Tag: diagnostics

Potential biomarker for hEDS and HSD found

News broken September 11, 2024: Potential biomarkers found that may allow for easier diagnosis of hEDS and HSD per The Ehlers-Danlos Society. (Me Jan: hold your zebras folks – this result still needs to be CONFIRMED, and then reproduced and then made commercially available, but it portends the possibility sooner than later, yes! Exciting!) I

But wait, there’s more…

I just hatched a quick and dirty diagnostic flowchart last night that I shared on both social media, and on my Diagnosing EDS and HSD page to help everyone do a better job of ruling out all the things before diagnosing a form of Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders. Which is a diagnosis of exclusion of everything

Check Your Imposter Syndrome

What ever does Imposter Syndrome have to do with my connective tissue disorders and autism, Jan? Well… possibly a lot. First off, what is Imposter Syndrome? Well, at its heart, it’s a feeling that one doesn’t belong in a given community, or at the level they are operating in a given community. Whether as an

Peeling the Diagnostic Onion

This isn’t going to be a post on how specifically to diagnose the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) per se, as that’s already been covered here. Rather, I want to draw attention to the many “red herrings” or false leads that we and our doctors often identify and manage to recognize and

Beware of Gatekeeping

I’m doing a lot of warning lately, aren’t I? “Beware of Hammer Syndrome” last month. And now, “Beware of Gatekeeping” this month. Hey, it’s October 2018 as I’m hatching this post, so it sort of fits with the Halloween mood, right? (Beware of Ghosts! Boo!) Editors note: This post was first made available in early

Beware of Hammer Syndrome

Hammer syndrome? Wait a minute Jan – you’re already talking about Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD), multiple Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) among other things. You could say you’ve put the “syn” in syndromes, don’t you think? So what’s “Hammer Syndrome”?? Good news: it’s not a disease

50,000 Shades of Grey

2017 editor’s note: I wrote this post in early 2016 a year before the new EDS nosology and diagnostic criteria were presented in March 2017, so some of the diagnostic information below is now outdated. E.g. the Brighton (with an “r” to be clear) Diagnostic Criteria are now obsolete, but the Beighton 9 pt scale

Heads up change is coming May 2016

Update February 7, 2017: Via The Ehlers-Danlos Society (aka “The EDS”) on Facebook the full new EDS nosology will be published on March 15, 2017. Meanwhile, some preliminary documents have been shared ahead of time, including one that talks about the new “framework” for recognizing and diagnosing the most common, hypermobile form of EDS. So,

Calling All Geneticists

Wow, who would have thunk it? Careful what you ask for –  you may get it: we seem to be raising enough collective awareness finally through regular and social media that more people are suspecting they may have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and seeking out a diagnosis finally, yay. I see increasing numbers of media stories, both

Denial is not a river in Egypt

I’ve found myself saying this phrase a lot throughout my life. I first learned it in recovery circles – Adult Children of Alcoholics as a teenager, initially. Followed by Codependents Anonymous later. And more recently I’ve been saying it in regard to the medical world’s inability to see and diagnose a form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome when