“You’re Making Up Symptoms,” They Laughed—Until the Specialist’s Report Came Back.

Stevens was the first adult who looked at me like I wasn’t crazy. She was my primary care physician—mid-thirties, sharp ponytail, calm eyes that didn’t blink when I described symptoms that sounded like they came from a WebMD spiral. “Okay,” she said, and typed steadily. “Let’s run some labs.”

The first round came back “weird but not definitive.” The continue reading …