Hidden illness

SELF

‘I was advised not to have kids as there’s a high chance I could lose my leg’

Dublin-based Rasa Levinaite opens up about her unusual hidden illness Arteriovenous Malformation (AV Malformation), which affects her right…

By Jennifer McShane

Pain

EDITORIAL

Chronic migraines: ‘I was convinced that I had some form of cancer, that’s how bad mine became’

Research reveals that 1 in 7 Irish people suffer from migraines – chronic or otherwise. Only 2 in…

By Jennifer McShane

Worry

EDITORIAL

‘I became a shadow of my former self. I stopped eating. I couldn’t go to work’

Most of us may be prone to the occasional bout of worrying. But when does this go from…

By Jennifer McShane

SELF

‘As days and weeks went by, the pain never went away’

Twenty-five-year-old Clodagh Ní Maonaigh from Meath was diagnosed with coccydynia, an extremely painful condition of the tailbone, at…

By Jennifer McShane

Hidden illness

SELF

‘I had to retire from work at 29 on medical grounds. I was devastated’

Next in our Hidden Illness series, we meet 29-year-old Sarah from Dublin, whose illness began at age 10…

By Jennifer McShane

World Physiotherapy Day

AGENDA, SELF

‘I’ve had sessions for decades. It’s helped me the most out of anything’

Chronic or persistent pain is something that, according to a recent study by Brian Purcell Communications (BPC), 14%…

By Jennifer McShane

Fibromyalgia:

SELF

Living with fibromyalgia: ‘I feel like a 32-year-old trapped in an 80-year-old’s body’

 Jennifer McShane speaks to a young Irish woman who says her life was forever changed by chronic health…

By Jennifer McShane

EDITORIAL

‘I am just hurting’: The thing to remember when talking about chronic pain

Actress Selma Blair has given fans an insight into her struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a vulnerable social media…

By Jennifer McShane

Hidden Illness

EDITORIAL

‘Diabetes is invisible, yet people don’t have a hard time believing that’

Jennifer McShane speaks to a young woman who has a range of conditions and how judgement from those…

By Jennifer McShane