Kaitlyn is a 23 year old recent college graduate who has been diagnosed with a whopping 14 chronic illnesses. They include Crohn's disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), prediabetes, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), dermatographism, chronic hives, dysautonomia, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), vasovagal syncope, cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), chronic Lyme disease and long COVID. As you can imagine, dealing with this many illnesses all at once is a remarkable challenge.

In this episode of the Major Pain podcast, Kaitlyn talks us through her many illnesses and how her life has changed since her health flared up. Keeping track of her symptoms and medications is extremely complicated, since it is unclear which illnesses are underlying conditions and which are comorbidities. At one point her disparate doctors mistakenly prescribed conflicting medications that stopped her heart. She has also been told to eat specialized diets for different diagnoses, some of which directly conflict with each other. Kaitlyn is forced to parse through all the information her doctors pass along and advocate for her own best path forward.

During these challenges Kaitlyn has discovered a deep passion for dog training. She tells us about training her own service dog, which she hopes to turn into a career someday. You can connect with Kaitlyn online at https://linktr.ee/Trustingmygut

Our new bonus episode for our Patreon community is now available! Jesse discusses his first COVID experience, and his excitement over Andi diving into his favorite fantasy series. Listen only on PATREON.