Identifying as “Disabled”

I didn’t really start using the term “disabled” until this past fall even though I have had severe scoliosis and post-surgery pain and limitations since I hit puberty. The first time I used it was when I needed to be excused from Grand Jury duty. Up until then, I had organized my life as a …

How I Balance Advocating For Myself as a Patient with Avoiding Hypochondria

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and none of this is meant to provide medical advice. This is just my personal experience.) I struggle with being my own patient advocate and not being a hypochondriac. I know that having OCD means that I have a tendency to catastrophize and this includes imagining worst-case possible illnesses …

When Everything Feels Exhausting

Lately, I’ve been beyond exhausted. Fatigue, exhaustion, and tired: nothing seems to cover how worn out I actually feel. I’ve had almost all of my IV iron treatments and I still feel wrung out like an old washcloth. I know it is normal for some people not to feel better until all of the treatments …

10 Ways I Take Care of Myself Daily

Over the years, I have developed my own morning and evening routines, based on what I need and want to do. I do not try to do what other people need or want to do in these routines anymore. For example, I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. I …

How I’m Listening to My Body and Making Progress to Get Medical Answers

For months I’ve been dealing with what the doctor referred to as vague symptoms, fatigue, sweats, headaches, numbness, and so forth. In a puzzle working backward from the symptoms, first, my doctor’s figured out that I have consistently really high platelet counts. This could signify any number of things. To figure out what was causing …