Multiple degenerative disc disease

a very long diagnosis.. and someone dear to me has this

a common misdiagnosed conditions in older people
since more common ones include-
muscle spasm
spondylosis a.k.a uncomplicated osteoarthritis of the spine
disc prolapse(herniated disc)
spine compression fracture ( seen in patients with long standig osteoporosis)

Spinal radiographs ( X rays)shows only the bony tissues clearly while soft tissues such as organs and nerves are rarely seen
..MRI images are best when this condition is suspected.this is how an MRI image of this condition looks like

.:Each degenerated disc has a tendency of compressing onto the spinal cord, causing a sharp shooting pain or numbness, areas affected depends on the level of spinal cord which is involve.Most commonly is the lumbar area(the spine after the rib cage and before the hip bone).Sites supplied by the spinal cord n this area is the legs

There is no way to stop this.only delaying progression and relieving the symptoms are possible


Management:

First choice- analgesics. paracetamol and cox inhibitors
combined with physiotherapy
2nd choice- epidural steroidal injection (injecting into the space enclosing the spinal cord)
3rd choice- fusion of the vertebrae ( surgery to fuse the spine .limiting movement of the spine reduces the symptoms)

Choice of treatment are according to the order above, proceeding to the next only if that current treatment does not provide symptom relieve.


Guess which is the original size of the spine when seen from the side in an x-ray
(A) (B) (C)

Learning a New Language

HOla again.. just to share with u an interesting site that teaches a foreign language for free. Its called www.livemocha.com . u can learn a lot of languages here.french, german, arab.indonesian, tamil, hindi. And the courses ranges from beginner, intermediate to expert level..its also sort of interactive means u can chat or mail the other ppl who are master of the language u r trying to learn to help u out..or u urself can b a tutor to help those who need to master a language which u alrd hav.

right now ive finshed lesson 101 of Hindi..i thought it would come in handy if i wan to work overseas as most people alrd speak english..if i do meet singaporeans or indonesians or malaysians..ther is Malay and indonesian language..both which im comfrotable in. as of clinical school ive started catching up withmy cantonese.i can now understand a patient's history whenever my fren interviews one.and for tamil..im still shaky..need an interpreter.

the reason why i chose hindi was because there was no urdu(hindi is 90% like urdu). Urdu if u guys do not know is actually the official language of india and pakistan. because they have so many dialects and languages due to it multiethnicity, urdu is the lingua franca.IN fact it is also spoken by 50% of the ppl living in the UNited Arab Emirates.oh and not to forget..a minority of ppl living in Uk and USA are indian or pakistanis or afghanis:D

This i thought would really come in handy since being a doctor requires me to interact with evrbdy and knowing the language will help my patients to be more comfortable interacting and expressing themselves, thus making my job easy too. I do not need an interpretor, i do not have to worry if my interpretor is not translating the right word, i do not have to worry about the interpretor not knowing the medical jargons that he needs to use, and i can build trust with my patient through mastering their mother tongue:)

Besides, the more accurate the history.. the more accurate the differential diagnosis is, the provisional diagnosis,the physical examination, the investigations that are essential, and most definitely the treatment prescribed. This is doing justice to the patients who do not converse well in English. Doesnt mean if they are 'handicapped' in language, they are denied equal treatment compared to the rest..Thats how i feel about being a good doctor

now i realise why my 13 year old cousin brother who is residing in the US..a talented musician..ambitious to be a neurosurgeon since he was 3..has started learning mandarin, tamil and malay everytime he comes down to malaysia since he was 8. His parents were thinking far ahead for him. Multilingual ppl are always assets..anywher..

hOlaaa peepz!

Heylow ppl. Its me with my countless attempts of trying to keep a blog but it's the first for this blogsite:) Ive jus been sitting at home doing countless art projects for myself. Cant wait to go back to uni and the hospital..but of course the final exams can wait.


these are wat ive been doing:

a rack out of a mandarin orange box all itemised for my things (its to be put in my rented place)



a desk organizer out of a shoe box ( poorly
constructed though hehee)


origami bookmarks put inside and origami envelope---made tonnes of them to distribute to frens and appointment orgainzer collage:) sister..the spirit of giving got to me







This final year of my studies ill be dealing with two major exams one in august and the other in february. in september..ill be moving to batu pahat for me studies..6 months only..nothing permanent i hope. ANother hassle of finding a place to stay..Maybe Edwin can help me on that(its his hometown)

As for my current status for this 2008. im back to being single. ill save u all the drama on wat happened. Not looking for love yet and hopefully will find contentment in that.