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 →

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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: Cushing's, Diagnosis, Invisible Illness/Disability, Spoonie, Uncategorized

Or, “Sorry you’re sick, you’re just not sick enough.” I was having a relatively good day, and by that I mean I made it downstairs to the couch. That all changed when the mail came. It seems I have been denied for disability again. This is my second application and my first appeal. That’s three denials for those keeping score at home.* According to the Social Security Administration I am not sick enough to not have full-time employment. This may prove problematic because, as I mentioned above, my good days lately mean I can make it from my bed to my couch. Perhaps it isRead More →

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In: Cushing's, Invisible Illness/Disability

I’m aware that I’m rare After a while you get used to it. The barely suppressed delight on the face of the newly minted intern or medical student who has only read about your condition and now sees an actual specimen in the wild. I’ve become accustomed to groups of doctors listening in on exams while steadfastly taking notes as my history is rattled off once again. My way of dealing with it is through encouragement. Hey, here I am with all of my textbook symptoms, look and learn about the seemingly unconnected set of symptoms that all add up to make-up my rare disease. AfterRead More →