61 – Mahalah

Mahalah, a white woman in her early 20s with long blonde hair and thin wire-framed glasses, smiles at the camera. There is a stylized purple hexagon framing the photo

Mahalah May talks chronic constipation and incontinence, fibromyalgia, vaginismus, and IBS.

Transcript

I’m Brianne Benness and this is No End In Sight, a podcast about life with chronic illness.

Of course I’m going to start by reminding you about my patreon campaign just in case you’ve been enjoying the show and also have a few bucks to spare each month. Right now I’m using the patreon money to subsidize the cost of transcribing the podcast. So, if you’re interested and able to contribute, you can find that at patreon.com/noendinsight.

This week I’m talking to Mahalah May about chronic constipation and incontinence, fibromyalgia, vaginismus and IBS. We also veer off into some of the usual conversations about medical gaslighting, the benefits of diagnosis, and sharing your story.

Before we start, here’s my disclaimer:

This podcast is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Make sure you talk to your practitioner about any questions or symptoms.

[interview transcript coming soon]

Thank you for listening to episode 61 of No End In Sight!

I want to add a quick post script here from Mahalah, who realized afterwards that she’d missed a few things she wanted to share. She said that she’s now in a place where she’s unemployed and actively pursuing disability benefits because she’s realizing that unless something changes significantly she can’t maintain a job and be independent in the way our culture might expect. In that process, she’s been wrestling with the feeling that she’s not “disabled enough” or that applying for disability is like a life sentence. She thought some of you might relate to that feeling, and I bet she’s right.

You can find Mahalah on twitter @MahalahMay and instagram @thoughtfulflutterings. You can find me on instagram and twitter @bennessb. And of course you can find this show on instagram @no.end.in.sight.pod.

Plus, don’t forget to check out the new No End In Sight collection on Medium where you’ll find stories and essays about life with chronic illness. You can find that at medium.com/no-end-in-sight.

As usual, don’t forget that I have a small Facebook Group called Chronic Hustlers for people living with chronic conditions who are self employed. It’s quiet but growing, and you’ll even find a few podcast guests in the group.

And finally:

This podcast is supported by my cross stitch company, Digital Artisanal. When I’m up for it, I make simple modern patterns that you’ll actually want to hang in your home. I’ve got dozens of very simple icons that you can customize to your heart’s delight. I’d love it if you checked us out at digitalartisanal.com

Looking for transcripts? Episodes 1-47, 54-57, and 62+ are fully transcribed.
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