Rho’s Chronic Illness Journey: “It’s Been A Long Difficult Fight”

Rho has a self-described laundry list of diagnoses, and she has had to fight for every single one. Her list includes autism, ADHD, bipolar 2, CPTSD, excoriation disorder, keratoconus, IBS, GERD, chronic kidney disease, tactile allodynia and chronic pain. Along the way she faced constant medical gaslighting and dehumanizing treatment, Read more…

LoveWarriorHugs on Living With Five Chronic Illnesses

Jamie is a social media chronic illness advocate under the handle @LoveWarriorHugs, but her advocacy extends beyond social media. She is an epilepsy ambassador with the National Epilepsy Foundation, and she’s also been involved in successfully lobbying to change pain management laws in Illinois. Her passion for advocacy stems from Read more…

Managing Somatic Symptom Disorder Inside a Multitude of Chronic Illnesses

Colby has 11 chronic illness and mental health diagnoses. These include chronic pain (currently diagnosed as fibromyalgia), PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), asthma, IBS, eczema, PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, ADHD and somatic symptom disorder. That last diagnosis might be the least well-known of Colby’s illnesses. According to psychiatry.org, “somatic symptom disorder Read more…

Living with Ankylosing Spondylitis, Crohn’s Disease and Fibromyalgia

Elias has a trio of chronic pain syndromes, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease and fibromyalgia. Ankylosing spondylitis is the least well-known of these conditions, and involves a cycle of inflammation, calcification, scarring and bone formation that can actually fuse vertebrae together over time. Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel Read more…