I'm Not Always Me — Kalyn Shelton

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with etonogestrel implantation. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. My arm was laid…

I was a few weeks into a common cold, and late one evening I needed to lie down. My husband, Daniel, was already in the bed, so I made myself comfortable beside him by…

My alarm rang promptly at 8 a.m. so I could make it to work by 10. I still wasn’t feeling my best, but I found the strength to get out of bed and gather…

Imagine being a little kid and your parent gives you a quarter for the machine at the store so you can get the shiny ball you’ve been eyeing since you arrived. You put in…

“In sickness and in health, until death do us part.” On April 27, 2019, my husband, Daniel, and I made the biggest commitment of our lives. Little did he know that less than two…

The pain of an acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) attack is almost unbearable. It feels like someone is squeezing my right side with their fingernails, and it won’t stop. It has to stop. I…

Katherine was in her room putting clothes away with her chocolate lab, Bentley, by her side. Before she realized what was happening, she dropped to the floor, scraping her back on the bed on…

As I shared in my previous column, my husband, Daniel, my mom, and I drove to Chicago last month for PorphyriaPalooza. The event, held Sept. 13-15, was designed to bring…

Toothbrush, check. Clothes, check. My book, “I’m Not Always Me,” check. Purple hair, check. Finally, I was ready to go to Chicago for the PorphyriaPalooza! My husband, Daniel, and I had traveled…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with several antidepressants and other mental health medications. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy.

“You can go with them,” I told my husband, Daniel, as I lay in the hospital bed. “Go where?” he asked. “Out the window,” I responded. Considering we were on one of the top…