About Dr Dialogue Series

Living with EDS, MCAS, Dysautonomia, and the rest of the chronic alphabet means living in a body that doesn’t always make sense. For 30 years, I sat in exam rooms trying to explain what it felt like to live in a body that didn’t follow the rules in the textbooks. I knew something was wrong, but the language to prove it didn’t exist yet, so I decided to build it myself.

I’ve spent over a decade and a half researching, documenting patterns, and talking with medical professionals across specialties from genetics to gastroenterology, immunology, neurology, and more. I wouldn’t stop until I began finding real answers and connections that made sense. These clinic briefs were born from that persistence and from the realization that doctors see data while patients feel pain. Somewhere between those two worlds, people get lost.

I’m creating these handouts to bridge that gap, to turn invisible symptoms into something visible, structured, and credible. So that the next person who walks into an appointment doesn’t have to collapse under disbelief.

Every page here is designed to translate lived experience into clear, evidence based information that medical professionals can understand. Because being heard shouldn’t depend on how well you can advocate, it should depend on how well your story is communicated.

I was once the patient nobody knew how to help. Now, I’m building the tools that make sure others don’t have to stay that way.

New files will be uploaded frequently.

Wishing you all the luck in the universe!

-Melissa Madrigal