After Complete Renal Failure, this Former Megachurch Pastor Found Clarity During Dialysis

At 29 years old, Zac’s lifelong mysterious illness would finally come in to focus. He had always believed something was wrong in his body, but his religious family insisted he pray away his ailments without allowing for traditional doctor visits. He grew up to become a youth pastor in a Read more…

Approaching the Two Year Mark Living with Long Covid

Grace first contracted COVID-19 in October of 2020, having a fairly serious infection that almost required hospitalization. She caught COVID again just a month later, likely from a visit to the hospital. These back to back infections seemed to trigger an avalanche of health issues. Throughout 2021 she would be Read more…

Adverse Reaction to the Anthrax Vaccine, an Army Veteran’s Personal Account

Sara was eager to see the world while growing up in a small town, and rushed off to join the army right after high school. She entered basic training in 1998, the same year a massive campaign rolled out to vaccinate all military service members against anthrax. As a young Read more…

Stacy’s Chronic Illness Duo: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Endometriosis

Stacy has been diagnosed with two chronic illnesses, but getting those diagnoses was an uphill battle. In 2019 she started experiencing extreme exhaustion, brain fog and weight fluctuations, but repeated visits to multiple doctors revealed nothing. In her tenacity to uncover the truth she started researching potential tests to request, Read more…

Andi and Jesse’s Adventures with Travel and Covid

Andi and Jesse are back from their month of traveling, but things didn’t quite go as planned. They share stories from their trip to Maine for a wedding, followed by Tahoe where Andi unfortunately came down with covid. Andi shares her frustration with a series of difficult events in her Read more…

Living with POTS, HEDS, Rapid Gastric Emptying and More

Katherine has been chronically ill her whole life, but didn’t realize it until the situation became debilitating in college. She was always a flexible kid, able to twist, contort and bend in all sorts of unusual ways. In high school she started experiencing chest pain and heart palpitations, but was Read more…

Living with Severe Allergies and Constant Anaphylactic Reactions

Kristy has been dealing with constant anaphylactic reactions since she was 19 years old. The first time it happened was at a restaurant, when she started projectile vomiting for no apparent reason before going into shock. At the emergency room she was accused of drug seeking behavior, even though she Read more…

Living with Psoriatic Disease

Aimee’s first psoriasis breakout occurred when she was just 12 years old. She was at a sleepaway camp, where something about the change in environment triggered an outbreak of plaques and scales all across her scalp. Her symptoms would come and go for the next several years but remained manageable, Read more…

Surviving a Five-Year Chronic Pain Nightmare

Danielle’s harrowing chronic pain journey started with one bad olive. She broke a molar on an unexpected olive pit, requiring surgery to remove the remaining fragments of tooth. The dental surgery went very poorly, with the dentist removing significant amounts of bone and even breaking into the sinus cavity. Danielle Read more…

Finally Diagnosed: Her Genetic Condition Hid in Plain Sight for Decades

When Ashley scheduled an interview for the Major Pain podcast to discuss her chronic illness, she was prepared to talk about living with an undiagnosed disease. But to her shock, just weeks before recording her interview, a rheumatologist officially confirmed a diagnosis. Ashley found herself looking back on her life Read more…