The Patient is In

Bethan Youd has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. It’s a hormonal condition so common that one in ten women of reproductive age have it. Many of them, like Bethan, will be told upon diagnosis that it’s primarily a reproductive issue that can cause fertility problems. But Bethan’s message is that although it can mean difficulties getting pregnant, it should also be seen and treated as an overall medical condition – one that can cause significant weight gain that is not easily remedied by intensive exercise and diet, as well as blood sugar spikes, irregular periods, inflammation and hair loss. In this episode Bethan explains what major holistic based changes in lifestyle and how she eats has helped her overcome her symptoms.

When Heather Foisy was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness called Sjogren's Syndrome, she felt her world was falling apart. The disease had already been making her nauseous at every meal, and had caused such bad abdominal pain that even walking down the hallway could bring her to tears. But now, with the diagnosis, depression and loneliness set in. At the same time, however, so did a measure of denial. Heather, intent on distracting herself, continued to go out frequently with her hard-partying friends. That is, of course, until her body crashed and she realized she had to retool her life, all the way down to the way she socialized and made friends. In this episode Heather describes what she learned in forging a supportive network of friends and family in the wake of chronic illness.

Phantom limb pain is the very real, sometimes excruciating pain and discomfort that occurs after a limb has been amputated. As many as 80 percent of amputees experience it. For some, it is accompanied by a related issue: residual limb pain, which refers to pain in the part of a limb that remains after amputation. Listen in to this conversation between two experts: Kiera Roche, a life-long athlete whose right leg was amputated below her knee after a car accident and Keren Fisher, a psychologist who researches this type of pain and helps people adjust to limb difference.

Ellie Angold, a college student in California has Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the gut triggered by gluten proteins in wheat and other grains. Her case is so severe that even trace amounts of gluten can leave her violently ill. When she found out there was such a thing as a gluten detection dog she decided to train a dog herself. So she bought an Australian Shepherd puppy and got to work. This is their story.

Monique Cohen was determined to take on her Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis with the same rigor and pro-active approach that made her as a leading expert in international microfinance. When researching Parkinson’s – a neurodegenerative brain disorder that can cause tremors, stiffness, and slowness of the body, as well as muffled speech and balance problems, she found out that exercise could help slow its progression. In this episode she describes how physical exercise from training in therapeutic boxing to strength training as well as starting speech therapy has helped her reduce and manage the impact of Parkinson’s, a disease which effects some 10 million people around the world.

Nathan Edwards was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a lifelong chronic autoimmune disease that inflames the intestines.

As a college student, he had been suffering from chronic bouts of GI bleeding and diarrhea, and—although he was a young man who should be in peak health—he appeared skeletal at just 130 pounds. Nathan spent the first decade after his diagnosis searching for a treatment that would help ease his symptoms, but became frustrated that most medications made little impact. At age 28, Nathan decided to do something about it, and embarked on a quest to implement a strict elimination diet and meticulously journal its impact on his health. It has not been a perfect journey, but Nathan has been able to control his symptoms for the most part, through diet.

Kaitlyn Cervi, a 33-year-old medical student, recently found out she has Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, an incurable disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, gradually causing serious disability. It affects about twice the number of women as men. In the years leading to her diagnosis, Kaitlyn experienced a mix of symptoms including extreme fatigue, migraine, “brain fog” and intermittent eye pain, but nothing so bad or so specific that she ever went to the doctor about it.

Her doctors think her background as a competitive gymnast may have kept her balance-related symptoms at bay. While medication helps manage her MS, Kaitlyn sees her daily exercise routine as essential to staying ahead of the disease.

Yvonne Barber, 43, has struggled with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, since she was a teenager. It's the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, affecting up to 12% of women in the U.S. during this time in their lives.

Like many women with PCOS, Yvonne has higher levels of male hormones, which can lead to infertility. While her fertility was not impacted, other symptoms like weight gain, acne and excess facial hair took a daily toll. Excess facial hair meant years of waxing, shaving and hair removal creams, sometimes resulting in rashes and infections. But then she decided to end the "torture" and grow in what she calls her "lady beard." She now works to normalize her new look for others with PCOS to help them learn how to "own it" and not be ashamed.

Some call it "sleeping beauty syndrome." Its actual name is Kleine-Levin Syndrome or (KLS). It’s a rare and complex neurological disorder that causes excessive sleepiness. Between episodes, those with KLS appear totally healthy, but when the disorder strikes, a person with KLS can sleep up to 23 hours a day, getting up only to eat and use the bathroom. In this episode, we hear from siblings Dani Farber and Arielle Poleg who both started showing symptoms of KLS as teenagers, which is when the syndrome typically presents. They were the first sibling pair ever known to both have KLS.

"When I was awake, I had no energy at all. I could barely walk, I couldn't get up to eat or drink. I didn't look like myself ... probably the most scary part of it all is that I didn't feel like myself. I was confused, I was disoriented," says Dani.

Clare McAfee, a nutrition and health coach, has a taste for adventure and travel with a long bucket list. But in 2016, she was diagnosed with a condition called Interstitial Cystitis, or “IC”, a chronic condition causing bladder and pelvic pain—so terrible in her case that she compares it to living with shards of glass in her bladder all the time. She eventually discovered that a hormone imbalance was at the root of her condition. What has helped her find relief is using estrogen, adjusting diet, doing intensive pelvic floor physiotherapy, and using medical marijuana. She’s been able to manage IC so well that she’s now in remission — all this, after doctors told her she’d never find a cure.