Joanna Kempner
@joannakempner
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Sociologist and author. Kid herder & Cat snuggler. Hot takes on science, medicine & inequality. New book: Psychedelic Outlaws.
philadelphia, pa
Joined March 2011
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Pinned Tweet
Thrilled to announce the release of my new book, Psychedelic Outlaws: The Movement Revolutionizing Medicine--an epic story of people with cluster headaches—one of the most excruciating diseases in the world—& their extraordinary journey to find a treatment.
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I stopped signing my emails with my initials after i learned that student(s) -- there were multiple! -- thought every one of announcements for the semester were jokes.
I can't get enough of that story.
-jk
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Most senior faculty disliked my proposal to study migraine as a dissertation in 2001. They called it "me-search." One prof said, "How can you research something you have?" To which I replied, "The same way you study gender, which I believe you also have." 1/x
I keep finding advantages of studying something I experience. My diss explores social networks, identities, and wellbeing among ppl w/ migraine. On Monday, I got a dx of intractable chronic migraine after being high frequency episodic for 10 years. Why is this helpful? 1/
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There's probably some reason why some people read things this literally. But.... still... sometimes I just want to sign off with a jk... And it cracks me up every time.
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Looking forward to the Republicans for Kamala Zoom call.
This is Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona. He is a lifelong Republican.
The tide is turning. Take a listen.
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I’m thrilled to announce that my latest book is under contract with Lauren Marino, Exec Editor
@HachetteBooks
.
PSYCHEDELIC OUTLAWS is a book about HOPE and SURVIVAL at the edge of medicine.
It’s also a call to action. People in pain need help and our drug laws are a mess.🧵
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@TheEconomist
@1843mag
Super cliché and also just bad reporting to describe Philly in such negative terms. I’ve never lived in a city more neighborly—our mutual aid is strong. Our block parties are legend.
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This week, sociology lost Charles Bosk, one of its greatest medical sociologists--an ethnographer with a keen ability to question authoritative systems. But I lost my mentor and my friend.
#medsoc
1/
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@jarrettrose4
"Professor Kempner has a truly sick sense of humor." - every student evaluation.
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Proud to announce that my book, Psychedelic Outlaws, is now available for pre-order!
The remarkable story of people who, united only by pain & the internet, developed a treatment from magic mushrooms & brought their discovery to the aboveground world.
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@ashleytrubin
Once, upon learning I went to a state university prior to attending an Ivy League for graduate school, a senior faculty member said, “what an interesting trajectory.”
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Auto-reply is on until September 2023. Happy sabbatical to meeeeeeeee!
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Hi everyone! So happy to make you laugh. A few things:
1) take a minute for joy
2) our bodies belong to ourselves.
3) you/your family don’t need to live w all that pain. We can/should do better for people in pain, esp migraine/cluster headache.
@AHDAorg
@Cluster_buster
@NHF
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@wishcrys
So much this!! I often wonder whether people would ask, say, a lawyer to do this much unpaid labor.
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As race, gender, sexuality, and disability scholars know, embodied scholarship produces exceptional research. "me-search" is a slur used to marginalize vital perspectives. It's a dog whistle.
Thanks
@CarolineBrooks8
for conducting this important research. Excited to read it!
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Others said, "It's just not an interesting subject. Why not fibromyalgia or CFS?"
Um, my research question was, "Why don't people pay attention to migraine, given that it is a highly prevalent, disabling, and costly disease?"
They were proving my point. 2/
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I built a huge amount of flexibility into my in-person classes this fall, assuming students would get sick, or have family emergencies, or campus would close temporality.
Class started on Wednesday and all of these things have already happened!
#ApocalypseTeaching
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Farewell Joan Didion. Thank you for writing the first truly great description of the migraine experience.
"That no one dies of migraine seems, to someone deep into an attack, an ambiguous blessing."
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According to
@elle
, “migraine pose” makes models looks super hot on instagram. Here I am during an actual migraine. Less 🔥🔥🔥🔥 more 🤢🤢🤢😫😫🤢🤢😫
#truemigrainepose
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@teacher_phd
My teaching evaluations dropped in the 1st trimester of both pregnancies, no doubt because -- as one student reported "I looked like I didn't want to be there." Probably didn't help that I often ran out in the middle of class to vomit.
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I just confirmed my son's hunch that Santa isn't real. His reaction?
"UGH! Does this mean that I'll be the one who has to buy all my kids presents??"
I feel seen.
#curmudgeonparenting
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Many, many years ago, a colleague advised me to keep an "atta girl" file on my computer, where I save any and all praise sent my way. When I feel down, I'll have a place to read some of the nice things people think about me. This file also reminds me to send praise to others.
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Academics! Check out how solidarity at Rutgers won us a historic contract that fights gender wage inequity, increases faculty diversity, provides job security for NTT faculty, increases graduate stipends & TA lines, helps PTLs, ensures academic freedom *and* faculty governance.
On Brink of a Strike: Rutgers Faculty and Grads Win Historic Contract!
Press Conference Weds., April 17, 10am, 11 Stone St. New Brunswick, NJ See our Facebook page for details, including solidarity actions with PTLs Weds,
#RUaaupHistoricWin
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Counterpoint: what if public sociology takes many more forms than are commonly acknowledged? What if sociologists’ public work occurs within communities and in policy circles and is therefore less visible than “blogging?”
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That Not Tonight won two book awards felt like vindication, not just for me, but for the 12% of the population who have migraine. (and the 1-2% of the population who, like
@carolinebrooks8
and me have chronic migraine). 3/
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Teaching faculty
@rutgersu
haven't had a contract since July 1, 2022. Rutgers admin isn't even bothering to show up to the table. STUDENTS: Time to flood Holloway with calls and emails. Demand answers. This is *your* education. This will interfere with *your* graduation.
Bargaining update from 4/7 - we showed up at 11am (agreed upon time), waited all day, management did not come to room at all. Management sent counters via email at 3:30pm. Counters showed little to no movement and did not address any of our major priorities
@ruaaup
@ruaaup_ptl
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Awesome. I studied my own disease, too. Got a lot of crap for doing "me-search,"* but if I didn't study migraine, which social scientist would?
*Me-search: a term that mainly undermines the credibility of those who use it a disparaging adjective.
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Hello good people of the internet. The kindle version of my book, Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health, is currently on sale for $2.99 on Amazon. You can hardly afford *not* to buy it.
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Teaching a writing seminar for sociology grad students next week, using Belcher's 12 weeks to a journal article. I'm putting together a list of best writing resources/tips. Suggestions?
#acwri
#acwrichat
#AcademicTwitter
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I try to rewrite my reviews with the idea that the author might be one of my grad students or friends. I try to channel the voice of my best mentors. This is emotional labor, but it’s worth it.
How cruel/demoralizing is your review? Did you give feedback to a grad student with a small dose of belittling? Are you Reviewer 2 & known for your biting criticism that goes beyond what is constructive? Are you proud of that? Do you like to haze people for sport? Do you bully?
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@NAChristakis
@edwardwalker
That’s bonkers and virtually impossible to achieve when also taking care of kids. I teach my students how to work smarter, not longer.
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Me to my sociology students: THC-laced candy is a moral panic.
Me to my kids: Strangers put some crazy stuff on candy, so I’ll just do some taste tests to make sure everything is safe to eat.
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Check out this pic. It’s crazy early in the morning and dozens of these advocates are battling or recovering from severe migraine/cluster attacks.
#HOH2019
#invisibleillness
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@shamuskhan
I wasn't there -- but neither were you
@shamuskhan
. I do, however, know
@CurlyProfessor
to be a truly careful, thoughtful, and empathetic scholar doing her best to shed light on the injustice of mass incarceration. I've also seen her respond thoughtfully to (serious) critique.
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My book traces the backstory of this study. The patients who created this protocol have been using it for > 20yrs to keep each other alive. Getting to this point was an epic struggle.
Positive Results: Psilocybin Reduces Cluster Headache Attacks - A new extension phase study from Yale led by Dr. Schindler proves repeated, low-doses of psilocybin lead to a significant reduction in the number of cluster headache attacks.
For more info:
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@KateHeeChoi
Use your spidey sense but I tend to assume very little cultural capital unless I know otherwise. Also, students may be receiving advice from friends in nonacademic settings who don't understand professors' structural constraints.
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Real picture of me in action at work. My resting bitch face game is strong.
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Happy to say my sabbatical might outlast twitter!
Just received a log-in at Princeton so it feels official: I'll be a Visiting Research Scholar at Princeton's Center for Health and Wellbeing this coming spring.
Maybe I'll see some tweeps in person. 😻
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I was 7 months pregnant in 2014. Feeling a little deja vu as I spend this gorgeous Spring day doing a last pass through the final proofs of my book. Put a fork in this baby, she's nearly cooked!
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Social Sci & Med just officially published my article with John Bailey on citizen science/DIY medicine, psychedelics, and cluster headache. Let me know if you want a non-paywalled copy!
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Officially < two months from launching Psychedelic Outlaws.
I've been scheduling interviews, podcasts, events, talks, and virtual book clubs.
Interested in an event? A blog post? A class visit? LMK. There's so much story (and back story) to share!
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Excited to be a part of this important panel about the gender bias endemic in medicine and healthcare policy.
The pandemic has revealed how broken & inequitable our healthcare system is. But it also provides us with an opportunity to build a more just system. Pls register!
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Lollll. Rutgers’ faculty, grad instructors, and postdocs are about to vote to authorize a strike.
@ruaaup
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“Migraine” is not a diagnosis listed in the Social Security Blue Book, making it ridiculously hard to apply for SSDI if migraine keeps you from work. We are so close to changing this! Please support
@AHDAorg
’s efforts!
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A must-read thread on brutal policing in Philadelphia.
@PhillyMayor
, I am so disappointed in what you are doing to Philadelphia, my beautiful city.
(thread)
I'm a two-time DNC delegate, and in my second term as an elected committeeperson for the Philadelphia Democratic Party.
Yesterday-- THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION-- police working for my Democratic mayor tear gassed, shot at, & arrested me for peaceful protest.
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Funny story. I sign my emails to undergrads with my initials. Once, nearly at the end of a semester, and undergrad asked why I said “just kidding,” after all my class announcements. 😂😂😂😭
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My research has made me open up about having chronic migraine, and the subsequent disability it causes. I’ve met many academics who are similarly disabled and hide it. But this isn’t just an academic problem!
Since Im on the topic of heath. I wanted to note the number of academics who have privately shared their cancer diagnoses with me. They haven’t told colleagues for a variety of reasons. Haven’t told their depts they are going through chemo.
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Thrilled to share my first article, written with John Bailey, about the
@Cluster_buster
's innovative use of collective self-experimentation as a method to develop a protocol for the use of
#psychedelics
as a cluster headache medication.
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And it's... a 📙! Final proof submitted! I'm 😴💤
I was 7 months pregnant in 2014. Feeling a little deja vu as I spend this gorgeous Spring day doing a last pass through the final proofs of my book. Put a fork in this baby, she's nearly cooked!
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Book manuscript submitted and sent into production. On Sale June 4th.
Will it be called Psychedelic Outlaws? Who knows???
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Thrilled to be included in NatGeo’s investigation of
#psychedelicmedicine
, which airs on Tues at 10:15pm. Esp excited that the program features
@clusterbusters
, the patient-led org that developed
#psilocybin
therapy for
#clusterheadache
and
#migraine
. Their work saves lives.
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@historianess
@nyuniversity
@GSOCUAW
I’m sorry, but wut????? This is so weird but also kind of funny? For whatever it’s worth, my parents walked the picket line when with me when I was a grad student.
@jimkempner
is solid!
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True story. Also, my department
@RutgersSoc
is making two hires and we truly dgaf about the prestige of candidates’ PhD program.
We also know that amazing sociology is published in journals other than ASR and AJS.
I have unsolicited advice to give Fall search committees.
Based on CV alone, many apps will get tossed before other materials are read. Often, these belong to applicants from less prestigious programs & institutions. But let me tell you why you WANT these candidates… 1/5
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This is a big step forward for so many reasons! People with migraine need more tools -- and this is an incredibly promising finding.
Psilocybin & migraine: First of its kind trial reports promising results
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Every academic needs to follow what's happening at Wright State.
@whiotv
"Wright State spokesman Seth Bauguess had said Wednesday that the fully canceled classes were specialized, higher-level courses. On Saturday morning, he acknowledged that “some CCP students have been affected by WSU class changes.”
So, he lied?
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@JessicaCalarco
When the person getting these meds has executive dysfunction. And then the pharmacist treats the patient like a “drug seeker…” it’s a mess
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Thankful this article included racist ideologies of pain: “women aren’t the only group who face these stereotypes—many minorities and ethnic groups are also at risk. “African Americans have a very difficult time being heard when they say that they’re in pain,” says Kempner
on
@joannakempner
's migraine research “If the [patient] is a woman rather than a man, very often that person is going to be interpreted through a cultural lens [in which] women are characterized as neurotic and whiny.”
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I’m about to hear Mike Tyson give a keynote at a corporate psychedelic conference.
#myresearchismorefunthanyours
#wonderland
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Retweet if you get migraine attacks that keep you from doing your work. Because as of now,
@SocialSecurity
doesn't recognize migraine as an impairment that might require
#SSDI
.
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Shout out to all the Department Chairs who are really earning their extra month of summer salary right now.
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It has taken nearly 40yrs to find a combination of medications that control my migraine attacks. Prior to this, I was in pain almost every day. Fatigue. Brain fog. Disability. Now my insurance company,
@HorizonBCBSNJ
, is denying one of the most important meds in my arsenal. 1/
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Something I never, ever wanted to write:
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@shamuskhan
@CurlyProfessor
Junior scholars--especially those facing enormous structural challenges--deserve more than thoughtless rumors from people on twitter.
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Rampant sexual harassment in the academy harms careers in so many ways. How much worse do you think it makes impostor syndrome? I was so used to being treated like a "stupid girl" that i was grateful for any prof who listened to my ideas.
#MeTooSociology
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Cluster headache is a devastating disease--treatment is so bad that people will do anything to stop the pain. Luckily, about 25yrs ago, a patient-led group figured out how to bust their cycles using psychedelics. Their research is now documented in peer-reviewed articles and RCTs
BREAKING: Canadian Health Minister
@markhollandlib
has granted special exemptions for patients to use
#psilocybin
for
#ClusterHeadaches
This is historic and could pave the way for broader medical access to Psilocybin in Canada.
Congratulations
@pope_nicholas
on the case!
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I'm thrilled to be working with this amazing group of scholars studying ethics in COVID-related DIY science:
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Just received notice that my commentary on what we can do to fight "post-truth" movements was published (on my birthday)!
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Just looked at ASA's call for 2021 Virtual Conference. I'm legit excited! Sections are proposing provocative topics and
@ASAnews
is now accepting an extended abstract!
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Migraine stigma is a social justice issue, *not* a biomedical issue. Social justice can't be fixed with technology.
#shutdoorstigma
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After 16 years of visiting my British inlaws, I finally have my own pair of Wellies that live all year round in the UK.
They like me, they really like me!!!
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A union this strong took over a decade of dedicated organizing. Faculty (tt, ntt, and ptls) and grad workers volunteered hours they didn’t have to make it happen.
We won’t stop til we have the university New Jersey deserves.
#strikeready
📢 BREAKING: 94% of members of the full-time unit & the
@ruaaup_ptl
have voted YES to authorize a strike!
This vote is the result of hours member-led organizing & is an undeniable demonstration of our unity & strength.
@RutgersU
admin - the ball is in your court.
#WeRStrikeReady
!
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The
@SciHistoryOrg
put together this great podcast on the history of migraine, gender and stigma, featuring neuroscientists, neurologists, historians, and meeee!
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@Sakiera_Hudson
Micro-level: Short sentences. Active verbs. Reduce adverbs.
Macro: reverse outline your drafts to locate thesis. Topic sentence for every paragraph. Don’t bury the lede.
Meta: writing is hard and takes practice. Almost everyone struggles. Keep showing up. 💕
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@NAChristakis
Academia is wonderful, challenging work that is a privilege to do. Academic institutions increasingly function like corporations. Academics are no longer just white men who have others taking care of their families. I can hold all of these ideas in my head at once.
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I'm employed because I have a flexible job, an employer that makes accommodations, and colleagues who care about me. On the days when I can't work? I try to remember that productivity does not equal my moral worth.
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Tune into NPR’s 1A at 10am for a show on migraine and women, featuring me,
@eloder
, and Dr. Carrie Dougherty.
#mham2024
@beth_morton
@Cluster_buster
@headachedoc
@ahsheadache
@AmaalStarlingMD
@miles4migraine
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Roses are red
Violets are blue
Migraine research is underfunded
So legislators, fund CARA, won't you?
#HOH2017
#healthpolicyvalentines
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Psychedelic Outlaws gets a starred review from Kirkus!
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@Cati_Connell
Worth noting that their justification is a bit more nuanced.
Still, "35" is a mysterious, magical number. Why is 35 ok, but 34 problematic?
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Hi all -- I'm so very excited and nervous about this segment!
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I’m spending today on Capitol Hill, asking our legislators to support funding for headache fellowships. Migraine is the 2nd leading cause of disability in the world—and only ~500 US Drs specialize in its treatment.
“Going to ER or Urgent care causes me anxiety because I don’t know if they will respect and utilize my treatment plan. I also received opioids frequently. “
@migrainediva
@patientaccess
#HOH2020
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I originally subtitled my book, ‘Hope, Deceit, & Survival at the Edge of Medicine’ but the press pushed for a more positive title to capture a Pollanesque zeitgeist.
It’s an audacious movement full of hope, but it’s never been all rainbows & unicorns.
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Imagine having the literal worst pain known to exist and having Medicare deny you oxygen therapy--the single, most effective treatment? Having now spent the last several years studying cluster headache, I can assure
@SeemaCMS
that oxygen *saves lives.*
.
@SeemaCMS
repeats that relief of recurrent daily excruciating cluster
#headache
#pain
in elderly Americans isn't enough priority to start review of
@CMS
refusal to cover home oxygen.
Thanks for your efforts,
@RepAndyHarrisMD
.
We'll keep at it with you.
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Eg, I rarely blog, but after writing a book about gender/headache medicine, I’ve continued to work in that field as an advocate. My public sociology seeks to transform biomedical research, healthcare practices and NIH policy. Hard to “see” that.
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Roses are red, violets are blue. Support the Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative Act (HR 4733/S 2260) before this epidemic affects you!
#HOH2018
#healthpolicyvalentines
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In Judaism, the Mourners Kaddish said to honor our loved ones never mentions death. Instead, the prayer asks God for peace.
“May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.”
Amen.
Rest in Power RBG. We’ve got this.
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I’m hardly alone. Loads of sociologists do this work! Sucks that not only does it go unacknowledged, we then have to listen to bros tell us that actually we don’t really care about publics.
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Get yourself a writing buddy who sends you socks as magical as these. Thanks
@JenniferReich1
!
These socks are powering me through chapter 2 of my new book on psychedelic medicine.
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Didn't have Prince Harry endorsing
#psychedelic
therapy on my 2023 bingo card. Imagine what William thought about all the ayahuasca purging happening at Frogmore!
#HarryTheInterview
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@sharilazarus
@ProfTWolf
@kdittmar
@RutgersU
@ruaaup
NB faculty member here to say—based on what assumption? This inequity has nothing to do with cost of living and absolutely everything to do with Rutgers consistent devaluing of the Camden campus.
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Despite writing a book on the subject, I don’t think I say it enough: migraine is dead serious. Chronic pain is a bitch. And it’s not just the pain. It’s the brain fog, exhaustion, sensory issues, nausea, etc... migraine manifests itself in so many ways.
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I have multiple invisible disabilities. Sometimes people with the same ask me how I keep working. Some weeks (like this week), when my body sucks, I wonder, too. But here's the secret:
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There’s an epic story behind this study…
Psychedelic compound reduces cluster headache frequency by 50% in new study via
@psypost
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People often share with me their "love" or "hate" for unions. Remember, a union is only as strong & democratic as its members 💪This contract represents 10+ years of work from
@ruaaup
members. We're building a movement to transform
@RutgersU
.
Three unions representing 9k workers
@RutgersU
have a Tentative Agreement. After a strike, and negotiations in Trenton and NB, we have a powerful contract. The process was hard and imperfect, but we are transforming higher ed.
@ABhsnj
@ruaaup
@ruaaup_ptl
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High flow oxygen *saves* lives. It's a safe, effective, and low-cost intervention for cluster headache--an extraordinarily painful disease. What a cruel, irrational decision to deny people with cluster headache coverage for oxygen therapy.
@CMSGov
@CMSgovPress
@SecAzar
.
@CMSGov
AGAIN refuses to cover oxygen for cluster
#headache
.
This is cruel obstinate irrational policy.
Thank you,
@RepAndyHarrisMD
, for your efforts to overturn it.
Next higher appeal would be to
@SecAzar
. We'll stay at it.
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Neşe Devenot is essential reading for those who want to understand the psychedelic movement.
I wrote about the clear contrast on SXSW's psychedelic track between the dominant narratives of psychedelic medicalization & the more exciting & nuanced perspectives that medicalization discourse seeks to obscure. "Counter-Narratives for the Psychedelic Status Quo" - link in bio.
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