When cats and comedy collide
Plus, The Antidote #29: treatments, season's grievings, and Missing White Woman Syndrome
The Tonic is a lighthearted, heavily resourced newsletter for folks interested in learning about long COVID, ME/CFS, and other health conditions. Come for the info; stay for the whimsy. Or vice versa.
Wish list shout out!
Many of my readers have chosen to support my efforts here via the Amazon wish list in lieu of paid subscriptions (which would reduce my disability benefits). A big Tonic THANK YOU this week goes to wish list two-timer SueB (yes, that’s one word; I should know, I coined it all those years ago when we began working together!).
The Tonic is free to read - Amy is so happy you’re here! There is no paid subscription option here like with other Substack newsletters. However, if you are valuing the experience and are able, please consider a show of support by sending a gift of health, wellness, or joy from this Amazon wish list. There’s something for every budget and any help is appreciated. Anyone who does gets a 📢 in an upcoming post (be sure to include a note with your gift). Thank you!
Sundry updates
Well friends, it went from summer to winter here in NY. We barely had an autumn to speak of. A few weeks back, it was still in 60s. Today it was a frigid 33 degrees. It’s been confusing trying to figure out how to dress.
Not too much new since my last post. I finished a thought-provoking new book by Ta-Nehisi (pronounced “na-HA-see”) Coates:
He ties in ancestry, enslavement, book bans, colonization, and apartheid through three trips he took: one to Senegal, one to South Carolina, and one to Israel/Palestine. If you are trying to make sense of some of these topics like I have been, it might be worth your time. It was more than manageable for me at 232 pages.
Yesterday I had my first of two iron infusions. It took about 45 minutes and everyone I encountered was lovely. I felt a little woozy in the hours after, and the nurse told me I might get headaches and GI distress (ha! bring it on, says my slow AF bowels). I told her I was already having headaches that I think were related to having super low iron stores, since I couldn’t kill them with any meds. Lots of hair loss and one of my pinky fingernails is separating from the nail bed, both of which my hematologist said were signs of iron deficiency. Had to discuss using minoxidil (Rogaine) with my dermatologist a few days ago for my hair loss. None of this is too serious, just annoying.
In that same category, my GI doc is having me try another two-week course of the antibiotic xifaxan, this time along with another antibiotic called neomycin, both to address what he believes is immune methanogen overgrowth in my gut. We will see what happens.
To top it all off, I am meeting with my gyn next week to discuss menopause hormone therapy.
Oh, and something FUN happened to me last weekend! Some of you may have caught my Note on it, or a post on my other social media accounts. For those who didn’t, here’s a link to the initial note about what happened, followed by an even cooler and funnier update hours later!
Got to tell this whole story to Paula Poundstone herself after the show that same night! She was tickled. She also asked me quite a lot about my long COVID and asked how I was faring these days with it. She told me she’s had eight jabs because she’s really afraid of developing LC. She even shared that a frequent guest on her show also has LC, which I didn’t know. All in all, she was a real delight to talk to - kind, compassionate, and of course, funny.
After our chat and pic, she autographed one of her signature Poundstone Pussy Pillows (it’s a cat toy, get your mind out of the gutter 😆) to the Cat of the Week himself, who went bonkers over it. That’s some strong ‘nip in there!
Okay, story time is over for this week. Let’s hit the links.
The Antidote #29
COVID, Long COVID, and ME/CFS
👉🏽 COVID updates:
with another one of his great Covidlandia posts, chock full of COVID, long COVID, and vaccine-related studies and info.⚕️ Treatments: A Search for Treatments Pervades New Efforts on Long COVID and ME/CFS.
📈 Treatment outcomes: a new pre-print of a study of patient-reported outcomes for over 150 Long COVID and ME/CFS treatments.
🫸🏽 More push for Long COVID treatments: patients push to see federal research refocused on treatments.
🧠 Spike protein and the brain: a study on the persistence of spike protein in brain tissue and the effects it has on pathological and behavioral changes. Also: the mRNA vaccines are shown to reduce (but not eliminate) this spike burden. Interesting study.
😷 Masking and testing: how to limit respiratory viruses in hospitals (umm…duh, amirite?)
🥶 Cold exposure: why it may help with Long COVID, ME/CFS, and fibromyalgia.
🦠 What immunocompromised people want you to know (there’s an audio recording of this article at the beginning for anyone with limited reading spoons).
Webinars/conferences/podcasts/videos
❄️ Holidays with Long Covid: Season’s Grievings and Chronic Feelings, an essential episode of A Friend for the Long Haul podcast (my opinion obvi, though hewing heavily toward fact). Here’s the Apple link and the Spotify link. Warning: it’s a long episode, but broken down into manageable segments so you can take breaks.
, you are a brilliant human; thank you for this invaluable gift.🌟 Patient story: my friend Chimére Sweeney, an award winning former middle school teacher, writer, film producer, speaker, and long COVID advocate, is interviewed about her Long COVID story by Dr. Funmi Okunola of the podcast Long COVID The Answers. (Fun fact: you can also hear a few delightful minutes of Chimére and her husband Tory in the holiday podcast listed above).
📫 More from Chimére!: She is selling these fabulous Long COVID postcards (posties!) through her website, The Black Long COVID Experience (whose mission is to empower Black Americans affected by Long COVID - do check out what she’s up to).
🧑🏽💻 Long COVID webinar: the Patient-Led Research Collaborative is holding its 2024 Community Webinar, highlighting accomplishments and providing an overview of progress since their inception. It takes place on Tuesday, December 10th at 10:00 am - 11:15 am PST / 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm EST. Register here.
🫁 ME/CFS and air quality: Dr. Jarred Younger shares some details about his team’s new paper that’s out.
🤯 Brain retraining: Raelan Agle debunks the 8 biggest myths and misconceptions. (Hint: despite many people thinking this, brain retraining does not blame the patient nor say your condition is all in your head. Once I also got over my preconceived notions that it did, I learned a lot that has truly helped me. Check it out if interested).
Health miscellany
😞 Sicker and poorer: 9 States Poised To End Coverage for Millions if Trump Cuts Medicaid Funding and With Trump on the Way, Advocates Look to States To Pick Up Medical Debt Fight. But Make America Healthy Again, right?
🍆 Another sign of what’s to come (pun intended?): Vasectomies Rise 1,200% After Donald Trump Election Win.
👩🏾⚕️ More Black Doctors: why the U.S. medical field is pushing for this.
🏡 Home: the most dangerous place for women, says global femicide report.
🕊️ Palestine: check out Why doesn’t your disability advocacy include Palestine?, an important piece by
.🚶🏼➡️ Dementia: how to get started reducing your risk.
🩸 Glucose monitoring: I don’t have diabetes, but I wore a glucose monitor for six weeks. Here’s what I learned about food (and anxiety). Key quote: “I wasn’t using the CGM to get feedback about how I normally eat; I was eating abnormally in immediate response to the CGM.”
💊 Pharmacies closing: mom & pop shops and those In Black, Latinx Communities most at risk.
♿ Disabled before retirement age: most Americans are forced to stop working before 65.
🦻🏼 Hearing aid use: the intersection of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
☠️ Assisted dying: British lawmakers give initial approval to a bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives. I am for this in theory, as long as there are mechanisms in place that prevent coercion of sick/disabled folks by family or medical professionals. I think it’s absurd that we can humanely end a pet’s life but not a human’s, if that is what they wish.
😔 Tragic: Inside Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s emotional final meeting with parents of children with disabilities and complex medical needs to discuss her legacy and what comes next. Wexton has to leave Congress due to her own disability.
🐛 Your microbiome: your friends shape yours (as do your friends’ friends). Just don’t catch COVID again.
⚡ Crisis: to help someone going through a crisis, use these 7 words.
Now stick around for…
🥳 The After-party 🥳
Added resources, joy, tomfoolery, and buffoonery
🎄 Speaking of trees, this article was really interesting: The Race to Save America’s Favorite Christmas Tree.
🎁 Looking for some great holiday gifts? Check out Little Woman Goods for the feminists in your life and the Etsy shop MayaMadeThis for some fun/ky jewelry made by a woman of color entrepreneur and creative. I have no stake in either of these companies, but I have ordered from both multiple times and they never disappoint.
📖 There’s nothing like the anticipation of a book being published by a fave writer, amirite? That’s why I recently pre-ordered
’s debut novel Leverage, due out next summer. This guy can write his behind off, so check out his post below to learn more about the book and order your copy today (also, subscribe to his very smart and funny Substack, ).
⛄ Looking for a way to stave off the winter blues? Check out
’s upcoming Winter Camp, a four-week virtual gathering of community, movement, and creativity. She also hosts a Winter Art Camp geared toward creatives.👩🏼👩🏻👧🏻👧🏼 So fun! Four friends posed for a photo on vacation in 1972. Over 50 years later, they recreated it.
🤦🏻 Buffoon of the week: ahh, to be blessed with good health and risk it all over something so DUMB. This week’s buffoon is Justine Huang, who ran the New York City Marathon drunk. My favorite line from the article: “If you must consume alcohol during a marathon, Corkum recommends finding drinks with a low alcohol content, such as 4%.” (emphasis mine, because it’s such a ridiculous premise).
🏆 Winner of the week: this week it’s Gabby Petito’s dad, Joe Petito, who is combatting 'Missing White Woman Syndrome' with a TV series focused on marginalized communities. What a way to turn the extreme pain of losing your daughter to murder by her intimate partner into something amazing, by raising awareness about the thousands of missing and unsolved murders of people of color and Indigenous people whose cases often get too little attention.
🐈⬛ 💩 And finally, it’s this week’s Cat Dump. Info session edition:
🐈 Gene behind orange fur in cats found at last
😿 10 Signs Your Cat is Sick And Needs Help (A Vet's Advice)
Honored to be included !
I’m hopeful you find some relief with the iron infusion! I had one last month and it has been pretty life changing. my symptoms weren’t as noticeable as what you’re describing, I had chalked it all up to stress of ~the times~ but it turns out it was actually low ferritin 😅