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In: Chronic Illness

It started with a tweet. And a very long drive to Pennsylvania. Our friendship began on twitter, so why not go a step further and fire up the laminating machine? Whoa. I am getting way ahead of myself here, the thought of laminating tends to do that to me. So let’s go back to that long drive and talk about Mia. Mia and I met close two years ago and have become fast friends. Spoonie-sisters that share the unfortunate bond of migraine but also a love of dogs, shark-week and loose-leaf tea. Mia suffers from terrible migraines. So drastic and overwhelming that I feel likeRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Diagnosis, Symptoms & Side Effects

It’s been a while… I really do start a lot of blog posts that way. It’s a shame, because I do have a lot of thoughts percolating around up here, but life always gets in the way. Chronic illness will certainly contribute to that, you may have every intention in the world but plans are as fragile as glass.  Pain bears down on the crack and splits the once solid surface into shards, cutting and injuring all those that come into contact. We bleed as we flit from diagnosis to diagnosis. My last post was on the eve of my 40th birthday in March, andRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Guest Blogger, Invisible Illness/Disability, Profiles in Pain, Spoonie, Uncategorized

Profiles in Pain is a periodic guest column on the Tumor Blues Blog that highlights how individuals deal with pain and how it impacts the course of their lives. I first connected with Mia on Twitter of all places. We both had come to find other chronic illness sufferers who could understand the unique circumstances of living a life in pain (and do so in 140 characters or less!) and now, more than a year later, a friendship has blossomed. Mia is kind, funny and an exceptionally talented artist. She has a unique way of capturing what it is to be chronically ill and she’s takenRead More →

Pills.

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In: Chronic Illness, Cushing's, Invisible Illness/Disability, Spoonie, Symptoms & Side Effects

One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you Don’t do anything at all Go ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall –White Rabbit/Jefferson Airplane Some days being chronically ill is a merely a challenge, other days it’s a downright circus. Recently, life seems much more circus than challenge. Let’s start with the pills. On a good day, my pills are an absolute nightmare. On a bad day, well, hopefully there will be far less of them in the future (the terrible example here being the time I spoke to the cable company and completely blocked it from my memory.Read More →

Photo of Kelly Goodman

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In: Chronic Illness, Guest Blogger, Profiles in Pain, Spoonie

Profiles in Pain is a periodic guest column on the Tumor Blues Blog that highlights how individuals deal with pain and how it impacts the course of their lives. I met Kelly Goodman at a black box theater in Los Angeles, but I knew her before we had been introduced. And I was in awe. The woman has so much talent and boy does she make it look effortless. Improv is what started our friendship but over the years we have built a long-lasting bond and I continue to appreciate her warmth, caring and wise counsel. And she always brings the funny. You can check outRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Cushing's, Invisible Illness/Disability, Surgeries & Procedures

Suddenly Phobic I have had three brain surgeries, so you would think I would be comfortable with MRIs. And up until a few years ago, you would have been right. Perhaps comfortable is the wrong word, I have always been  a little claustrophobic, but that was easily remedied with some anti-anxiety medication. It has been almost 20 years since my initial diagnoses of Cushing’s Disease, caused by a pituitary tumor located near the base of my brain, and I have had many, many MRIs. In fact, my mother and I have joked about how the cheaper option may have been to buy an MRI machineRead More →

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In: Chronic Illness, Diagnosis, Spoonie, Uncategorized

So I managed to tweak my hip at the beginning of the week. Good thing I have my final pain clinic appointment tomorrow (right after the doctors conference on me, Dr. House style) where they will come up with my multi-disciplinary treatment plan. Aside from feeling lots of pain (not to mention very old), I can only lay in one position–flat on my back–and haven’t slept much in the past 3 days. Needless to day, the combo of not moving and minimal sleep have limited my ability to be very productive. So, while I have a few blog updates & essays percolating, I thought I’dRead More →