We’ve just put our little one down for the night and she will *hopefully* sleep for another 6 hours, until her one (and now only!) night feed. She is almost 7 months old, which seems incredible to me. How did the time go by so fast? But also, how did we figure out our way through? I remember the nights of waking every hour or less, the seemingly never ending crying sessions, the steep learning curve – and wondering how we would survive all in one piece. I think many new parents wonder the exact same thing! But it is more challenging when one of those parents live with a chronic illness or chro ..read more

by Katarina Zulak IVF is a long and invasive medical intervention, which can leave you wondering, “Can I really get through this with fibromyalgia?” That was my primary concern when I started the process in 2020. The answer is likely yes, with certain accommodations. My doctor helped to facilitate the process to make it easier for me in some ways. I also had to learn the hard way that other things could have been done differently. These are a list of the questions I wish I had known to ask before starting IVF. Fibromyalgia does not directly affect fertility. However, many women with fibro may ..read more

This little one joined our family three months ago. Twelve joyful, exhausting, funny, and wonder-filled weeks learning about our daughter, and learning to be parents. We’ve changed one zillion diapers, cried several times over how grateful we feel for this miraculous baby, cried several more times from fatigue, and found one cucumber put back in the cutlery drawer (?). We tried for over six years to get pregnant, but infertility added to fibromyalgia made this a struggle. I faced challenges ranging from having a laparoscopy for endometriosis, to tapering down my pain medication. The pregnancy ..read more

We were so happy and excited when the pregnancy test turned positive last January. I made my husband go out and buy three more tests, just to quadruple check. We had been trying for a long time, and this seemed like a New Year’s miracle. It still does, and I’m incredibly grateful and excited! Being a parent had seemed like yet another dream bubble popped by chronic illness and and infertility. Yet, here I am. Some dreams do come true! Sitting here at 9 months pregnant and reflecting on my experiences so far, I am reminded about how individual our symptoms of illness are, and how this must be t ..read more

Winter is a time for cozy hibernation, while the world sleeps. It’s a natural time for reflection, and to integrate the lessons you’ve learned from the past year, as you evolve into the person you will become next year. I think we’re always looking for peace of mind, learning how to navigate through the storms of life, to manage significant stress, as well as difficult thoughts and emotions. It’s liberating when you start to accept, heal, and relate in a positive way to your thoughts and feelings. But how do we actually do the work, come to acceptance, process emotions, and grow as people? Ill ..read more

During Winter Solstice, we experience the shortest day, and the longest night, of the year. On this day, usually December 21st or 22nd, the sun travels on its shortest path through the sky. This occurs because the Earth rotates on a tilted axis, and winter solstice marks the time when the Northern hemisphere is tilted furthest away from the sun. Yet, the Winter Solstice was, and is, celebrated, because, after the longest night of the year, the light begins to return, as each day becomes incrementally longer, and the Earth tilts back to towards the sun. Light is a feature of many mid-winter fes ..read more

If someone cursed at you, it would be very hurtful. But at least the comment would be knocking on the front door, introducing itself as an insult. Gaslighting, on the other hand, sneaks in through the backdoor. It’s pure manipulation. What is gaslighting? “Psychologists use the term “gaslighting” to refer to a specific type of manipulation where the manipulator is trying to get someone else (or a group of people) to question their own reality, memory or perceptions.” Gaslighting and can happen at the doctor’s office, at home, at work, or anywhere else. Medical gaslighting occurred because pain ..read more

The health headlines were all abuzz this week about a new study on chronic pain out of Boulder, Colorado. The headline for the article I first read was: `How therapy, not pills, can nix chronic pain.` As a patient, and a health writer, I’m frustrated to read headlines that perpetuate a narrative that chronic pain is a psychological problem that is “all in the head.” However, I resolved to stay open to the conclusions of this study. What did the study actually say? Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) claims to shift your beliefs about the cause and threat value of chronic pain, by framing pain as a ..read more

A new study shows that terpenes, which cause that skunky cannabis smell, might be good for pain relief. The pungent smell and taste of cannabis is caused by aromatic compounds called terpenes (essential oils are also rich in terpenes, which causes their unique scents). Terpenes are distinct from cannabinoid compounds like THC or CBD. Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences studied the pain relieving effect of 4 cannabis terpenes, used individually, and in combination with a synthetic cannabinoid agonist, which stimulates the body’s natural cannabinoid receptors. This study fo ..read more

The Evidence: Fibromyalgia may be an autoimmune condition In a paradigm shifting new study, researchers were able to trigger fibromyalgia symptoms in healthy mice by injecting them with blood from fibromyalgia patients. Specifically, scientists injected the mice with IgG antibodies from individuals with fibromyalgia in England and Sweden. IgG antibodies (immunoglobulin G) are immune proteins that attach to foreign substances so the immune system can neutralize them. IgG antibodies recognize and target pathogens and toxins. Sometimes rogue IgGs, called autoantibodies, turn against our own bodi ..read more