Meghan O'Rourke

Susan Sontag pointedly observes in Illness as Metaphor

we all live in the nexus of radical interconnection

hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The HPA axis

fish oil capsules, which were huge—hard to swallow if I didn’t concentrate on getting a big enough gulp of water.

Then I went through the supplements—glutathione, which reduced inflammation and helped detoxify my body (it helped me more than any other supplement I took); curcumin (concentrated turmeric), also to reduce inflammation; methylated folate and B12 because of the MTHFR polymorphisms; vitamin D; probiotics; pancreatic enzymes (to help absorb nutrients from my food); grapefruit seed extract; licorice to help with adrenal fatigue; and more.

petechiae, or hemorrhages of tiny capillaries.

n the bone marrow and the thymus, hordes of B and T cells, named for the parts of the body from which they come, are born and educated.

Inside my body, inflammation reigned, worsening at night, when the immune system’s production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other T cells peaks. I

a 2005 study, researchers detected the presence of 287 industrial chemicals, including flame retardants, pesticides, and dioxins,
in the fetal-cord blood of ten newborns. A 2021
study identified 55 chemicals never before found in humans in maternal and fetal serum samples from pregnant women. Poignantly, breast milk has been shown to contain dry-cleaning chemicals, paint thinners, and flame retardants, among other chemicals.

But the question remains: why do women make up approximately 80 percent of people with autoimmune diseases? An answer may lie in the
replicated X chromosome (which allows for a genetic mutation to happen twice) or in the role estrogen plays in regulating the immune system. Women generally have a stronger immune response to infections and vaccines than men do.