16 years ago, I started working as a Maintenance Assistant at La Salle, a janitorial job that required cleaning classrooms and offices for 8 hours a day during the summer, and 40 hours/week during the semestral season.
Moments like this remind me that medicine is not only about treating diseases, but also about carrying the weight of lives changed in an instant.
Some days, the silence of grief is louder than tears.
I lost a patient today due to heart attack. It was the kind of loss that feels especially heavy, because it may have been preventable. I spoke with the family. They were all in shock, so stunned by the suddenness of it that they could not even cry.
#SciFeature ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ก๐ง๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ญ
At first glance, the Philippines may seem small on a world map, but appearances can be misleading. With over 300,000 kmยฒ of land spread across its islands, the country is actually larger than many assume.
This misconception largely comes from the Mercator projection, one of the most commonly used map styles. While it preserves shape and direction, making it useful for navigation, it significantly distorts size. Areas near the poles appear much larger, while countries closer to the equator, like the Philippines, are minimized.
Because of this, places like Greenland often look enormous, sometimes comparable to Africa, when in reality, it spans about 2.1 million kmยฒ, roughly seven times the size of the Philippines, not dramatically larger as maps may suggest. Meanwhile, the Philippines even exceeds the land area of the United Kingdom, which measures around 243,000 kmยฒ.
Maps help us understand the world, but they donโt always tell the full story. Recognizing how projections influence what we see allows us to better interpret global size and scale, and appreciate the Philippines for its true geographic extent. #Philippines #map #cartography
Kanina sa consultation:
Patient: Doc, kakaiba nararamdaman koโฆ sumasakit dibdib ko, parang nag-iiba ang beat.
Me: Palpitations ba?
Patient: Opo doc, parang nag-iiba yung beat.
Me: Ahh okayโฆ so basically, di mo na hawak ang beat. ๐ง
Patient: ๐ฒ
Stethoscope: DJ left the chat
Story time.
Three days ago, nabalitaan ko na na-stroke ang isa naming staff nurse na si Sir M.
Kanina, pagdating ko sa clinic, nakita ko sya sa nurse station kasama ang ibang staff. Nakatayo lang, nakangiti. Ngumiti rin ako pabalik, as usual.
Ako, โOoโฆ pero okay na siya, โdi ba kasi pumasok na kaagad? Nandito nga siya kanina. Kasama niyo. Nakatayo pa dito.โ
Napatingin siya sa akin, nagulat.
โDocโฆ nasa ICU siya. Intubated. Comatose.โ
Dahil late na rin ako, dumiretso pasok na ako sa clinic ang nagsimulang mag-check-up ng mga pasyente. After matapos, bumalik ako sa nurse station para magbasa ng diagnostics.
Biglang may nurse na nagtanong sa akin,
โDoc, nabalitaan mo ba nangyari kay Sir M?โ
Kanina sa foodcourt, may sumingit sa pila sa harap ko. Bilang non-confrontational, usually tatahimik lang ako at magkikimkim ng inis. Pero knina sabi ko, โMis, nauna ako, pila ka dun sa likod.โ
Gutom tlaga ako cguro, pero for the 1st time, n-proud ako sa sarili ko 4 speaking up.
Naalala ko lang nung elementary ๐
Nag exam kami: ilang mali = ilang pitpit ng kawayan sa palad.
Masaya ako kasi highest scorer ako nun 40/50 (10 mali = 10 pitpit).
Pagktapos ko mapitpit, biglang may meeting si Mam.
Ending: Ako highest pero AKO LANG ANG NAPALO.
Letsugas HAHAH
New Lancet data on GLP-1 agonists ๐
A new paper in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine shows that when GLP-1 therapy is stopped, most people regain the lost weight and lose metabolic benefits. In practice, this means GLP-1s function as chronic, often lifelong therapy not a temporary fix.
To be clear, GLP-1 agonists are improving the health of many people, especially patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes and high cardiometabolic risk. For these individuals, weight loss can be genuinely life-changing.
The concern is not appropriate medical use but indiscriminate use. With millions already taking these drugs and numbers rising rapidly (specially with the new pill format), many users are not patients in the classical sense, but generally healthy or mildly overweight individuals. In this context, the riskโbenefit balance changes. Once started, most users will need to stay on GLP-1s indefinitely or face significant rebound effects, often returning to baseline or worse.
As an important caveat: GLP-1s improve metabolic control, but they do not rebuild metabolic capacity. Without resistance training, meaningful metabolic work (Zone 2 and above), and adequate protein intake, long-term use may promote lean mass loss, low energy flux and increased frailty risk with aging.
In addition, we still lack long-term data on potential pancreatic, thyroid, and central neurotransmitter effects.
GLP-1s are powerful tools, but not a standalone solution. Long-term success requires pairing pharmacology with training and metabolic resilience.
IMHO: based on current clinical and research evidence, it is now urgent that clinicians clearly inform users that starting GLP-1 therapy likely means committing to long-term or lifelong use, with all the consequences that may entail.
https://t.co/uMTQKs13wH
Eto na ba ang Post-Noche Buena Syndrome?
Pagkatapos ng handaan, dagsa ngaun sa ER ang may mataas na BP, hilo, at warning signs ng stroke.
Masarap ang lechon but remember, lahat ng sobra, may bayad (minsan ER bill).
Ngayong holidays, hinay-hinay sa kain, alat, at alak ha.
๐ซ
Imagine: โฑ60 billion of PhilHealth funds almost vanished in an unconstitutional transferโฆ while the sick and desperate are forced to beg politicians for a guarantee letter just to get treated. Anong klaseng sistema โto? Nakaka-pu..