Serena’s Duo of Severe Chronic Pain Conditions

Serena has gone to great lengths to uncover the cause of their severe chronic pain. Like many chronic illness patients, they have run into barrier after barrier when seeking care. Serena lives in Tennessee and has been denied for health insurance 5 times. They have also been denied 3 times Read more

How Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Became Andrea’s Path to Empowerment

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis refers to an onset of autoimmune arthritis at a young age, which happened to Andrea when she was just 10 years old. She had been experiencing severe TMJ, wrist and knee pain, but doctors did not realize she had juvenile RA throughout her childhood. She was finally Read more

Judy Foreman on How Chronic Pain Impacted Her Journalism Career

Judy Foreman is a lifelong journalist who spent most of her career at the Boston Globe as a science and medical writer. She had a medical column that was syndicated in national and international outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, Baltimore Sun and others. She is the Read more

Opening Up About Mental Health: Rachel Guyer-Mafune on Anxiety, Depression, ADHD and Bipolar Disorder

This week on the Major Pain podcast, Seattle based performer Rachel Guyer-Mafune discusses her history with mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, ADHD and bipolar disorder. Although she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in freshman year of college, she is only now beginning to open up about this diagnosis publicly. Read more

Can Fibromyalgia and Fitness Coexist? An Interview with Coach Ki

After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, Kiera (AKA Coach Ki) did some online research to see if she would be able to continue her fitness journey. She was disheartened to find several accounts of people unable to continue training with this disease. Kiera has been passionate about fitness since she was Read more

Living with Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Joey Torre lives with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a painful, chronic skin condition that affects up to 2% of the population. The disease causes the formation of bumps, lesions, or boils in sweat gland areas, such as the armpits and groin. Joey also experiences extreme fatigue, which can sometimes accompany HS, Read more

Years After Being Propped Up as a Bipolar Success Story, Genevieve Questions the Messaging She Was Directed To Share

As a senior in high school, Genevieve won an essay contest writing about the changes she’d like to see with the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder. This brought her to the attention of a foundation aimed at raising bipolar awareness, and at 19 years old she began touring with a state Read more

Country Music Rising Star Annie Vander on Her Battle With CRPS

Annie Vander is a country music up-and-comer, who’s latest single ‘Falling into Nashville’ has been featured on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart. Just a few years ago Annie had no idea that her lifelong musical dreams were about to come true. She had built a career working with animals, Read more

Recovering from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Through Neural Rewiring

While working as a hairstylist, Merideth was repeatedly exposed to chemicals that released formaldehyde. Eventually her health collapsed, and she found herself unable to continue working. Doctors recommended avoiding future exposure, but this proved insufficient as Meredith’s issues with chemical sensitivity began to expand exponentially. She became chronically ill, housebound Read more

Level 10 Pain, the Mayo Clinic, Aphasia and Sarcoidosis: Claudia’s Journey So Far

Claudia Alick is an activist and influencer with a transmedia social justice practice, creating spaces for entertainment, education and empowerment by and for marginalized communities. While working as a disability advocate in 2009, Claudia found themself suddenly experiencing what they describe as mysterious level 10 pain, accompanied by mobility issues Read more