Introducing Guava: A Personalized Chronic Illness Management App

Living with a chronic health condition is difficult enough, but managing health records, medications and symptom tracking can feel impossible. That’s what the folks at Guava are trying to fix. They have created a free centralized holistic health management tool that integrates with over 50,000 health organizations across the US Read more…

Fighting Back Against CFS/ME With Dr. Hoppers

Dr. Melanie Hoppers never planned to become an expert on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). She learned about it briefly in medical school, but her professors largely brushed off the complaints of CFS patients. It wasn’t until her own daughter got sick that Dr. Hoppers began to research CFS, becoming desperate Read more…

Classical EDS, MCAS, POTS, Fibro and More: Maureen’s Complex Journey

Maureen has lived through huge health challenges, but her outlook is still one of gratitude. After the passing of her father she has lived every day like it is her last, remembering to laugh and live in the moment. This mindset has helped her navigate a slew of health challenges. Read more…

Living with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

For Meresa, one of the hardest parts of living with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is the daily uncertainty. She says, “It’s still such an everyday variable disease. It really sucks a lot of the time. It’s really painful. People don’t understand what it is, they don’t always understand what Read more…

Jesse Mercury on Starting the Major Pain Podcast and Seeking a Diagnosis for Mystery Illness

This week on the Major Pain podcast, our host Jesse is interviewed for a change! This interview is taken from a recent rheumatoid arthritis summit hosted by Andrea Dunn. She asks Jesse what inspired him to create the Major Pain podcast, inquires about his health journey and recent diagnosis of Read more…

Season 2 Finale with Andi and Jesse!

Andi and Jesse wrap up season 2 of Major Pain by sharing their health updates and reflecting on the past year of the show. Jesse discusses his potential diagnoses of mast cell activation syndrome and small fiber neuropathy, while Andi tells us about her vocal surgery recovery.

Pancreatitis, Small Fiber Neuropathy, MCAS, Sjogren’s and More: Jo’s Health Journey So Far

In 2017, Jo began experiencing intense pain under her rib cage that traveled to her back, as if she was being impaled. She had complained of various pains throughout her life that doctors always brushed off, so at first she had no desire to seek professional help. But after two Read more…

Andi and Jesse’s Health and Travel Updates!

Andi and Jesse share updates from their recent travels to New York and Florida, plus both of their health situations including Andi’s vocal injury and Jesse’s continued quest for a diagnosis. Jesse has seen significant improvements in his mobility, while being evaluated for mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) and small Read more…

Pauline’s Quest for an MCAS Diagnosis

Everybody has mast cells in their body, as they play a critical role in allergic response. Mast cells release mediators to attack allergens, but can sometimes overreact when no allergen is present. This is the case for Pauline, who was recently diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Though her Read more…

Living with Adrenal Cancer, Heart Failure, Diabetes Insipidus and More

Brooke has been diagnosed with over a dozen health conditions. Her diagnostic journey began with relatively manageable diseases including asthma, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto’s disease, but took an intense turn in her late 30s when she experienced heart failure, discovered an adrenal tumor, was diagnosed with diabetes Read more…