Every Time This Baker Eats, She Risks Intense Abdominal Pain

Danni Hertel (aka foodie_with_da_booty) has turned her passion for baking into a full time career. She is known for putting a fresh spin on classic treats. Her recipes have been featured in the Houston Chronicle, she has worked with dozens of celebrities and she has even won Best Holiday Cookie Read more…

Announcing the Undiagnosed Disease Fund!

Andi and Jesse are married! For their wedding registry they asked their community to donate to an Undiagnosed Disease Fund, with the goal of raising enough money to provide genetic testing for an individual in need. Full genome sequencing can be helpful for individuals with a mystery illness, either to Read more…

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…

Avery’s Acromegaly: “It’s All in Your Head”… but Something Is Actually in My Head!

Avery was gearing up for senior year of college when she began to notice painful changes in her body. Her initial symptoms included difficulty sleeping and intense jaw pain. Avery also began to notice growth in her facial features, hands and feet. She thought these changes could be from another 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…

Jessy’s Disabling Mystery Illness

Jessy has been living with a disabling mystery illness that has turned his life upside down. He experiences extreme fatigue, brain fog, tremors and intense pain. His body has become so unreliable that he requires a wheelchair to navigate the world. And yet, his doctors have no idea what is Read more…

Living with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

Raven’s journey to be diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) was deeply traumatic, not only due to their debilitating disease but from the way doctors treated them along the way. CVS is characterized by episodes of intense vomiting that can be severe enough to warrant emergency care. Raven says it’s Read more…

The Infuriating Contradictions of Undiagnosed Illness

Courtney refers to herself as a hot potato patient, being passed from specialist to specialist in search of a diagnosis to her mystery illness, but none of these providers have been willing to keep digging until an answer is found. She used to be an avid globe trotter while working Read more…

Season 3 Premiere! Catching Up With Previous Guests

This week we kick off the third season of Major Pain by catching up with previous guests! First we’ll check in with Andrew, who originally appeared in December 2021 to discuss mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). He has been slowly improving since then, feeling as if a new self is 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…