Love, sex and gender can be just about the most complicated parts of having a body. Add chronic illness into the mix and you’ve got a potential recipe for awkward dates, bedroom compromises and self-loathing ... OR NOT! As Erin Kyan explains, chronic illness can be a gateway to completely unique, unforgettable experiences, and relationships that go the extra mile in terms of communication and intimacy. Sometimes, knowing the limits of your body also means seeing its possibilities.

In the season finale of Pill Pop, hosts Silvi and Izzie receive a mystery tape, plus audio producer and disabled performer Erin Kyan talks love, sex, gender and accessibility. We don’t recall Dolly Doctor ever answering a dilemma about chronically ill love and sex, but if they did, it would probably be something like this!

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of physical and mental illness, transphobia, hospitals and medical trauma.

Further reading Erin Kyan's website Erin Kyan's Fibromyalgia tweet: ‘just saw a picture that said "fight like a girl; fibromyalgia awareness" and while this isn't the first time I've been misgendered by my condition, it sure is the weirdest. (ffs people "fibro more commanly affects women" is not the same statement as "fibro only affects women")’, published 25 November, 2019 Passer Vulpes Productions Quippings: Disability Unleashed Get in touch

We want to hear from our listeners! Tweet us your own love stories while chronically ill at @PillPopCast, or send us an email at pillpoppodcast@gmail.com. 

In this episode

Hosted, produced and edited by Silvi Vann-Wall and Izzie Austin. Podcast producer at Passer Vulpes Productions and Quippings performer Erin Kyan is our guest.

Recorded at Studio 757, Melbourne and Silvi and Izzie's respective home offices. This series is produced in partnership with the Wheeler Centre's Signal Boost programme. Mentorship and production support from Jon Tjhia, Beth Atkinson-Quinton and Bec Fary.

Music: 'Dip Dop' by Barrie Gledden; 'Sad Marimba Planet' and 'More on That Later' by Lee Rosevere. Sound effects sourced from freesound.org

Transcript

A transcript of this episode will be available soon.

If you live with an illness for long enough, you become something of an expert in it – at the very least, in how it affects your body. Sometimes, though, doctors don’t take your expertise seriously. They’re the experts, after all, and they’re used to having the power in these interactions. This is why it's important to learn how to advocate for yourself or find someone to advocate for you.

In this episode of Pill Pop, hosts Silvi and Izzie speak with physiotherapist, PhD candidate, and health communication researcher, Louisa Walsh. They speak about her experience advocating for herself and others as a person with Cystic Fibrosis and a double lung transplant recipient. 

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of physical and mental illness, hospitals, medical trauma.

Further reading Using Social Media to Facilitate Consumer Engagement in Health Service Improvement, Louisa Walsh's PhD research, La Trobe University  Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge by Steven Epstein, published 1996, University of California Press Get in touch

We want to hear from our listeners! Tweet us your own health advocacy stories at @PillPopCast, or send us an email at pillpoppodcast@gmail.com. 

In this episode

Hosted, produced and edited by Silvi Vann-Wall and Izzie Austin. PhD Candidate, physiotherapist, and lecturer Louisa Walsh is our guest.

Recorded at Studio 757, Melbourne and Silvi and Izzie's respective home offices. This series is produced in partnership with the Wheeler Centre's Signal Boost programme. Mentorship and production support from Bec Fary.

Music: 'Dip Dop' by Barrie Gledden; 'Sad Marimba Planet' and 'More on That Later' by Lee Rosevere. Sound effects sourced from SoundSnap and Klankbeeld.

Transcript

A transcript of this episode will be available soon.

Photo of Kaitlyn Blythe

Did you know that Halle Berry is diabetic? Izzie's dad once told them that and they've never fact-checked it. They think he meant it to be encouraging, like, 'Hey, you’ll be okay, see? Catwoman has diabetes,' but unfortunately that movie was terrible. In this episode of Pill Pop, hosts Silvi and Izzie speak with writer and performer Kaitlyn Blythe about media representation of chronically ill people. They’ll give you the good, the bad, and the Jeremy Renner in what was easily the hardest time they’ve had staying on topic in an interview.

Kaitlyn Blythe is a writer and performer living in Naarm (Melbourne) and dealing with encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She also has a podcast, Just A Spoonful (currently on hiatus), where she talks to other chronically ill folks, and is working on her first book, a collection of essays about life with a disability.

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of physical and mental illness, hospitals, medical trauma.

Further reading An Inconvenience by Kaitlyn Plyley, Seizure, published 19 January 2017
The ‘feminist’ advice that is actually holding women back by Kaitlyn Plyley, Sydney Morning Herald, published 3 January 3 2017 A Deep Dive Into The Latest (And Completely Bonkers) Taylor Swift Fan Theories by Kaitlyn Plyley, Junkee, published 28 February 2019 Get in touch

We want to hear from our listeners! Tweet us your non-compliant body stories at @PillPopCast, or send us an email at pillpoppodcast@gmail.com. 

In this episode

Hosted, produced and edited by Silvi Vann-Wall and Izzie Austin. Writer and perfromer Kaitlyn Blythe, formerly Kaitlyn Plyley, is our guest.

Recorded at Studio 757, Melbourne and Silvi and Izzie's respective home offices. This series is produced in partnership with the Wheeler Centre's Signal Boost programme. Mentorship and production support from Bec Fary.

Music: 'Dip Dop' by Barrie Gledden; 'Sad Marimba Planet' and 'More on That Later' by Lee Rosevere. Sound effects sourced from SoundSnap and Klankbeeld.

Transcript

A transcript of this episode will be available soon.

Sadly, Lara Irvine passed away before this episode was released. The interview is being released in accordance with her family's wishes and to honour Lara's memory.

Lara Irvine and her dog

So you’ve got your diagnosis down pat, you’ve found a doctor – or team of doctors – who have helped get your illness under control, and you’ve worked out you’re too sick to work (in the traditional sense). Now’s the time to apply for government assistance, and that’s an easy process that’s not dehumanising, right? Of course not! That would be a much shorter interview! Many disabled and chronically ill people find themselves having to become experts in navigating the bureaucracy of government support just to get the help they need to survive. In this episode of Pill Pop, hosts Silvi and Izzie interview one such person: Lara Irvine.

Lara Irvine was a writer from Ballarat who dealt with a number of chronic conditions including scleroderma, which almost completely shut down her digestive system. The year before she died, she told us about her experiences of trying to prove to the NDIS that she qualified for the support she needed.

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of severe illness, hospitals, medical trauma.

Please note: In this episode, the following acronyms are used: NDIS – National Disability Insurance Scheme; DSP – Disability Support Pension.

Further reading 'People are worse off': NDIS funding gaps leave many without care in Victoria by Dominic Cansdale and Kirsten Diprose, ABC Ballarat, published 26 October 2017  Drastic pre-wedding diets. Would you do this? by Lara Irvine, Mamamia, published 20 April 2012

Get in touch

We want to hear from our listeners! Tweet us your stories of navigating government support systems at @PillPopCast, or send us an email at pillpoppodcast@gmail.com. 

In this episode

Hosted, produced and edited by Silvi Vann-Wall and Izzie Austin. Writer Lara Irvine is our guest.

Recorded at Studio 757, Melbourne and Silvi and Izzie's respective home offices. This series is produced in partnership with the Wheeler Centre's Signal Boost programme. Mentorship and production support from Bec Fary.

Music: 'Dip Dop' by Barrie Gledden; 'Sad Marimba Planet', 'Thought Bubbles' and 'More on That Later' by Lee Rosevere. Sound…

Hayden Moon — Photo: supplied

Whether you’re negotiating a medical certificate for time off work, or you're back in the clinic every fortnight because this latest medication works a bit better than the last but you’re wondering if the dry mouth is worth it – you’ve been to a doctor. Maybe it’s been fine, maybe it’s been … less than fine. And if you're not a white, cis-het able-bodied person with no history of mental illness, your experiences of the medical system could range from being excellent to being very bad indeed.

In this episode of Pill Pop, hosts Silvi and Izzie interview Hayden Moon about navigating the medical system as a chronically ill Brotherboy – and about the best and the worst they’ve seen in the medical system.

'They've gone to the doctor for a cold, or because they've hurt their wrist – and the doctor asked them, "What's it like … being a lesbian?"'

Hayden Moon

Hayden Moon (he/they) is a Wiradjuri Brotherboy, PhD candidate, Pinnacle scholar and competitive Irish dancer. He has worked with the Trans and Gender Diverse Community Advisory Group (ACON), TransHub and Trans Action Warrang to ensure young trans and gender diverse people have the tools they need to navigate their transition and beyond.

Content warning: this episode includes discussions of transphobia, racism, severe physical and mental illness, hospitals, and medical trauma.

Further reading ACON TransHub Trans Action Warrang Get in touch

We want to hear from our listeners! Tweet us your best and/or worst doctor stories at @PillPopCast, or send us an email at pillpoppodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode

Hosted, produced and edited by Silvi Vann-Wall and Izzie Austin. PhD candidate, trans activist and Wiradjuri Brotherboy Hayden Moon is our guest.

Recorded at Studio 757, Melbourne and Silvi and Izzie's respective home offices. This series is produced in partnership with the Wheeler Centre's Signal Boost programme. Mentorship and production support from Bec Fary.

Music: 'Dip Dop' by Barrie Gledden; 'Sad Marimba Planet', 'Thought Bubbles' and 'More on That Later' by Lee Rosevere; Night In Venice by Kevin MacLeod under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Sound effects sourced from freesound.org.

Transcript

A transcript of this episode will…