Take a Pain Check

This week on Take a Pain Check, your host Natasha gets the chance to talk to pediatric rheumatologist Dr. Joost Swart from the Netherlands. They discuss Take a Pain Check's amazing sponsor for the summer, UCAN CAN-DU, the collaboration between Canada and the Netherlands as well as healthcare similarities and differences. The conversation also includes the inside details of what ideal health is, the future of technology and comfortable discussions with patients.  

Check out UCAN CAN-DU: https://www.ucancandu.com/  

This week we have Cheryl Crow come onto our podcast to discuss her diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, the platform she’s created called Arthritis Life, as well as medical gaslighting. In the middle of our conversation, we dive deep into methotrexate and pregnancy. Not only that, we talk about acceptance and commitment therapy, some life hacks that she loves to share with others as well as the importance of mental health.  

We have linked some articles here for all of you to read if you are interested in learning more about methotrexate and pregnancy: https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/article/55/9/1693/1744535 

https://creakyjoints.org/treatment/methotrexate-myths/ 

http://arthritispatient.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Medication-use-during-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding_final.pdf 

http://arthritispatient.ca/pregnancy-and-parenting-with-arthritis-a-resource-for-patients-by-patients  

*Suggested by the Medical Advisory Board of Take a Pain Check*

We had the honor to talk to Dr. Monica Shah - one of the few South Asian rheumatologists on television - this week on Take a Pain Check. We start the discussion off by learning about her passion for rheumatology. We also dive into how it feels to be Ms. India Florida. Additionally, the part everyone has been waiting for, we talk about life as an actress on the reality TV show Bravo’s Family Karma.

Megan Green, the founder of takinpain2pretty, joins the weekly conversation with some very interesting experiences with her diagnosis. We talk about comfort care, the importance of our hair and nails as well as advocating for beauty.

Dr. Michelle Batthish, a pediatric rheumatologist at McMaster Children's Hospital, comes on our weekly podcast Take a Pain Check to engage in the very important topic of transition care. We discuss how teenagers at the stage of transition have so much going on in their lives and an app that was implemented in her hospital that has helped with transition. We end off by talking about the many initiatives Dr. Batthish is involved in and how important the patient voice is when it come to research.

Today, we have Spencer Hamilton talk about his story of being diagnosed in years, being a pro skateboarder and changing his lifestyle to one that suits his needs. Spencer talks about how he managed to remain a pro skateboarder even though his ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis took quite a while to diagnose.   

To end off season 2, we have Dr. Arif Jetha talk to us about vulnerable people in the workplace. His research has shown several findings when it comes to youth and young adults being hesitant to pick the right job for them due to workplace accommodations. We also give our perspective on which jobs we love and are scared to enter!

We got the pleasure to interview Ingrid He this week on Take a Pain Check. We cover an abundance of interesting topics such as the struggle to obtain a diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome and this rheumatic disease once thought as a mental illness from several doctors. Throughout this episode, we learn about advocacy. Join us as we learn about the app Ingrid created to help herself and others suffering from Sjogren’s and other chronic illnesses!

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgWMKAPPOGU

Check out Ingrid's Social Media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjogrenstra...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SjogrensTracker

This week we have Jalesa Martin come on our podcast to talk about her diagnosis with lupus that led to other chronic illnesses. Not only that, she shares her medication journey, knee replacement and the fears she has for the future. Jalesa ends off with showing us her advocacy work at university, her podcast and the articles she writes to convey her battles.