And that’s in addition to the six I had fixed this time last year. Today I’m going to get the first half done, I’ve got another appointment next week for the others. Getting my cleaning a couple of weeks ago turned up the pain in them, to the point where it was constant hum. I… Read more MCAS and Dentistry. 13?…make that 15… cavities
Okay. I am getting onto a soap box. The ‘religious neutrality law’ passed in the province of Quebec last week. I find it repugnant, divisive and ridiculous. The most controversial part of it requires people to uncover their faces when providing or receiving public services. CBC News story is here. I wear a face covering… Read more Face Covering and Communication
Happy Thanksgiving! This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. It’s a perfect reminder to take a step back and be grateful. I have a ton of stuff to be grateful for. When I compare myself to my neighbours, family and friends, my life can look pretty sucky. We don’t have a place in Whistler or a cottage in… Read more Gratitude
She’s right. Huh? Anybody who has known me longer than a millisecond knows that telling me that I’m faking it is a very quick way to set me off. One of my closest friends texted me that message a couple of weeks ago. I knew there were multiple layers there, so it’s running around in… Read more “You Fake it Well.”
Ana. Ana fits into the same category as Aunt Flo; the frequent but unappreciated guest with awful timing (apologies to any men who aren’t familiar with the term). Except Ana is less predictable, less frequent (usually) and more dramatic than Aunt Flo. Fortunately, when Ana comes to visit almost every day, the drama is spread… Read more What’s Ana? (Who? Where?) Street Conversation #5
My thinly veiled rant continues. I’m outlining what works well for me when I go to see a specialist. If u havent read part one and want to… It’s here. Who’s In Charge? The way we interact with physicians has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. We no longer walk in, describe our symptoms,… Read more So THAT’s how it’s Supposed to Go! MCAS and Specialists, Part Two.
MCAS and our current medical paradigm clash. It can’t be treated ‘system by system’. I need to see SO many different specialists, and I have to be the go-between, referee, and decision maker. As I’m sure you can guess, I’ve had a few bumps with physicians. People with MCAS are notorious for ‘burning through’ specialists.… Read more So THAT’s How it’s Supposed to Go! Specialists and MCAS, Part One
For those of you who aren’t aware of it already, “Don’t bet against Occam” is Dr Afrin’s book, published last year. Occam (Okham) was a friar and philosopher in the 14th century. (Here is Brittanica’s blurb if you want to know more). There’s some debate of he was the first one to write about it,… Read more My ‘Occam’s List’
http://www.athinkingpatient.com/somatic-disorder-misdiagnosis-mast-cell-activation-conversion/ Last week this topic popped up everywhere. I have been fighting the ‘it’s all in her head’ for years, and had such stunningly similar experiences. Several patients with MCAS have gone public, and said ‘NO. This isn’t okay. I’ve had enough. This is utterly illogical. It is cruel. It is wasteful of human lives… Read more Ditto: Time to say ‘enough’.
“No. But yes.” (Helpful, eh?). The longer answer is “Yes, I have had it my whole life. But I didn’t know it, and it was nowhere near as bad as it is now.” It’s amazing what you can see in hindsight. I have had relatively minor ailments my whole life. They were always ‘atypical’ or… Read more Street Corner Conversation #4 “Have you always had this?”