awesome suggestions! Majority are from MTV Unplugged and take you to another world (especially with the right pair of earphones :P) with the soulful rendition and accompanying music. Music proved to be a stress buster during the exam fortnight because nothing can take away your worries like a beautiful song. Do listen to the MTV Unplugged version of these which can be found on Youtube under MTV Unplugged:

• Javeda Zindagi
• Maaeri
• Rangobati
• Jiyein Kyun
• Saibo
• Yeh Joh Desh
• Nayan Tarse and Badra Bahar
• Phir Se Ud Chala
• Tum Hi Ho

And soo many more! Most of the songs linger in your mind because the music is so rich and pure. Also listen to 

1. Daylight by Maroon5 
2. Songs by Pakistan based Coke Studio such has Dholna (Atif Aslam), Lambi Judaai (Komal Rizvi) and Nindiya Ke Paar (Uzair Jaswal).. 

After landing in B'lore, the next few days were spent on the treaddie, swimming and googling exercises for losing fat in different regions :P

Saturday was time for HSR Express Ver 2.0! :)

At Sanjana's Place.. 

Appa dropped me at BSK Bus stand and after this I took a regular bus to HSR Layout. Suprisingly, I reached in just over an hour (it's usually much more than that) and after this it was nonstop chattering about everything under the sun! Medical college stories, latest trends in colleges, friends, hostel life woes and so many more things. The best part is how both of us have similar experiences in our respective colleges. After a sumptuous lunch we resumed our chatter, photo sessions and some gaming. After a walk in the park it was time to bid adieu, albeit for a short while, and soon, I was on a direct bus to Jantha Bazaar. Here's hoping that we meet again soon! There is no end to conversation when we get together :)

After this, I headed home, only to be back on the same road with family at Village, Central, JP Nagar for another hogging session. Next day, i.e Sunday was eventful because after the customary Baddie, Treadmill and exercises and lazed around till noon and then Di and I headed to BAC by 3.30PM; It was time for Sibling Swimming Session!! We had loads of fun splashing around, racing each other and literally pulling each other's legs in the chilly pool. Now this is something I want to do again before these holidays get over! :D

Be Right Back. I've got a LOT to blog today! B)

Tripping scenes. :D

Hello there!

So 8th March 2015 was our class trip to Manipal, Udupi, St Mary’s Island and Maple Beach (after much debating, planning and procrastination)!

On Saturday, we went out to the city after what seemed like forever and when we came back, the college was a riot of colours! Yes, half the students from both the hostels were out on the roads enjoying Holi. It was virtually impossible to recognize anybody given that everybody was caked in different shades and drenched in water (possibly sourced from the lake beside our college) and we faced the imminent threat of also being smeared with colours so we decamped to the mess and then watched the proceedings from a vantage point.

Post dinner, the excitement was in the air and the localites had arrived to stay overnight since we would be leaving early in the morning. At midnight, there was a bonfire organized at the girls’ hostel (but I happened to walk in when the embers were dying down) as a run-up to all the excitement that awaited us.

We left the campus gates by 4am by chanting praises of Mr Y (BP’s idea) and for a substantial part of the journey, we sang songs and had an Antakshari of sorts. This was our first such trip and for many people, it was the first such journey with friends.

At the crack of dawn we got out for a short break and soak in the wilderness of the Ghat section but we were shooed inside after being threatened that tigers roamed this region.  (-_-) We halted at Manipal for breakfast and then proceeded towards the Museum of Anatomy and Pathology which has a wide variety of specimens that makes for a great viewing. Post this, we chilled for a while at their food court (Govi’s treat. For? Errr. First year mbbs result :P)and then we set of towards the harbour. Prior to this there was another stop where most of the people had lunch (i.e savoured some sea food) whereas Abhi, BP and I clowned around on a random street. (That includes waving at random passers-by, striking the Titanic pose at the middle of the road and so on.. Don’t bother judging me, I do it myself all the time anyway!) We took the ferry ride to St Mary’s Island which was pleasant given that it wasn’t sunny at all.

Abhi and I at Manipal :)

On the island we (Kundur and I) went on the jet ski which was not scary as it was touted to be. After this, we were on a Spree! A photo-clicking spree at every possible place, in every possible angle, with and w/o shades, with and w/o the hats and so on! Just like DJ night, Kundu and I were the perfect team for the Island leg of the trip! Nevertheless, we had a good time and enjoyed the serenity of the place.

Some Cliche' Photoshoot :P

After this, we went to Malpe Beach were a considerable amount of time was spent in pondering whether or not we should get into the water, whether or not we should go for some of the rides and walking around (with difficulty) on the sand. But soon, we were walking on the beach, enjoying the waves, the setting sun and the cool breeze that provided a respite from the glaring heat during the day.

Kundur and I

We halted again at Manipal for Dinner and most people chose from the three options: KFC, Pizza Hut and Dominoes. It was time for another treat (from AVM, for clearing the 1st mbbs exams) and it was rather fun. (Despite the fact that I had almost shut down after all the excitement)

The journey back to college was mostly uneventful except when the driver put on some blaring music (that is still ringing in my ears like persistent tinnitus) and switched on the lights to ward off sleep. But soon, that too came to an end and we found ourselves at the gates of SIMS at 3:30am. It was all over. Our much awaited class trip had come to an end!

The hardest part was getting up at 7am the next day and attending the theory classes at 8am and ENT postings for another 3 hours.

Initially I was reluctant and had assumed the worst possible outcome of the trip but as Icabo, Makshi and Gimpi had predicted, everything turned out just fine. True, half the people were with their “better half” and everybody moved in close knit gangs but it didn’t matter anyway (I had feared that it would). You need to go with the flow and not cling on to your comfort zone. That’s how you’ll find happiness irrespective of who you’re with.