PODCAST · health
Calling In Sick
by Just Media
Welcome to the Calling in Sick, hosted by Alex Wildeson and produced by Just Media. On this podcast, Alex shares her unfiltered personal journey battling several autoimmune and chronic conditions including Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) Vasculitis, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) / Lupus, Endometriosis, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). She also provides practical “how-to” guides, explores hot topics, and welcomes other warriors, medical professionals, advocates and creators on the show to shed light on the latest healing modalities, promising treatments, and myth bust popular misconceptions and trendy health hacks. Tune in for some laughs, tears, and growth… but stay for the camaraderie and community. You can engage with Alex and the community through social media @callinginsickpod. We promise, you don’t need a doctor’s note for this one!
Episodes
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Scoliosis & Hypermobility Myths Debunked — With the Founder of Jelliebend ft. Ellie Klein
Ellie Klein is back for this week’s Calling in Sick Wednesday episode — and we are myth-busting the most common and most maddening things the internet says about scoliosis and hypermobility. Some of these she has been told by providers. Some she has read online. And some she has been gaslit into...
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Ballet, Scoliosis & Hypermobility — The Story Behind Jelliebend ft. Ellie Klein
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Ellie Klein — founder of Jelliebend, former competitive ballet dancer, contortionist, and someone who has been navigating scoliosis and hypermobility since childhood. And let me tell you… this conversation took us places I didn’t even anticipate...
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Chronic Illness Life Hacks from an Occupational Therapist: Pain, Sleep and Energy Management (ft. Cheryl Crow)
This week on Calling in Sick, Cheryl Crow is back and we are getting into the most practical, OT-approved, chronic illness tested life hacks I have ever covered on this podcast. You’re going to want to save these tips!!! We're diving into: 🌅 How to Have Gentler Mornings — the bedside toolbox…
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Do you have to accept your chronic illness to live your life? (Ft. Cheryl Crow)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Cheryl Crow — occupational therapist, founder of Arthritis Life, host of the Arthritis Life podcast, creator of the Rheum to THRIVE course, and someone who has been navigating rheumatoid arthritis for 23+ years. We’re talking all about how we’ve...
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Bikini Medicine, Clinical Trial Gaps & Companies Changing the Game ft. Amanda Berk
This Wednesday on Calling in Sick, Amanda Berk is back for and we are getting into the systemic conversation underneath everything we talked about on Monday. Why the healthcare system keeps failing women. Where it started. And what is actually being done about it. We're diving into: 🏛️ The...
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Patient Advocacy: One Thing Every Chronically Ill Woman Needs (ft. Amanda Berk)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with my dear friend Amanda Berk — co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of LIORA Health, dual Master's candidate in Social Work and Public Health at UT Austin, and someone navigating life with chronic migraines, a neurological tick disorder, and...
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Why Hypermobility and hEDS is NOT Just Flexibility: Mythbusting with Dr. Linda Bluestein
This week on Calling in Sick, Dr. Linda Bluestein is mythbusting the biggest hypermobility and hEDS misconceptions circulating online right now!! Some of these are coming from well-meaning patients. Some are coming from providers who should know better. And some are genuinely dangerous enough…
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The 411 on Hypermobility + why it’s NOT just flexibility (ft. Dr. Linda Bluestein)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with THE Dr. Linda Bluestein (!!!). She’s a board-certified physician, hypermobility specialist, host of the Bendy Bodies podcast, and someone who didn't get her own hEDS diagnosis until her 50s. We're diving into: 🦴 What hypermobility actually is —...
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How a #1 NYT-Bestselling Author Manages Chronic Pain, Deadlines & a Hulu Deal (ft. Sheila Masterson)
This week on Calling in Sick, #1 NYT-Best Selling author, Sheila Masterson (The Poison Daughter), is back to talk about the ONE thing I think every chronically ill person who has ever tried to build a career, meet a deadline, or show up for their work on a bad pain day desperately needs to hear....
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Chronic Illness in Media & Entertainment with Author, Sheila Masterson (The Poison Daughter)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Sheila Masterson — #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Poison Daughter, a fantasy-romance novel that has taken the chronic illness and romantasy communities completely by storm. And this is the conversation nobody has had with her yet....
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Revisit: Motherhood with Chronic Illness (ft. Cortney Gensemer)
This week on Calling in Sick, we are RE-RELEASING a fan favorite!!! I was joined by Cortney Gensemer, PhD - scientist, chronic illness patient and mom - to talk about the questions so many of us with chronic illness are quietly worried about. Motherhood. And obviously, as someone who is pregnant…
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Revisit: The 411 on Chronic Illness Research (ft. Cortney Gensemer, PhD)
This week on Calling in Sick, we are RE-RELEASING a fan favorite!!! I got to sit down with someone who lives this chronic illness life from both sides of the equation… Cortney Gensemer, PhD is a scientist at ChronicleBio, a patient with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, MCAS, POTS, and adrenal...
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Autoimmune Myths DEBUNKED: ANA Tests, Pregnancy & Biologics (ft. Dr. Alexis Barbut)
This Wednesday on Calling in Sick, Dr. Alexis Barbut is back and we are debunking the most common autoimmune myths circulating online right now. Some of these are coming from wellness culture, some from well-meaning friends and family, and some are genuinely dangerous enough that a rheumatologist...
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Preparing for a Rheumatology Appointment (ft. Dr. Alexis Barbut)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Dr. Alexis Barbut — double board-certified in internal medicine AND rheumatology, with a clinical focus on reproductive rheumatology. If you’ve been curious if your symptoms could be autoimmune-y, currently have an autoimmune disease and…
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It’s "Just Anxiety": Reacting to Medical Gaslighting With Kevin Crosson
This week on Calling in Sick, Kevin Crosson is back and we’re getting into a NEW SEGMENT… "This Cannot Be Real” where we talk through some of the most unhinged things people (like doctors or family and friends) say to us, the chronic illness community. And trust me… we’re not holding back ;)…
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When Politics Enters the Exam Room (ft. Kevin Crosson)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Kevin Crosson — advocate, speaker, and one of the most documented cases of vaccine-induced cardiac and immune injury in the country. And this conversation is not what you think it is. This is an episode about what happens when a rare but real...
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Can you use GLP-1s to treat chronic illness?? (ft. Dr. Zach Spiritos)
This week on Calling in Sick, Dr. Zach Spiritos is back for to chat about one of the most exciting developments in chronic illness treatment that almost nobody is talking about. Microdosing GLP-1s, not for weight loss, but inflammation and disease management. Specifically, we're diving into: 🧬…
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The EDS , MCAS & POTS Trifecta Explained with Dr. Spiritos
This week on Calling in Sick — it’s EPISODE 100!!! And for this milestone, we brought back the MOST REQUESTED guest in the history of this podcast… Dr. Zach Spiritos. He’s a double board-certified neurogastroenterologist at EverBetter Medicine and this week we’re getting into his zone of…
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Is This Bad Advice for Managing Chronic Illness? (ft. Kati Morton)
This Wednesday on Calling in Sick, Kati Morton, LMFT is back for the a new segment… “Is this Bad Advice?!” We are taking the most common mental health advice given to people with chronic illness and asking one specific question: is this actually good advice… or is it secretly spiking your need…
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The Cost of Perfectionism, People Pleasing & Craving Control on Chronic Illness (ft. Kati Morton, LMFT)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Kati Morton, LMFT — licensed marriage and family therapist, author of Why Do I Keep Doing This, Traumatized, and Are U Ok?, and one of the most trusted voices in accessible mental health online with 1.5 million YouTube subscribers. This Monday,...
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Peptides 101: What They Are, Recent FDA Votes & Popular Chronic Illness Peptides ft. Max Swiergol
This week on Calling in Sick, Max Swiergol is back for a deep dive on one of the most viral and most misunderstood topics in the chronic illness and wellness space right now… PEPTIDES!!! You've seen them all over TikTok. You've probably heard of BPC-157. And you have almost certainly seen someone...
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How to research like a doctor, understanding clincal trials and CAR-T optimism (ft. Max Swiergol)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Max Swiergol, osteopathic medical student, research enthusiast, and one of the most accessible voices translating cutting-edge science for the chronic illness community online. This episode is one of the most practically useful we have ever…
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How to Support Your Nervous System for Chronically Illness (ft. Nitika Chopra)
This week on Calling in Sick, Nitika Chopra is back to discuss the ONE thing that a lot of people in the chronic illness community have been quietly waiting for someone to say out loud. We're getting into the tools and identity shifts that don't always get talked about in this space, the ones…
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The Chronic Illness Identity Trap (ft. Nitika Chopra)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Nitika Chopra, founder of Chronicon, chronic illness advocate, and someone who has been navigating life with a body that doesn't cooperate since she was 10 years old. We discuss everything from our lifelong fights with chronic illness to finding...
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Pregnancy Q&A: Cyclospora Anxiety, Birth & Feeding Plans, Registry Decisions & more!
This week on Calling in Sick, I’m answering all your pregnancy Q&A! We're diving into: 🥬 My Cyclospora anxiety — what foods I’m avoiding and why I’m mad at the government (lol) 🩺 How to actually start your pregnancy journey with chronic illness — the preconception appointment you NEED to make...
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Chronic Illness Q&A: Staying Positive, Infusion Prep, New Endometriosis Trials & More
This week on Calling in Sick, I’m answering all your chronic illness Q&A! We're diving into: ⚖️ The NUMBER ONE rule I live my life by and navigate chronic illness with💉 My top tips for preparing for an infusion⚠️ The Amazon supplement warning you need to hear!!💼 How I navigate work with chronic...
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Living at the Intersection of Chronic Illness and Autism (ft. Patrick Casale)
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Patrick Casale is back — and we're getting into the overlap that almost nobody talks about - living at the intersection of autism and chronic illness. Patrick found out he was autistic in 2021. At almost the exact same time, he started choking on his food,...
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Living with Autism: Late Diagnosis, Internalized Ableism, Unmasking (ft. (Patrick Casale, MA)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Patrick Casale — licensed clinical mental health counselor, TEDx speaker, host of Diverging Conversations with Dr. Megan Neff, and someone who found out he was autistic at 35. If you're chronically ill, neurodivergent, or living at the...
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How to Manage Chronic Pain Without Breaking the Bank | Q&A with Pain Psychologist, Dr. Rachel Zoffness
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, I'm sitting down with Dr. Rachel Zoffness — pain scientist, pain psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF, lecturer at Stanford, and author of Tell Me Where It Hurts. We are getting into the practical side of chronic pain management. Because...
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Can You Retrain Your Brain to Reduce Chronic Pain? | Dr. Rachel Zoffness
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Dr. Rachel Zoffness — pain scientist, pain psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF, lecturer at Stanford, and author of Tell Me Where It Hurts. If you have chronic pain, chronic illness, or you've ever been told your pain is "just...
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The Cutting Edge of Chronic Pain Treatment (& What's Overhyped) | Q&A with Alec Bradbury (FNP)
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Alec Bradbury, FNP is back for round two — and we're getting into what's actually on the cutting edge of chronic pain. New research, new healing modalities, what we're both genuinely excited about, and where to pump the brakes before you hand over your...
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How to Actually Get Heard by Your Doctor About Chronic Pain (ft. Alec Bradbury, FNP)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Alec Bradbury, FNP — the provider you've probably seen on socials making chronic pain feel a whole lot less terrifying, isolating, and lonely. He's a nurse practitioner doing street medicine for the unhoused in Orange County, he teaches the next...
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Pregnancy Myths Busted: Sushi, Sleeping & Sharing the News Early | Q&A with Dr. Shevell (MFM, OBGYN)
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Dr. Tracy Shevell is back and we are busting every pregnancy myth I've heard online this year. Sushi. Sleep position. The "12 week rule." Glowing pregnancies. ALL of it!! We're diving into: 🤰 Why I announced my pregnancy at 5.5 weeks — and why Dr. Shevell...
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Everything You Need to Know About High-Risk Pregnancy (ft. Dr. Tracy Shevell, MFM OBYGN)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down (AGAIN!) with Dr. Tracy Shevell, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist (aka high-risk pregnancy OBGYN), to demystify everything about what a high-risk pregnancy actually means and is. So whether you have a chronic illness, you're newly pregnant, or...
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We're having a BOY!!! + our first trimester recap
This week on Calling in Sick, we’re sharing everything about our gender reveal and closing out my first, first trimester!! We're diving into: 💙 WHY we found out early 👀 How we accidentally used the Sneak Peek at-home test for our gender reveal party (WHOOPS!) 🤢 First trimester wrap up and…
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How to exercise with an achy body || Ask Alex with Dr. Reyes
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Dr. Taylor Reyes is back for the deeper dive, and we are getting into one of the HARDEST things for us sick chicks in the chronic illness community. Movement. This is not a "just do yoga" episode. This is a real, practical, judgment-free guide to moving…
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The Most Underutilized Tool in Women's Health? Pelvic Floor PT (ft. Dr. Taylor Reyes)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Dr. Taylor Reyes, a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor health. Something I WISH I knew about after my endometriosis surgeries, and am relieved I know about before giving birth!!! Whether you have chronic illness, you're pregnant,...
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Your Hormones Are Why Your ADHD Gets Worse Every Month | Ask Alex with Dr. Brighten
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Dr. Jolene Brighten is back, and we are getting into something that I wish someone had explained to me years ago. If you have a neurodivergent brain and have ever felt like your symptoms get dramatically worse at certain points in your cycle… you are not...
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Endometriosis Guide: How to get Diagnosed, Treatment Options & Co-morbidities, with Dr. Jolene Brighten
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with THE Dr. Jolene Brighten, board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist, bestselling author of Beyond the Pill, Is This Normal and soon-to-be-released ADHD and Women, and someone who personally lives with endometriosis, adenomyosis, ADHD, and...
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The Communication Framework That Saved Us During My First Trimester | Ask Alex
This week on Calling in Sick's Ask Alex, I'm getting into something I've wanted to talk about for a while!! The communication strategies that have actually made a difference during my first trimester. Best part? Chronic illness taught us most of them. We all know Cooper is Saint Coop for a…
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How My Chronic Illness ACTUALLY Prepared Me for Pregnancy
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm getting honest about something I was maybe a little overconfident about going in. I thought 25+ years of managing a complicated, unpredictable chronic illness had given me ALL the tools I'd need for managing my first trimester of this pregnancy. Turns out… I was...
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Ticks Are On the Rise: Everything you NEED to Know About Lyme Disease RIGHT NOW! (ft. Ali Moresco)
This week on Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, Ali Moresco and I are getting into everything happening in the Lyme disease world RIGHT NOW. It's Lyme Awareness Month, ticks are predicted to be worse than ever this year, and there is actually some hopeful news coming out of Washington for the first time...
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Got Bit By a Tick? Here's Exactly What To Do: The 411 on Lyme Disease (ft. Ali Moresco)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with Ali Moresco, Lyme disease advocate, founder & CEO of Moresco PR, and Executive Board Chair of Project Lyme, to talk about the tick-borne illness epidemic that is growing faster than most people realize. 31 million people will get bit by a tick...
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Motherhood with Chronic Illness | Q&A with Cortney Gensemer
In this Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, I’m joined by Cortney Gensemer, PhD - scientist, chronic illness patient and mom - to talk about the questions so many of us with chronic illness are quietly worried about. Motherhood. And obviously, as someone who is newly pregnant, I had a LOT of questions…
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How Research is Changing the Future for Chronic Illness Patients (ft. Cortney Gensemer)
This week on Calling in Sick, I'm sitting down with someone who lives this chronic illness life from both sides of the equation. Cortney Gensemer, PhD is a scientist at ChronicleBio, a patient with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, MCAS, POTS, and adrenal insufficiency, and the creator behind...
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WE’RE PREGNANT!! + how my chronic illness is doing
GET YOUR TISSUES READY!!!! Because this week, on Calling in Sick, I’m sharing the biggest news yet… after 7 years of praying, delayed timelines, a miscarriage and so many set backs. We. Are. FINALLY. PREGNANT!!!!!! And today I'm getting into ALL of it: 🌍 How we found out in Amsterdam ❤️ What...
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Revisit: Starting a Family with Chronic Illness
If you've been following me on socials, you already know this, and if you don’t, then sit down for this new…. Saint Cooper and I are PREGNANT!! 🎉 We spent last week celebrating this surprise, and I took the week of from podcasting. So this week I'm re-releasing my two favorite episodes about my...
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Revisit: My Motherhood Journey with Chronic Illness: IVF, Surgery Setbacks & Hope After Loss
If you've been following me on socials, you already know this, and if you don’t, then sit down for this new…. Saint Cooper and I are PREGNANT!! 🎉 We spent last week celebrating this surprise, and I took the week of from podcasting. So this week I'm re-releasing my two favorite episodes about my...
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Diets & Wellness Advice That Can Actually Harm Chronic Illness Patients (ft. Mickey Trescott)
In this Calling in Sick x Ask Alex, I’m joined by Mickey Trescott to talk about one of the most confusing parts of living with chronic illness: figuring out what’s actually helping… and what might be making things worse. From “food as medicine” discourse to the overuse of words like remission…
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AIP Diet Explained: What It Is, How It Works + Where to Start (w/ Mickey Trescott)
This week on Calling in Sick, I’m sitting down with Mickey Trescott (@mickeytrescott), one of the original voices behind the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), to talk about what AIP actually is, who it’s for, and how to approach food when you’re living with chronic illness without spiraling into...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to the Calling in Sick, hosted by Alex Wildeson and produced by Just Media. On this podcast, Alex shares her unfiltered personal journey battling several autoimmune and chronic conditions including Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) Vasculitis, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) / Lupus, Endometriosis, and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). She also provides practical “how-to” guides, explores hot topics, and welcomes other warriors, medical professionals, advocates and creators on the show to shed light on the latest healing modalities, promising treatments, and myth bust popular misconceptions and trendy health hacks. Tune in for some laughs, tears, and growth… but stay for the camaraderie and community. You can engage with Alex and the community through social media @callinginsickpod. We promise, you don’t need a doctor’s note for this one!
HOSTED BY
Just Media
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Calling In Sick have?
Calling In Sick currently has 144 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Calling In Sick about?
Welcome to the Calling in Sick, hosted by Alex Wildeson and produced by Just Media. On this podcast, Alex shares her unfiltered personal journey battling several autoimmune and chronic conditions including Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) Vasculitis, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) / Lupus,...
How often does Calling In Sick release new episodes?
Calling In Sick publishes regularly with 144 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Calling In Sick?
You can listen to Calling In Sick on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Calling In Sick?
Calling In Sick is created and hosted by Just Media.
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