Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine - Sawbones: Your Medical Questions, Answered!

Episode Date: November 11, 2016

This week on Sawbones, Dr. Sydnee and Justin help provide you with the answers to all the medical questions you can muster, everything from knocking people out in action movies to tastebud inflamation.... Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Saubones is a show about medical history, and nothing the hosts say should be taken as medical advice or opinion. It's for fun. Can't you just have fun for an hour and not try to diagnose your mystery boil? We think you've earned it. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy a moment of distraction from that weird growth. You're worth it. that weird growth. You're worth it. Alright, time is about to books. One, two, one, two, three, four. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney.
Starting point is 00:00:50 I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. I'm Sydney. For the mouth. Wow. Hello, everybody, and welcome to Saw Bones, Meryl Truett, Miss Guy, did medicine. I'm your co-host, Justin McAroy. And I'm Sydney McAroy. Well, sorry that this episode is so late in coming.
Starting point is 00:01:16 It's been kind of crummy week. Yeah. And we didn't feel like it. It just didn't feel particularly funny. I usually am supposed to have answers for things on this show, like information to share with you and explanations. And frankly, I don't have a lot of answers for anything that's happening in the world right now.
Starting point is 00:01:37 There it is. But do you, Justin, do? But I didn't ask you if you have any answers. Yeah, but I'm not sharing. There are going to be in my book that's coming out, all the answers, everything explained by Justin McRoy. That's gonna be a big seller, so. Can I be straight up with you?
Starting point is 00:01:51 Like, I really wish we could use profanity on our podcast this week. That's, yeah, I understand that. Vibes too said, but you know what? I, I, I will not stop. Will not stop. I will not stop. I will not stop. Are you about to rap? Because you sound like you're like
Starting point is 00:02:11 you're really not too aware. Stop the signal. You can't stop the solvone signal. And you know what, we may not have all the answers, but we thought, hey, we can answer some of the questions Like medical ones like funny Who's the medical questions that we can that I might have some insight on maybe so let's try let's do it Said I got a whole bevy a flotilla of Questions here for you and I'm hoping that you can
Starting point is 00:02:40 Help me to parse them all out These are all met me these are sent in by you, our beloved listeners. So thank you to everybody so we can use them all, but we just handpicked some and decided to go with it. So, I'm sure we'll do this again someday. So, if you didn't get an answer this time, don't fret. Don't fret here. So here we go. First question comes to us from Claire who asks,
Starting point is 00:03:05 I'm assuming you guys know about the Biori and other brand poor strips. What is all that stuff that comes out of your face and onto the strip? I wash my face regularly and they're still always so gross. I appreciate that Claire. I also appreciate how open you are with sharing how gross you find your face. I, I, you can't use those things and not get some real yucca rune material. No, and let me come for you and saying that I am certain anyone who's ever used one of those pore strips has gotten some pretty gross stuff on it out of their face. Us included. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:44 Justin and I have both used them. So what is it? So mainly when you think about your pores, I mean they're just little holes, right? There's little teeny, teeny holes. And they collect stuff that is on your face because they're teeny little holes. And so I mean you're largely just pulling out like clumps
Starting point is 00:04:00 of oil, we all release oil from the oil glands in our skin, and like some sweat, and then a lot of dirt Like just, you know, there's dirt and debris out there that gets in your pores on your skin And then also probably some dead skin cells as well, you know, do you know, and we're constantly shedding skin cells And so you get like these little holes that can collect And so you get like these little holes that can collect Globs globs. I'll use the medical term globs of oil and dirt and skin cells and sweat and Voila, you pull it out of your poor if the difference between what you get on like a pore strap Because I mean, I think that it's fair to say you you would call those things you're putting it on blackheads well, I mean, I think that it's fair to say you would call those things you're putting it on blackheads
Starting point is 00:04:47 well, I mean Sometimes it's just like you put on your nose because it feels cloggy, right? You put it on your nose because it feels cloggy. Yeah, you just feel like there's some stuff in there and you can probably get it out That's why I use them Just like I haven't done it in a while and I feel like it's time to clean it out your skin feels cloggy You know like a cloggy skin type feeling it out. Your skin feels cloggy? You know, like a cloggy skin type feeling. I have never had a cloggy skin type feeling. Well that's because you don't use the Biori perfect strip.
Starting point is 00:05:13 Okay, well, even if you don't, most people I think use them because they get concerned about like blackheads across the bridge of their nose, you know, which are just exactly what I've described, pores that are filled with all that kind of stuff that I've talked about. When they start to get inflamed, infected, or irritated, and then bacteria can start growing in there, then you're talking about pimples, right? You're about whiteheads and pimples and the like.
Starting point is 00:05:38 But before that, when it's just a pore filled with dirt and goo, there you go. That's what you get out of it. It's not gross. It's all over all of us all the time. Is it, could it be, I'm sometimes suspicious of hygiene that we couldn't have achieved like before medical advances, like if your body wanted to get rid of that stuff, it would probably just like let you. Is there any danger to like emptying that stuff out, do you think? Let you, is there any danger to like emptying that stuff out? Do you think? The only danger I can see is if you are, if you're irritating your skin, it's the same kind
Starting point is 00:06:14 of advice I would give some, we tell people who ask questions about like how do I do with acne, don't scrub. A lot of people will want to scrub their face after they wash it as if like I'm really cleaning out those pores. But if you're causing inflammation in your skin, you're setting it up for, you know, your pores to get clogged even more so with bacteria and with oil and, you know, more debris from like the dead skin cells, like you're just setting yourself up for a cycle of inflammation and then you scrub it to clean it out and then stuff get they get inflamed and stuff gets back in there.
Starting point is 00:06:49 So I would say the only danger I could see with those strips is if you were using them so much or you were applying them in a way that you were actually causing a lot of inflammation and your skin, then you're really not doing yourself any favors. But I don't think removing the dirt and oil in and of itself is like a dangerous thing. Now, you do need some oil in your skin. Has anyone who has used like a lot of the over-the-counter acne products and too much, and have you ever dried your skin out? Oh, yeah. Yeah, if you do that too much, I mean, in your skin gets dry, it fights back by creating more oil. And again, vicious cycle.
Starting point is 00:07:21 So, you know, just don't irritate your skin. It's your friend. It's your biggest organ. It's your friend. Here's another one, a short one from Jeff who says, does working a night shift, is, sorry, is working a night shift unhealthy for your body? You know, that's a good question, Jeff.
Starting point is 00:07:40 And there's actually a whole disorder, a shift work disorder. People who work irregular hours And there's actually a whole disorder, a shift work disorder. People who work irregular hours are kind of trying to force your body to do something that we are not chemically programmed to do. We release lots of different hormones changed throughout our night day circadian rhythm cycle, but just one, for example, we release melatonin in the evenings
Starting point is 00:08:08 to chill us out, calm us down, tell us it's time to go to sleep, and then our levels of it drop as we get closer to the morning, and then we wake back up. A lot of the hormones in our body have that same, and it's related to light, a lot of our circadian rhythms are related to light.
Starting point is 00:08:22 So when you are awake in the dark and asleep in the light, that you're fighting that natural circadian rhythms are related to light. So when you are awake in the dark and asleep in the light, that you're fighting that natural circadian rhythm in your body, and that is really difficult for people to adjust to. And so I'll have a lot of people who work night shifts, who'd never really feel very well rested. Well, that makes sense to me,
Starting point is 00:08:40 because the, the, your, you know, any time that I like, I think the closest I can come is like staying up overnight and like, it's just miserable for your entire body. Like, if you don't sleep for a night because your whole thing gets out of whack, that still seems really fragile except it's certainly it's for me. It is, it is. And the other thing I can, from my own personal experience, having done a residency is that the next morning after I would have stayed up all night on a call, I would get that what we will call our second wind. And that's probably those natural,
Starting point is 00:09:13 you know, those levels of militant and such dropping. My cortisol levels rising to keep me awake and up and moving. And then I would come home and try to sleep. And my body was not in a condition where it wanted to sleep then, because it is programmed to try to force itself to stay awake. So the sleep I'd get wouldn't be particularly restful. Maybe you get this on a really accelerated pace too. It's crazy to see Charlie get tired and you see the window, and then all of a sudden it's just gone. Yes. The window's just like past us.
Starting point is 00:09:42 Yeah, if you missed the nap window, you're doomed. Dumbed. We have several questions here. the windows just like past us. Yeah, if you missed the nap window, you're doomed. Dumed. We have several questions here from Jessica, all pertaining to birth control. And they say, why do we still have periods when we're taking birth control? My understanding is you don't release an egg when you're on birth control pills,
Starting point is 00:10:02 and periods are the shedding of an unfertilized egg. So if you don't release an egg, are they on birth control pills and periods are the shedding of an unfertilized egg. So if you don't release an egg, are there real periods? Do we have to have them? You know, I mean, to start with those questions. Yes, let's start with those. Let's start with those.
Starting point is 00:10:14 Okay, so this is a really good question and it's important if you take birth control or if you're thinking about taking birth control that you understand somewhat how it's working in your body. So, an easy way that I'll often explain it to patients is that birth control sort of creates a hormonal situation in your body that is similar to that of pregnancy.
Starting point is 00:10:37 Not exactly, but similar. And because when you're pregnant, you're not ovulating and having periods, obviously. When you are on birth control pills, it prevents exactly like you said, it prevents your ovary from releasing the egg just because of the certain levels of, and I don't wanna get into the particulars,
Starting point is 00:10:57 but the levels of hormones that you now have in your body. Now, your endometrial lining, which is the lining of your uterus, it's still going to grow somewhat while you're on your period. Usually less, or while you're on birth control, excuse me, usually less than when you're not on birth control, but it is going to grow somewhat. So at the time when you would have your period, if you do have bleeding, you're shedding that lining of your uterus. Well, if you weren't on birth control, you may be shedding both the unfertilized egg and the lining of your uterus. Well, if you weren't on birth control, you may be shedding both the unfertilized egg and the lining of your uterus.
Starting point is 00:11:27 If you're on birth control, it's just the lining of your uterus. So that's why you still have a period. Now, some birth control, depending on the level of hormones that are in the birth control itself, or your natural level of certain hormones, you may find that you stop having periods that it actually suppresses both the release of the egg
Starting point is 00:11:44 and the growth of that lining. That's okay. That's okay if it does that. You don't have to have periods. That's a question I get a lot. Obviously, the utility of a period sometimes is that it can tell you whether or not you might be pregnant or may include you in, but other than that, it's okay not to have a period. Another side question here, it says you're not supposed to miss a pill,
Starting point is 00:12:10 and if you do that you might not be protected, so you're protected during the week that you take placebo pills. In theory, the week that you take the placebo pills, because you know those last seven pills in your pack are just sugar pills. Oh sure, yeah. Yeah, and the reason...
Starting point is 00:12:25 You used to let me take those. You did used to take those. Yeah. Why? They don't taste like sugar. No, it's fun, not only. It's college. The reason they're there is just to keep you on schedule, by the way.
Starting point is 00:12:38 That's just it. Because it's easier to get in the habit of taking a pill every single day than for three weeks and then not for a week. It's just easier. That's the whole reason they're there. But I used to actually throw them away and just keep track of the day. get in the habit of taking a pill every single day then for three weeks and then not for a week. It's just easier. That's the whole reason they're there. But I used to actually throw them away and just keep track of the day.
Starting point is 00:12:49 I had to start my next pack because I don't like being patronized. But the thing is during that week, you should be on your period. Now if you don't have a period, that's still okay. It doesn't matter. It's not hurting you. But because that's the week that you would be shedding the lining of your uterus, you shouldn't be able to get
Starting point is 00:13:08 pregnant that week anyway. Okay. So if the birth control is working like it's supposed to, you can't get pregnant that week. That's not to say, you know, I don't want to sit here and make birth control pills sound like they're the sunny solution to every problem. I think they are hugely helpful for many patients. They are tolerated well by many, many patients. And again, some of the things people worry about is it okay, not periods totally okay. There are other side effects to birth control pills, though,
Starting point is 00:13:35 which is why if you're going to seek out birth control, I would talk to your doctor about all forms of birth control that are available to you. Here's one from Shelby who asks, is eating at night really worse for you? Is it true that your metabolism is slower so you will gain more weight from it? The big reason Shelby that we tell you not to eat at night is not as much, at least when I'm talking to my patients, it's not as much for your metabolism. My big concern are a couple things. One, acid reflux.
Starting point is 00:14:08 A lot of people can get acid reflux, especially if you eat right before you go to bed. Sure. Because then you've churned up all that stomach acid to digest your food, and then you go from vertical to horizontal. Most people sleep laying down. You might sleep standing up, in which case that might not be such a problem for you.
Starting point is 00:14:21 But assuming you sleep laying down, all that acid could, in some patients, reflux back up into your esophagus and cause heartburn and such. So that's one big reason, I'll actually tell people not to eat late a night. Another reason is it can actually disturb your sleep. Because you're digesting?
Starting point is 00:14:38 Yes. Your body needs to chill, man. Give your body a break. Okay, give your body a break at night. Your body's kind of set up to rest now and not to be doing the hard work of digestion. So it's not really good for you. I wouldn't worry as much.
Starting point is 00:14:55 If somebody told me that they were eating at night and they were worried about, or they were trying to lose weight and they were seeking advice on losing weight, that would not be the first thing that I would tell them to change. In general, I would say that the times in my life when I ate late at night, like I mentioned when I was in residency or back when I was in college, I usually wasn't making the best food choices late at night. Sure, right.
Starting point is 00:15:18 And I wasn't on a particularly healthy eating schedule. So I don't think that I was taking very good care of my body in general. And so I think that's where you get a lot of the bad rap about eating late at night. In addition to the things I've mentioned is that if I'm eating fourth meal at Taco Bell, there are a lot of other issues than just what time I'm eating. I almost hear you saying that I shouldn't be eating a bowl of cereal every night before I get to sleep. That's, oh, I don't want to misconstrued that. Justin, I have literally told you,
Starting point is 00:15:49 I think this is what the third time on our podcast, not just in our lives, on our podcast, not to eat a bowl of cereal every night before you go to bed. It helps me sleep. No. It does. No, it doesn't.
Starting point is 00:16:01 Apparently not, you're just stolen that. It doesn't help you sleep. It does help you sleep. Here's one from Phoebe who asks, why do some types of birth control help protect against STIs, but others don't? I want to get an IUD, but would like the extra protection against STIs. I'm not one for unprotected sex either way. I'm just deeply paranoid for Phoebe.
Starting point is 00:16:23 I'm assuming Phoebe, when you're asking about certain types of bird control that protect against STIs, you mean barrier methods like condoms and such. Dive frames. And diaphragms, which I think still used by some people. I don't know. I don't have a lot of people who are using diaphragms these days. But I mean, some people do, certainly. But there are, you know, when. But I mentioned birth control pills already.
Starting point is 00:16:45 There are birth control patches. There are birth control shots. There are intrauterine devices. There's the vaginal ring. There's the birth control implant that goes in your arm. There are, like we said, diaphragms. There are condoms, spermicide. There's the sponge, again, not used too much these days,
Starting point is 00:17:06 vasectomy, tubal ligation. A lot of these things don't protect against sexually transmitted infections. Very few do. That's because I think we were really, there were different goals when they were developing these products. A lot of the, a lot of, with birth control pills and the things that have followed the birth control pill to help prevent pregnancy was an effort to give people who were able to become pregnant control over their bodies. The ability to both have a sexual life, have some engage in sexual activity, and choose when they decide to become
Starting point is 00:17:48 pregnant and start a family. And so that's a very different goal than a condom, which while it does indeed help to prevent pregnancy, also can help to prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection. So I think we're just talking about different goals. When you're seeking out birth control, I would ask yourself what your goals are, what your concerns are. I think that in general, both should be the answer. For most people, I recommend,
Starting point is 00:18:21 I think there are a lot of great, other than condoms, there are a lot of great birth control options that are actually more effective. In particular, you mentioned the intrauterine device. So the IUD intrauterine device, there are different kinds. There are kinds that secrete hormones and then there are copper ones. They are over 99% effective. So if we're talking about purely preventing pregnancy, there are really great option. They can last the progestin, which is a hormone, so creating ones can last three to six years. The copper ones, some can last up to 12 years. So if you know that in that time frame, you very likely will not want to become pregnant, it's a great choice for you.
Starting point is 00:19:05 They do need to be inserted by a doctor and there are risks associated with them, of course. But if you're concerned about the future availability of birth control or other family planning methods for yourself, an intrauterine device may be a good option for you to go talk to your doctor about. In the meantime though, you should always, when it comes to preventing sexually transmitted
Starting point is 00:19:25 infections, regular testing is one good thing you can do that isn't something you have to buy. It's not a condom, it's not an IUD. It's a, you know, make sure you know your own status. Have an open discussion with your partner about the last time they were tested for sexually transmitted infections and encourage them to do so before engaging in sexual activity. And then I still recommend using barrier methods if that's a concern. I mean obviously if you're trying to become pregnant that may not be the best way to do it. Can't be too careful. But use a condom or some other sort of barrier method if you are concerned. So they're different different goals, but both extremely important.
Starting point is 00:20:06 Sid, we've got a lot of other questions, but because you don't have them in front of you, I get the rare privilege of telling you that it's time to go to the building department. Let's go. The medicines, the medicines, that ask you let my God before the mouth. The first ever Chicago podcast festival is just around the corner. Don't miss your shot to catch Max Fun's own Bullseye Lady to Lady and Minority Corner performing live for your entertainment. Split Single was just added to the Bullseye lineup in addition to the previously announced
Starting point is 00:20:38 and amazing Duane Kennedy in Andre Royo. Bullseye and Lady to Lady are November 17th and Minority Corner is November 18th. Visit MaximumFun.org and keep the live shows column on the right side to grab your tickets right now before time runs out. All right, what question you got for me next, Justin? Okay, Sidney, I've got a few from Twitter here and I'm going to hit you with them. These are a little bit shorter, but I think that you'll be able to help do some real good here.
Starting point is 00:21:06 I hope so. I'll do my best. This comes from Sarah Meroz who says, what's the medical difference between an Audi belly button? So, they're both fine. They're both lovely, so don't worry whatever you have. Of course, your belly button is the result of you are connected in utero. That's the fancy term for inside the utero. For an neuron album.
Starting point is 00:21:29 What? Then neuron album and stuff. Well, yeah, but also for in the utero. Got it. Okay. In utero. You are connected to mom to the placenta by your umbilical cord, which comes from your belly button. Now we cut that cord after you are born. And then there's this little like hunk of it that's connected there for a while,
Starting point is 00:21:52 that that slowly shrivels up and dries up. And it doesn't look, I mean, it doesn't look great for a while. And then eventually it just falls off. And whatever you're left with is your belly button. a while. And then eventually it just falls off and whatever you're left with is your belly button. And it just depends on how it heals, man. Some of them are in ease and some of them are out. It's not because like your doctor didn't do like a dope cut. It has nothing to do with like how skillful they are. I always feel like if you have any of them, they just like win in a no scope, like one shot, one slice, perfect. No, because we always we always cut pretty far away.
Starting point is 00:22:26 We leave a couple inches away from the baby. You don't want to cut right up against the baby's skin. We clamp it and then cut beyond the clamp. And so there's always a couple of inches hanging there, maybe more, maybe less, but around that. So yeah, it just has to do with how it heals. There is no tying. I've had that question before. There's no tying of like we don't tie a knot.
Starting point is 00:22:47 So that's not why the belly button looks like it does. It's just how the cord falls off and they're both fine. What is the deal? This is from the diopony. What is the deal with those painful bubbles you get on your tongue? How does it happen? And how do I make it stop?
Starting point is 00:23:04 I am assuming the premise with which I answer this question, is that you were talking about like inflamed taste buds or swollen taste buds, because there are many reasons by the way that you can get painful bubbles on your tongue. So I don't want to, let me say this, if this is happening a lot or causing you a lot of distress, I would advise you to go talk to your doctor because you can have, you know, there are sexually transmitted infections that can affect your tongue or other infections that can affect your tongue. There are allergic reactions you can have on your tongue.
Starting point is 00:23:38 Certain vitamin deficiencies can cause swollen taste buds on your tongue. There are lots of other things that you might need to get checked out. So if this is a common problem for you, please go to your doctor. Now, if you're like me every once in a while, you bite your tongue. Sure. Or Justin, you mentioned something that irritates your...
Starting point is 00:23:58 Yes, sour food. If I have sour foods, that will do it to me. Exactly. Acidic foods is what you're noticing. It's the acid in the food. I'm sorry, I don't know all the clinical terms, Dr. McElroy. Well, no, I'm just saying.
Starting point is 00:24:08 Like it's not the, it's the same difference. You're describing the taste. I'm describing the property. Sure, yeah. Anyway, acidic foods, even really salty. I'm sure these, so I would be talking about taste. That makes sense. I get it.
Starting point is 00:24:19 I get where you're coming from. I get it. I didn't say anything like that. Okay. Acidic foods, salty foods, spicy foods. sometimes even really hot foods, and these are all things that can inflame your taste buds. Like cinnamon gum can do that sometimes. Yeah, I feel like any sort of like over, like eating too much of any one flavor can do that
Starting point is 00:24:40 to me. I feel like most notably with sour, but. Yeah. Tobacco can do that too me. I feel like most notably with sour but. Yeah. Tobacco can do that too actually. Makes sense. There are other conditions that can do this but those are the most common. If this just happens every once in a while, this is, you know, it's probably just that you irritated or inflamed one of your taste buds. This is usually not something serious. It will be tender. You may notice that you're salivating more, producing more saliva. You might see the swollen taste like, like you described, you could see it. It'll look like red or white bump on your tongue
Starting point is 00:25:15 and it's raised and it's painful. The important thing to know is that it's probably going to be short-lived and going on its own. Some people recommend like assault water, rinse of their mouth. If that makes it feel better, I think that's fine. You can just eat something really soothing like yogurt or some other sort of cooling, like a popsicle, an ice cube even could help reduce the inflammation. You usually don't need to go to the level of using medication over the counter or prescription otherwise. But if it is something that's exquisitely painful,
Starting point is 00:25:49 there's many of them, or it's happening to you a lot. So it's exquisitely painful. Yeah, this is a term. There's happening to you a lot, go see your doctor, because there are other causes for those bumps, and I can't see the bumps on your tongue, so I cannot guarantee that we're talking about the same thing. Mm-hmm. I'm telling pain we're talking about the same thing.
Starting point is 00:26:10 Tongue pain, basic squeezes. I pin head from hell race. Here's one from Dustin Ratlov who says, is it possible to knock someone out like an action movies without there being traumatic long lasting brain damage? This is my, this is my favorite question because you said like in action movies. Yeah. I like that, Dustin. You know. Right, like I said. You know what we're talking about?
Starting point is 00:26:31 Or like on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when Jiles gets hit every single episode in the noggin. Right. And gets knocked out. I get knocked out. Yeah. Yes, it is totally possible to have that happened to you and not have long-lasting brain damage.
Starting point is 00:26:44 I know this from personal experience. I played soccer in high school and I was drilled in the head directly in the forehead by a soccer ball by a member of my own team. No less. Yeah, and then I knocked flat on my back unconscious and I was okay. What? You married me. Something's been something up. and I knocked flat on my back unconscious. And I was okay. Eh, what? You married me. Something's been something up.
Starting point is 00:27:09 I think what you have to worry about, I mean, because this is a concussion, I think is what we're talking about, that loss of consciousness. We're assuming it doesn't have to be a concussion, but that's what we're sort of talking around, is that loss of consciousness after a head trauma, and you get knocked out and you wake back up.
Starting point is 00:27:25 If you continue to have symptoms like headache or confusion or dizziness or that sort of thing changes it, you know, changing your vision, then you may have a concussion. You should talk to a doctor because now, especially we know from sports that repeated head trauma, repeated episodes of this can definitely cause long lasting damage. Absolutely it can, which is why we take them so seriously. Now, if you have a concussion, we will put you on what we call cognitive rest, meaning to try not to think, don't strain your brain for a while. No problems there, Doug, I got it.
Starting point is 00:28:00 But we really, I mean, we'll take kids out of school and no homework or anything, no computers, no nothing, nothing very taxing until your symptoms resolve because we know that if we don't treat you appropriately after a concussion and if you continue to have concussions, you can absolutely get long-lasting damage. But now, one isolated event doesn't necessarily cause anything long-lasting.
Starting point is 00:28:23 Few more quick ones said, because we're running a little short on time. I'm currently in med school. Is there a way to both complete your studies and have a life outside of school? Feels impossible, Mr. Emily. That's the eternal question. It is difficult.
Starting point is 00:28:35 I think it is totally possible, because, again, from personal experience, I got married to Justin, who I was in med school. Yeah, I think there's basically not to speak to this because we kind of went through it together. And I knew how long you were away. Like, I think just finding the moments where you can make a spot. There's a lot of times where Sydney didn't necessarily have to study at that exact moment
Starting point is 00:29:01 or it didn't have to be doing something. And because you're always gonna have more that you could do, I would say, but finding those pockets where you don't absolutely have to be doing something is probably your best. But this is true. I think not just for medical school, but for anybody who's involved in a particularly
Starting point is 00:29:17 taxing profession or study series of course of study or something where you get this impulse that the more time you put into it, it necessary, like that, you will get better at it and that there is no end to that. Like that's an infinite thing, you know, and you can get that impulse in med school that, well, if I just keep studying, though, 24 hours, 70s, week, forever, I'll become the best doctor in the world. And the thing is, I think it's just as important that you are the best you, you can be.
Starting point is 00:29:49 It makes me a better doctor when I am a happy, healthy person, and that includes making time for Justin and for Charlie and for all the other members of my family that I love and my friends that I love and the other activities that I enjoy. It makes me a better Sydney, and then I am a better doctor because I'm a better Sydney. And that's true when you're a medical student in a resident as well. So you have to have time to nurture yourself and be the best you, and then you will be the best at what you pursue. And that, that I think, goes beyond medicine. That's true for any, any time demanding pursuit. Excellent. Well, Sid, Stirr, that's gonna do it for us this week.
Starting point is 00:30:26 We hope that you at home are hanging in there and trying to enjoy yourself and making lots of pockets in your day for self-care because that's so important. You know, it's just like we were just talking about. You gotta be the best you can be and sometimes that means trying to take care of yourself. But... Self-care and may I just say also care of others. They're gonna be a lot of people outside of yourself who maybe need
Starting point is 00:30:51 extra care, extra help, extra support, maybe even extra, I don't want to say defense, but extra support. Yeah. There may be a lot of people in your life that need some more backup right now. So take care of yourself and take care of each other. We are all in this together before and we still are. Yeah. We're still stronger together. I don't care what anybody says. That's going to do for us. Thanks to the Tax Page for letting us use our song Medicines is the Intro Now Travour program and the mid-traum, I guess. And I think it's going to do for us. So until next week, my name is Justin McElroy. I'm Sydney McElroy.
Starting point is 00:31:25 And as always, don't drill a hole in your head. Alright! Maximumfund.org Comedy and culture, artist owned Listener supported.

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