Alexis M.
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turnoftheshrew.bsky.social
Alexis M.
@turnoftheshrew.bsky.social
Here for the latest research + advocacy for Long Covid, ME/CFS, dysautonomia, connective tissue disorders, etc + disability justice community. Former HCP.
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In case anyone else needs this today: the best advice I ever read about #MECFS was “no one else is going to lie in that bed for you.” The decisions, fragile routine, the totally altered perspective on life— they don’t have to make sense to anyone else, bc they don’t have to live w/ the consequences.
Reposted by Alexis M.
The Clinical Relevance of Mast Cell Activation in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

#MastCells #MCAS #ME #MECFS
www.mdpi.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reposted by Alexis M.
We're socialized to constantly apologize for being too outwardly excited about things, but this world is so full of terror and misery that I'd rather see those bursts of light and passion shine through the cracks wherever you can find them.
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
the way when doing something that feels meaningful a little piece of you heals at the experience, starved and lapping it up, and another piece of you breaks, at having to rip yourself away from it after only mere minutes, perhaps hours if you’re lucky, never days, only a glimpse #MECFS
November 9, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
if you are food insecure for both the humans and pets in your household there is a tool called Pet Help Finder that can help locate pet food banks nearby and other free or reduced price assistance and supplies for pets.
no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, should have to give up their pet bc of this.
November 8, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Berkeley's crowdfunding campaign for Trial By Error, which investigates problematic psycho-behavioral research involving ME, ME/CFS, Long COVID, etc., has reached 98% of the goal, with one day remaining:
crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47768
David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025
Help UC Berkeley raise $68,000 for the project: David Tuller's Trial by Error Fall 2025. Your gift will make a difference!
crowdfund.berkeley.edu
November 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Patient voices were heard! The ADDRESS-LC trial on Bezisterim is now open to those who have been living with #LongCovid for more than 2 years. We’re glad to see Biovie’s trial continues to reflect patient + scientific input!

Find a trial site near you:
addresslongcovid.com/sites/
Study Sites | Address: Long COVID Clinical Study | BioVie Pharma
Study Sites near you! Learn more about participating in a clinical study of a Trial Drug to treat neurological symptoms of Long COVID.
addresslongcovid.com
September 19, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
For more info and to enroll check out our website:
longcovid.scripps.edu/locitt-t/?ut...

And/or attend our webinar tomorrow (11/5); registration is required:
scrippsresearch.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 4, 2025 at 3:11 PM
People see that I can sometimes do some art, cook a special meal w/ help, watch a movie, play a simple game. “You’re living!” they say. I am grateful. But these are just things that pass the time within my capabilities. They are not passions or purposes. They are distractions, dissociations. #pwME
I know there are other meaningful things I could do. Frankly tho I don’t really want to do them. I want to do the things I loved in life.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
So many people are entirely unprepared for the experience they're risking landing themselves in.
November 3, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Or budget steps to the bathroom, or have to eat less because even digestion is too energetically expensive

They can't conceive of a world where myriad things they take for granted, all above the "it's basically free to do as much of this activity as you want!" cut line, become devastatingly limited
November 3, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Trying to explain my energy limitations to people without ME/CFS is the one thing that sort of makes it understandable for me why so many people are rolling the dice with infinite covid

They truly do not have a mental model for a body that sometimes requires you to budget even conversational energy
November 3, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Food pantries for pets: www.pethelpfinder.org/m/phf/35
And most likely their pets as well.
November 3, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Pelvic pain & dysfunction can be part of post-infectious conditions like #LongCOVID & #MECFS.
In our latest ECHO session, Katie Woolf, DPT, PRPC, shares how gentle pelvic floor therapy can help improve comfort, stability, & daily function.
Watch: https://youtu.be/sA-ue_B1uZk
@uofuhealth.bsky.social
Pelvic Health Considerations: Physical Therapy Perspective
Long COVID and Post-Infectious Syndromes ECHOA Practical Approach to Complex Long COVID & ME/CFS Patient CasesBateman Horne Center and the University of Utah...
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 5:16 PM
If you are in the U.S. & living w/ a #disability do you know about STABLE savings accounts? Eligibility changes on January 1, 2026. Previously eligibility was if you became disabled before age 26. This changes to before 46, allowing a lot more people to qualify. #LongCovid

www.stableaccount.com
STABLE
An ABLE account for those with an eligible disability who want to save and invest for a better life, achieve financial empowerment and prepare for a more independent future.
www.stableaccount.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Happy Halloween! 🕸🎃👻
October 31, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
The Long COVID Treatment Trial – Tirzepatide (LoCITT-T) is now open for enrollment for people with Long COVID in all states but Hawaii (due to concerns about maintaining temperature control in shipping), DC, and PR:
longcovid.scripps.edu/locitt-t/?ut...
October 31, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Medscape: No Evidence Supports Using Graded Exercise for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

'PEM has been well-documented in ME/CFS research showing abnormal biological responses after exertion as assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)'

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...
No Evidence Supports Using Graded Exercise for ME/CFS
Studies examining the effects of activity-based interventions haven’t required post-exertional malaise as a core criterion for the now-termed ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.’
www.medscape.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Case report by @sunsopeningband.bsky.social et al. @workwellfoundation.bsky.social @wearlumia.bsky.social

This case report explored whether reduced blood flow to the head contributes to postexertional malaise (PEM) in myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Using a new in-ear device, researchers measured
journals.lww.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
The Long COVID Treatment Trial – Tirzepatide (LoCITT-T) is officially open for enrollment for people with Long COVID in:
Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah
longcovid.scripps.edu/locitt-t/?ut...

1/16
LoCITT-T - Long COVID Treatment Trial
longcovid.scripps.edu
October 30, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
How do we love what we can't save — a planet, or a body?

I wrote about the connections between severe ME and the climate crisis, and the discipline of continuing. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/two-system...
#MyalgicE #mecfs #ClimateAction #climatecrisis
Two Systems in Collapse
What illness can teach us about responding to climate change
jrehmeyer.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
I’ve been regularly volunteering at a food bank for about a year and please, if you want to help, consider donating cash.

For $3, they can provide 15 meals and what they can do with the money you might spend on a few cans can be converted to vastly more in fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, or meat.
October 26, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
October 29, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
Great work from Rachel Fairbank on the winding story of metformin for #LongCOVID at @thesicktimes.org.

Quotes from @jencurtinmd.bsky.social, Rachel Hall Clifford, @chromatowski.bsky.social, Carolyn Bramante, Ed Mills, Melissa Mazur & myself.

thesicktimes.org/2025/10/28/m...

#MedSky
Metformin has been shown to reduce the risk of Long COVID. Why isn’t it more widely used? - The Sick Times
Recent studies add evidence to a prior phase 3 clinical trial, suggesting that taking the diabetes drug during acute COVID-19 reduces the risk of long-term symptoms.
thesicktimes.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Alexis M.
The body of evidence for persistent activation of the immune system in #LongCovid and related post-infective syndromes
www.thelancet.com/journals/ebi...
Immunological associations in post-infective fatigue syndromes including Long COVID—a systematic review and meta-analysis
These findings provide cautious support for persistent immune activation in PIFS, but warrant further replication. Future studies should include better documentation of acute infection and PIFS case c...
www.thelancet.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:46 AM