Columns

One frustrating aspect of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is the number of systems it can affect and the multiple disorders it can mimic. I say “can” because everyone experiences EDS differently due to genetic penetrance and expressivity. Reduced penetrance (not developing features of the disorder) and variable expressivity (the different signs…

The past few weeks have been busy, yet so much fun. I was recently able to visit my grandparents, who live out of state, for the first time since the pandemic started. Now that they and the rest of my extended family are vaccinated, we were finally able to get…

Summer is in full swing here, and one fun part for me is seasonal allergies, or hay fever. I deal with both indoor and outdoor allergies year-round, but they tend to be worse in the summer. I’ve noticed over the years that a weather front moving through can sometimes…

It took many years to piece together the puzzle of my bodily weirdnesses. I spent the last couple of years before my diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome investigating several possible connective tissue disorders while treating my symptoms as they arose. As my skills to manage physiological symptoms improved,…

It’s crazy how sometimes time seems to simultaneously crawl and fly by. It feels like just yesterday when I was headed to work as a high school history teacher and a college counselor. On the flip side, I’m certain that was a year ago. Although I work longer than most…

It’s a bit hard to believe it’s already summer. Yet, the blistering heat and lack of rain remind me each morning that, yes, it is actually almost July. This past school year has been exceptionally stressful. While my school was fortunate to meet in person nearly the entire time, the…

A few months ago, when I finally returned to the dentist after being fully vaccinated for COVID-19, we talked about redoing my Invisalign. Although I had braces as a teenager, my teeth began to shift again as I got older. While it wasn’t too bad yet, my dentist told me…

Before I was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), I underwent an ultrasound of my carotid arteries to rule out blockage as the cause of my pre-syncope. My arteries were clear, but an incidental finding of a suspicious thyroid nodule…

As I sit here working on my column, with a heating pad wrapped around my hip to calm down a recent injury, I wonder about the similarities among those of us with various rare disorders. Of course, someone like me…

As I often do, I had an interesting discussion with my rock-star massage therapist Kim last week. She’d been on vacation for a few weeks, so I’d missed a session and was feeling quite sore. My hip, which I injured a few months ago, recently decided to get…