Dennis Henson is an author and researcher who survived three strokes beginning in 2018 and spent seven years rebuilding his health when doctors said he'd keep having them for the rest of his life. He documented his recovery in a free 39-point protocol at bodyofhealth.life. Dennis and Kim cover the mindset that drove his recovery ("This is not a problem, it's a project"), the nitrous oxide and citrulline combination that reversed his carotid blockage, the brain's redundancy system that helped him reclaim his memory, why sweating is his number one recommendation, and the G vitamin gratitude that changed everything.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction
01:16 Dennis's Story: Three Strokes Starting in 2018
05:19 "This Is Not a Problem — It's a Project"
10:21 The Brain's Backup System
12:14 Reversing the Carotid Blockage
14:50 Nitrous Oxide, Citrulline & the 39 Habits
16:55 bodyofhealth.life: The Free Protocol
19:20 The G Vitamin: Gratitude
21:33 Sauna, Sweating & His #1 Recommendation
26:03 Connect with Dennis Henson

CONNECT & RESOURCES

Free 39-point protocol: bodyofhealth.life
Books: dennisjhenson.com

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Kristen Renee Appleby is an author, speaker, and transformational coach who spent 15 years navigating rheumatoid arthritis, corporate burnout, and the radical life changes that ultimately healed her: selling her house, moving states, and learning to listen to her body instead of fearing it. Her books The Elements of Healing and Healing the Money Wound distill that journey into a practical framework for rebuilding from the inside out. Kristen and Kim cover the body-communicating concept, why healing requires addressing all parts of your life at once, the self-acceptance and forgiveness work that underlies everything, and why the same mindset shift that helped Kristen heal physically also transformed her finances.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction
01:26 Kristen's Story: Keeping Up the Perfect Exterior
02:50 The RA Diagnosis
08:17 Selling Everything and Starting Over
10:17 Why Your Whole Life Is the Protocol
17:16 Your Body Is Communicating — Not Attacking
18:33 Physical Health and Financial Health: The Same Mindset
24:56 Processing the Yuck: The Only Way Through Is Through
27:45 The Books: The Elements of Healing + Healing the Money Wound

CONNECT & RESOURCES

🌐 Website: kristenrenerebuilding.com
📘 Book: The Elements of Healing
📘 Book: Healing the Money Wound

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Bob Bekian is a Hollywood producer and director with 25 years of credits alongside Shirley MacLaine, Snoop Dogg, and dozens of sports and political figures. After a perfect storm of setbacks, COVID shutdowns, family loss, and two close friends who died from self-destructive choices, Bob built a research-backed system for getting back to yourself. His book, 10 Ways to Feel Better, is the result. Bob and Kim cover self-acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, the nine-month personal commitment that changed Bob's relationships, and the Golden Triangle of nutrition, sleep, and exercise behind lasting mental and physical health.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction
01:37 Bob Bekian: 25 Years in Hollywood
02:05 A Perfect Storm of Setbacks
03:32 Happiness Is a Choice
05:26 Self-Acceptance & Forgiveness: Start Where You Are
09:08 Small Promises and Grow Forward
12:17 Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
16:17 Stop Taking Things Personally
20:39 The Golden Triangle: Nutrition, Sleep & Exercise
31:06 Connect with Bob / 10 Ways to Feel Better

CONNECT & RESOURCES

🌐 Website: Bob Bekian
📚 10 Ways to Feel Better — bobbekian.com (signed copies) & Amazon ($0.99 download)

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Maryanne Peng was six weeks old when she was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare condition where the bile ducts are absent or blocked from birth. She had a Kasai surgery, a procedure that works in roughly 20–25% of cases. Hers worked. Her liver is still her own, still functioning. But surviving the surgery is only the start of what Maryanne has navigated: childhood spent in and out of hospitals, medications that affected her mental health, the transition from pediatric to adult care with no real infrastructure, and years of personal struggle before finding her way back.

Today Maryanne lives in Napa, California, is in recovery, and advocates for living organ donation. She talks with Kim Nash about what biliary atresia actually is, how the Kasai procedure works, the physical experience of living with liver disease, and why she believes the living donor conversation needs to happen far more often than it does.

CHAPTERS/TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction to Chronic Illness and Personal Stories

03:11 Understanding Biliary Atresia and Its Impact

05:54 Navigating Childhood with Chronic Illness

09:08 Mental Health Struggles and Drug Addiction

11:54 The Importance of Mental Health Support

15:11 Diet and Lifestyle Choices for Liver Health

17:55 The Journey to Recovery and Advocacy

21:13 Organ Donation and Living Donors

23:53 The Role of Community in Chronic Illness

26:55 Conclusion and Call to Action

CONNECT & RESOURCES

📱 Instagram: @taiwanesewonderwoman
💼 LinkedIn: Maryanne Peng Rodriguez
🌐 Website: Living Donor Registry

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Most patients decline the pharmacy consultation. Dr. Melissa Durham wants you to stop doing that. On this episode of The Chronic Truth, clinical pharmacist and USC Pain Center professor Dr. Melissa Durham talks with Kim about the pharmacist's role in chronic pain management, de-escalating meds, catching dangerous interactions, identifying drugs that have been forgotten about for years, and advocating for patients when the system creates roadblocks. She covers the opioid epidemic's three waves, the unintended consequences of the CDC guidelines, and what you can do right now to get more out of your healthcare team. Find her at @thepainpharmacist on Instagram and thepainpharmacist.com.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction to Chronic Pain Management

02:54 The Role of Pharmacists in Pain Management

05:48 Navigating the Opioid Epidemic

09:02 The Evolution of Pain Relief Strategies

11:51 The Importance of Medication Management

15:12 Building Relationships with Pharmacists

18:01 Integrating Technology in Healthcare

21:00 The Patient's Role in Their Care

24:05 Conclusion and Resources

CONNECT & RESOURCES

Instagram: @thepainpharmacist
LinkedIn: Dr. Melissa Durham
Website: thepainpharmacist.com
Clinic: USC Pain Center, Los Angeles, CA (Keck Medicine)

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Dr. Malaysia Harrell built her life on achievement Air Force, U.S. Public Health Service, working with the Surgeon General until a 2020 near-death experience left her with sepsis, Bell's palsy, oral chemo, and no idea who she was without her career. On Episode 100 of The Chronic Truth, Dr. Harrell talks with Kim about why high-achieving women burn out behind a mask of success, how trauma collects in the body until the closet gets full, and what surrender actually looks like when you've spent a lifetime in control. Plus: Kim's most personal disclosure yet and the reframe that might change how you see your own story. Find Dr. Harrell at MalaysiaHarrell.com and Blissful Life Consulting at blissfullifeconsulting.com.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 The Burden of Trauma

01:45 Dr. Harrell's Journey to Healing

05:57 Rebuilding Identity After Crisis

09:43 The Impact of Social Media on Success

13:30 Understanding Trauma's Effects on the Body

17:47 Perfectionism and Its Consequences

21:29 Finding Purpose Beyond Perfection

25:33 Empowering the Patient's Voice

29:39 The Importance of Community and Support

CONNECT & RESOURCES

📱 Instagram: @malaysiahharrell
💼 LinkedIn: Dr. Malaysia Harrell
📘 Facebook: Dr. Malaysia Harrell
🌐 Website: MalaysiaHarrell.com
🌐 Business: blissfullifeconsulting.com
🌻 Hidden Disabilities Sunflower: hdsunflower.com

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Nancy Deyo was a Silicon Valley CEO who climbed Kilimanjaro to prove she was still worthy after selling her startup and came down unable to move her legs. What followed was fifteen years of chronic pain, misdiagnosis, three spinal surgeries, fentanyl dependence, and a one-year taper back to life. On this episode of The Chronic Truth, Nancy and Kim talk about what opioid withdrawal actually feels like, why women in pain get referred to psych while men get the painkillers, and what it means to rebuild resilience from the ground up. Nancy's memoir Perilous Ascent is forthcoming. Find her on Substack.

CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction to Chronic Pain and Resilience
06:08 The Journey of Climbing Kilimanjaro
11:59 The Struggles with Opioid Dependence
18:09 Gender Bias in Pain Treatment
24:00 Impact on Relationships and Support Systems
30:01 Writing the Memoir and Sharing the Story

CONNECT & RESOURCES

🌐 Website: https://nancydeyo.com
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nsdeyo
🔗 Substack: https://nancydeyo.substack.com
📚 Perilous Ascent — Forthcoming; publisher being finalized at time of recording

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic

Deanna Steinle was diagnosed with Generalized Myasthenia Gravis at thirty a neuromuscular disease with no cure that can affect every voluntary muscle in the body, including the ability to breathe. Today she's a rare disease advocate, speaker, and the face of the Rare Connections: GMG film produced by Alexion. Deanna and Kim talk about the crisis that led to her diagnosis, the grief of losing the life you planned, and why the people standing next to us matter as much as any treatment. A powerful conversation for every chronic illness community.
CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Meet Deanna Steinle: Advocating for the GMG Community
02:35 A Late Diagnosis: Deanna's Journey to Understanding Her Symptoms
05:00 Accepting a Life Forever Changed
06:55 What Rare Disease Communities Have in Common
09:05 Inside the Rare Connections GMG Film
12:52 Tools Every Chronic Illness Community Can Use
14:55 Loving on Our Caregivers: The Forgotten Side of Diagnosis
19:34 Where to Watch and Connect with Deanna

CONNECT & RESOURCES

Deanna Steinle:

🔗 Instagram: Resilience is Beautiful
🔗 Facebook: Deanna Steinle
🔗 LinkedIn: Deanna Steinle
🎬 Rare Connections: GMG

The Chronic Truth Podcast:

🌐 Website: chronictruthpodcast.com
📱 Instagram: @ChronicTruthPodcast
📘 TikTok: @chronictruthpodcast
💬 Share Your Story: Testimonials
📋 Community Survey: Survey

Production Partner: Podcast Mechanic