when a (future) pharmacist gets menstrual cramps

What does she do, besides curling up on her bed and writh in pain?

Why, go over all the drugs in her possesion and decide whichever is the best choice for this purpose, of course!

1. Panadol a.k.a. acetaminophen
COX inhibitor. Anti-inflammatory analgesic. Hmm. But I have cramps wor. dunno can work or not? Never mind, take first, don't care liao. Since it's the closest to me. (I always keep panadol in my 'emergency pouch' which I carry around with me, my other meds are stored somewhere else)

2. Celebrex
NSAID analgesic. Not quite sure if it can work for menstrual pain, dad gave it to me for severe stress-induced headaches. And it's far away with my 'other meds'. Never mind la.

3. Muscle relaxant?
Actually I think I was somewhat delirious when I came to this, for I started thinking about today's DD2 class test material and how benzodiazepines can be used as muscle relaxants and the part in Rang and Dale where this is stated ('decrease decerebrate rigidity in cats and patients with cerebral palsy' wtf) Then I thought, oh cannot, I don't even have benzodiazepines on me! I only have SSRI (Prozac) which does not have muscle relaxant properties. Cannot.

4. Loratadine (antihistamine)
I was in so much pain and feeling like shit and dying so I thought perhaps I could use this to knock me out for a while then I can sleep while the panadol kicks in, so I'll wake up pain-free! But then I thought I'd seen somewhere that Loratadine is not much of a sedative. So cannot use also. Haiyah.

5. Peppermint essential oil
This is what I use for my headaches but I doubt it will work as well for period cramps since it's a stimulant and all, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?


Verdict:
It's 2 hours since the pain started and the panadol has kicked in, thank god. 90% of pain gone. But I know it's only masking the pain temporarily so I'll probably have to take another dose 4 hours later. Or maybe I should try celebrex for the next dose...?

It's almost funny to look back and think about what I thought just now, in so much pain! It's been years since I had such a bad cramp, the last time I was hit with such horrible cramps that I couldn't even move and could only lie down like an invalid was when I was in high school. Then I didn't know that panadol could relieve the pain so what silly me did was to hug myself in the fetal position and wait for the pain to subside. The weird thing is, the panadol variant which is supposed to relieve period pain has no effect on me, but the normal one does. I wonder why.

Do you get such bad period pains? if so, what do you do? =)



+:+:+:+:+

So today we had THE DD class test.

And Prof YPN was our chief invigilator for the test today.

(to digress a little: How nice it would be if I had Twilight's Edward's mind-reading abilities, I would be able to read all the test material off prof yeoh's mind and get 100%! Muahaha!)

As with any exam, the chief invigilator would say something like, "Time's up, put down your pens".
Guess what our dear YPN said?
"Students, you have a few more seconds to go....and three, two, one. Time's up!"

This, coming from a Quakeress governess-ish sort of lecturer, totally cracked me up! =)


xoxo

rant, rant, rant

I hate it when I study hard but don't get good results!

Mana itu theory 'You reap what you sow'? How come I don't see it at all?
It was just the same in my semester 4 EOS. Studied hard but results like shit.
Now pp2 too. 40 questions in the paper, I get 20 wrong. Sei mm sei?

Gone were the days where I could study hard and rest assured that my report card would look reasonably good.
Now, I study hard but I also have to worry about NOT getting good results.
Ah, I know.
I am in a state of high dissonance!
Which would explain my inner turmoil and emo-ness after the class test feedback.

How leh now?
What must I do to get good results? Study more?
But how much more is more? Is enough?
I really envy those who don't have to study really hard but yet always get good results.
Why can't I be like that too?
Or am I just plain dumb?


Anyways.
So I read that some drugs can help students in their pre-exams preparation.
Apparently they increase activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain so as to increase focus, concentration, and mental endurance. (as in being able to study longer without going siao)
It seems that there were 60% of students in a US university who admitted to taking these drugs prior to their exams.
Earlier drugs like amphetamine and Ritalin, though being able to increase focus and all that, could cause tolerance quite fast and had many physiological side effects as well.
So now they are using drugs for the treatment of ADHD to help them study. Cos it seems these drugs work just as well, but minus the side effects and tolerance.
The catch?
All are POMs. Or illegal.


Now, if I could get my hands on these wonder drugs.......

what else...btn camp la!

Just a quick post on the hot topic that's on the lips of all JPA scholars in IMU: the BTN camp!

Yes, it's unfair.
No, it's not right.
But no, it's not exactly that bad..

(this I understand from various blogs on the camp. One said that the facilitators treated them really well, and most of the marks does not come from the exam but from our participation in classes. and also that we would probably be able to pass our exams without much studying, just a little common sense. now isn't that refreshing?)

When life hands you lemons, the smart people would know how to grab the tequila and salt immediately!

As I see it, there are bound to be many utterly unfair catch-22 situations in life.
This is just the start.
And it can only get worse, when we start working, where *ahem* issues are definitely going to arise, and there is little we can do to help it.

I see this camp issue as a challenge.
Now, if I can go to the camp, pass the camp exam, AND score my class tests, wouldn't that entitle me to smirk in the faces of the BTN people and say 'neh neh neh neh neh' (with the appropriate hand gestures, if possible)?

And yes, I know my results are going to be affected to some degree by this camp, but it is my duty to do my best, no excuses. And if my best just aint good enough, at least I can rest assured that I have acted according to my conscience, nothing less.

You could probably call me a positive thinker, but I'd rather think of myself as invariably practical-minded.

If I AM to go to the camp, and if there WERE to be any racial and religious slurs thrown around by the facilitators (as rumours go), I would sit patiently and smile at them angelically. Why should I let someone who hits below the belt affect me? Why, if I were to be affected, that would mean I'm of the same level as them, wouldn't it? Oh no, I'm staying where I am, thank you very much!

And yes, cramping so much PP and DD information into my brain in such a short span of time is practically crazy, but I'm gonna do the best I can and leave the rest to God.

I believe I am stronger than this.

Now, I'll just have to prove it to myself.



Update 12th Jan 4.50pm: 万岁万岁万万岁！We get to postpone the camp! Thank you so much to Balqis, Siva, and Andrew! You guys are the best! *wide grin*

on getting older and (hopefully) wiser

It was the first time I felt no joy awaiting my birthday.

I spent my last day of the 22nd year of my life listening to The Carpenters and emo-ing.
Why emo?
Because I couldn't understand why I had to grow older!
I did not feel any different from the time when I was 16. Or 18, maybe.
I still feel the same.
I am still the big bumbling block who falls down a lot;
I am still unable to hold a witty conversation or crack a really funny joke;
I am still the nerd I was when I was 16.
Mentally, I feel exactly the same.
But the numbers on my identity card, unfortunately, seems to tell me a different story!

For some people, being 23 means they already have a stable and moderately paying job.
For some, it means they probably have had their first child.
For others, they may already have started climbing up the corporate ladder and aiming for the post of CEO. Some would already BE a CEO.
(FYI, the current CEO of Malaysian Today, Jessie Soon, was made CEO when she was a mere 21 or 22 years old. So see, I'm not fibbing! )

And me?
I'm still slogging my way through university life and studies..and feeling like I'm slipping down!
Now I know studying a subject that I don't like is no mean feat.
But then again, I have grew to love what I'm doing. Just that I don't have a passion for it, probably. I don't feel as if this is my calling in life, what I was born to do.

At 23, I don't know where exactly my life will lead me. Or where I'll lead my life.
It's kind of pathetic, isn't it? To muddle around in life without a clear perspective.
But yeah, that's what I am. For now, at least.

Sometimes I feel disappointed, actually.
Sometimes I feel like demanding a refund from the God of Age, if there's such a god.
When I was in my teens, I thought being in my twenties would entitle me to a great deal of maturity and vision, and I wouldn't feel like the mess I felt when I was younger.
But unfortunately, my brain stopped growing while my body grew older, somehow.
So technically, I'm am 18-year old trapped in a 23-year-old body.
And even though now I have my visions of what I will be like when I'm in my thirties, somehow I feel I'm gonna be disappointed, once again, when I hit the 30-year-old mark.
For all I know, I would probably be no different from what I am now, perhaps with the addition of a government job and (gasp!) a husband?!
No, I don't think so...for the husband part.
But I don't know.
It's a pity we don't have more people like Alice (in Twilight) huh? It would be so convenient to be able to see the future. To reassure myself that I'm not gonna be the same ole' messy and immature person twenty or thirty years down the road.
Ah now, my Edward, where art thou?

+:+:+:+:+

Of course, to give credit where it's due, my dear friends did make an extra effort to make my birthday a memorable one. =)

Unfortunately I had to attend a convo mag meeting and we had classes till 4pm, so any elaborate celebrations were out of the question. But but but! a cake was brought into class while the batchmates sang to me! Yay! =) And I went out for dinner with wenchin, sinwee and doreen at secret recipe's, and I had a fantastic chicken cordon bleu instead of my usual lasagne. =)


A big thank you to Wenchin, Sinwee, Aiwui, and Jane for the Shu Uemura cleansing oil!
你们不愧是我肚子里的蛔虫！To know exactly what I needed..and wanted, but would never buy for myself. =)
And an equally big thank you to all the other friends who got me the Shu Uemura toner. How did you know my toner ran out? So geng! *cough*wenchin*cough*

And to Jocelyn, who painstakingly made a card for me! (assisted by Roxanne, haha)
I love it, it's so cute and funny! =)

which opens up to...

And the card (also handmade..by wenchin) from all of them:

But she beat me to putting the picture of this card on her blog. humph! Oh well. I daresay it's a commendable effort on Wenchin's part...perhaps another Van Gogh in making? (no I'm not being sarcastic, have you ever heard of a diamond in the raw? well here's one! )

And of course, my darling Wenchin's personal card to me:

Special mention: Lots of hugs and kisses to Jane, who rushed out in the early morning to get my gifts...do drive safely (and slower) ok? =P And of course Wenchin and Sinwee, who were the main dalang-s behind all the celebrations, I truly appreciate all that you have done for me! Muax!

And to all my friends who gave their wishes before, during and after my birthday via sms, facebook, or friendster, thank you so much for remembering! You can't imagine how much that meant to me.

So yeah, thank you all for lifting me out of my emo-ness. Really. Age, after all, is nothing but a number, right?

Dear God,
Can I not become one year older tomorrow?