Dave and I got our first COVID vaccination yesterday, took us nearly half the day because we drove to another town an hour away. Those were the first appointments we could register for online. We were also waiting thirty minutes after our shots by their request to be very sure I had no adverse reaction. Felt fine. Took a long nap when I got back ( Read more... )

I've often thought of the effort I put into coordinating my medical care as being like a job. I didn't really think about it as unpaid labor that keeps the medical system going until I read this article: Unpaid, stressed, and confused: patients are the health care system's free labor.I want this to go viral because while I'm a fairly well educated ( Read more... )

There has been some discussion in Australia between patients and doctors that resonates with me as a patient in the U.S. with chronic illness. I've been having a particularly frustrating time in the past few years with many (though not all) of my doctors and HMOs. I wasn't even allowed into the chronic pain program at Kaiser because I rely on ( Read more... )

I am hoping the fact that researchers have found a physical cause means it's ok to come out of the Fibro closet now. See this: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/ ( Read more... )

Fluid has backed up into my lungs. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest or squeezing my lungs. Can't take a deep breath until some of the fluid flushes out. It's scary. I go through this *every week.* Y'all want to put off heart disease as long as you possibly can ( Read more... )

I decided to call the doctor who did the "good" procedure where I wasn't being tortured with unnecessary pain. I'm writing down the basic points as best I can remember them ( Read more... )

All pain is not the same: Psychologist discusses gender differences in chronic painExcerpt ( Read more... )

http://www.freemedicine.com/Read more... )

One of the most frustrating things about having any chronic illness is dealing with "side" effects. Of course these are simply effects that are not intended, the terminology meant to distract us from that fact. Not every person will experience the same set of side effects and some lucky people won't experience any at all ( Read more... )