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A Look Into Two Months of Medical Testing
This week on Calling in Sick I’m pulling back the curtain on the last two months of medical testing — why I said yes to a clinical study, what the actual tests were like, and how I’m handling the weird emotional whiplash of “we did all that… and we still don’t have a perfect answer.”
I’m tired, I’m flaring, I had my first day of IVIG… and somehow we’re still laughing (because if we don’t laugh, we scream in a medical trailer getting injected with nuclear medicine 🙃).
We’re diving into:
✨ Why I joined a clinical study (and what it’s actually used for)
✨ The 5-test diagnostic gauntlet: prednisone taper, bloodwork, scopes, pill cam, MRAs/MRIs + a PET scan
✨ Insurance + scheduling lore from HELL
✨ Colonoscopy prep amnesia (it’s like childbirth… you forget on purpose)
✨ My polarizing take: Google Maps > Apple Maps (fight me)
✨ The pill cam panic + urgent care x2 in one week
✨ The mindset shift I didn’t see coming: career momentum, motherhood timeline, and accepting what I’m not ready for yet
xx,
Alex
💬 COMMENT: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever had to do for medical testing?
TIMESTAMPS:
Intro:
00:00:00 Welcome back to Calling in Sick!
00:06:18 Alex’s Picks of the Week: Gap Body pajamas + bear slippers (kids section hack)
Meat & Potatoes: The Diagnostic Gauntlet
00:09:08 Setting the stage: why I did the study
00:09:34 Clinical study 101 (and why it matters for future patients)
00:11:44 The deeper reason: the childhood diagnosis question mark
00:14:21 Prednisone taper (DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME)
00:19:27 Colonoscopy/endoscopy scheduling chaos + prep misery
00:22:26 Bloodwork off meds (and why I wanted the comparison)
00:25:14 Pill cam explained
00:30:47 MRAs/MRIs explained
00:34:56 Rituxan win: the mid-infusion Benadryl trick
00:36:02 IVIG recall
00:36:43 PET scans explained
00:39:19 Biggest takeaways: prep worse than tests + results didn’t show much
00:42:38 What’s next: oral prednisone vs IV, CAR-T trial, methotrexate or…
Conclusion:
00:46:00 Why I feel “weirdly okay” right now (and what chronic illness teaches you)
00:49:24 Soft30 with Elastique
00:50:06 One Brain Cell Show: Age of Disclosure
00:52:34 Thank you for listening!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Stay connected and follow us on socials for more!
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/callinginsickpod/
• TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@callinginsickpod
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558234607568
• Substack - https://substack.com/@callinginsickpod?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Powered by: Just Media House -- https://www.justmediahouse.com/
Produced by: Alexandra Wildeson — https://www.instagram.com/alexandrawildeson/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Alex’s Picks of the Week:
We’re talking “surviving medical chaos” essentials this week… aka comfort items and small joys.
✨Gap Body pajamas (port-friendly button down) — https://go.shopmy.us/p-35563702
✨Gap bear slippers — https://go.shopmy.us/p-35563870
✨Our MERCH is available still…. Get it while it lasts!!!! — https://calling-in-sick.myshopify.com/
—— Use code “ZOFRAN” for a special discount!!
----------------------------------------------------------------
🥄 RSVP: Cooking with Cooper LIVE on YouTube on 12/19
—https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooking-with-coop-tickets-1976990439624?aff=oddtdtcreator
----------------------------------------------------------------
#callinginsickpodcast #callinginsick #chronicillness #autoimmune #spoonielife #spooniesupport #invisibleillness #healthjourney #ivig #rituxan #prednisone #vasculitis #lupuslife #endometriosis #chronicpain #fatigue #medicalgaslighting #spoonietribe #flareup #petscan #pillcam #colonoscopy #mri #mra #clinicalstudy #chronicillnesshumor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
View all episodes
By Just Media
4.9
4040 ratings
This week on Calling in Sick I’m pulling back the curtain on the last two months of medical testing — why I said yes to a clinical study, what the actual tests were like, and how I’m handling the weird emotional whiplash of “we did all that… and we still don’t have a perfect answer.”
I’m tired, I’m flaring, I had my first day of IVIG… and somehow we’re still laughing (because if we don’t laugh, we scream in a medical trailer getting injected with nuclear medicine 🙃).
We’re diving into:
✨ Why I joined a clinical study (and what it’s actually used for)
✨ The 5-test diagnostic gauntlet: prednisone taper, bloodwork, scopes, pill cam, MRAs/MRIs + a PET scan
✨ Insurance + scheduling lore from HELL
✨ Colonoscopy prep amnesia (it’s like childbirth… you forget on purpose)
✨ My polarizing take: Google Maps > Apple Maps (fight me)
✨ The pill cam panic + urgent care x2 in one week
✨ The mindset shift I didn’t see coming: career momentum, motherhood timeline, and accepting what I’m not ready for yet
xx,
Alex
💬 COMMENT: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever had to do for medical testing?
TIMESTAMPS:
Intro:
00:00:00 Welcome back to Calling in Sick!
00:06:18 Alex’s Picks of the Week: Gap Body pajamas + bear slippers (kids section hack)
Meat & Potatoes: The Diagnostic Gauntlet
00:09:08 Setting the stage: why I did the study
00:09:34 Clinical study 101 (and why it matters for future patients)
00:11:44 The deeper reason: the childhood diagnosis question mark
00:14:21 Prednisone taper (DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME)
00:19:27 Colonoscopy/endoscopy scheduling chaos + prep misery
00:22:26 Bloodwork off meds (and why I wanted the comparison)
00:25:14 Pill cam explained
00:30:47 MRAs/MRIs explained
00:34:56 Rituxan win: the mid-infusion Benadryl trick
00:36:02 IVIG recall
00:36:43 PET scans explained
00:39:19 Biggest takeaways: prep worse than tests + results didn’t show much
00:42:38 What’s next: oral prednisone vs IV, CAR-T trial, methotrexate or…
Conclusion:
00:46:00 Why I feel “weirdly okay” right now (and what chronic illness teaches you)
00:49:24 Soft30 with Elastique
00:50:06 One Brain Cell Show: Age of Disclosure
00:52:34 Thank you for listening!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Stay connected and follow us on socials for more!
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/callinginsickpod/
• TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@callinginsickpod
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558234607568
• Substack - https://substack.com/@callinginsickpod?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Powered by: Just Media House -- https://www.justmediahouse.com/
Produced by: Alexandra Wildeson — https://www.instagram.com/alexandrawildeson/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Alex’s Picks of the Week:
We’re talking “surviving medical chaos” essentials this week… aka comfort items and small joys.
✨Gap Body pajamas (port-friendly button down) — https://go.shopmy.us/p-35563702
✨Gap bear slippers — https://go.shopmy.us/p-35563870
✨Our MERCH is available still…. Get it while it lasts!!!! — https://calling-in-sick.myshopify.com/
—— Use code “ZOFRAN” for a special discount!!
----------------------------------------------------------------
🥄 RSVP: Cooking with Cooper LIVE on YouTube on 12/19
—https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooking-with-coop-tickets-1976990439624?aff=oddtdtcreator
----------------------------------------------------------------
#callinginsickpodcast #callinginsick #chronicillness #autoimmune #spoonielife #spooniesupport #invisibleillness #healthjourney #ivig #rituxan #prednisone #vasculitis #lupuslife #endometriosis #chronicpain #fatigue #medicalgaslighting #spoonietribe #flareup #petscan #pillcam #colonoscopy #mri #mra #clinicalstudy #chronicillnesshumor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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