Update 2022: This post was originally written for the depression section of Prohealth.com. Continue reading “How Acupuncture Helps My Depression (originally appeared on ProHealth.com)”
Tag: RSI
A Very Unfortunate Blogging Hiatus
Ever wonder how someone with so many arm injuries managed to do a post with a ton of drawings? The answer is, it really came back to bite me in the ass. Continue reading “A Very Unfortunate Blogging Hiatus”
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The Myth of “Hypoallergenic”
The word “hypoallergenic,” like the word “natural,” is not regulated. Continue reading “The Myth of “Hypoallergenic””
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Two Days in Insurance Hell: A Play in Hopefully Only One Act
Main Character, a woman with Lyme, fibromyalgia, allergies, thyroid disease, and a messed-up spine, is trying to get a doctor to authorize her brand-name Neurontin (a painkiller that works on nerve pain). She gets weird rashes and chills from using gabapentin, the generic version of the medicine. She got a threatening letter from her insurance carrier, saying that after April 1 they weren’t going to pay for the brand-name version without a doctor’s authorization. Continue reading “Two Days in Insurance Hell: A Play in Hopefully Only One Act”
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This Week in Medical Limbo
What is medical limbo? It’s the time when I’m waiting for test results, waiting to find out the meaning of a new symptom; waiting to see if a new medication makes me feel better; waiting to see if that same new medication gives me double vision, an odd rash, or another strange side effect; waiting for a doctor to call me back; waiting for someone to come along and answer a question I posted in a medical forum; waiting to find out if my insurance will approve a treatment. Chronic illness involves a lot of waiting. Continue reading “This Week in Medical Limbo”
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Things Not to Say to People With Chronic Illnesses
1. You LOOK so healthy.
2. Have you tried (name of very basic, obvious remedy, like ibuprofen)?
3. Are you SURE you’re sick?
4. You mean you really can’t do that tiny, tiny, little motion? Just doing that little thing causes you pain? Aren’t you being dramatic? Continue reading “Things Not to Say to People With Chronic Illnesses”
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A Dirty Old Man at Hand Therapy
When I arrived at hand therapy yesterday, there was an 80-ish guy who strongly resembled Uncle Junior from The Sopranos sitting across the table from me. I believe his name was Melvin. Continue reading “A Dirty Old Man at Hand Therapy”
Miss Diagnoses 