Events

Living with dietary restrictions can make food complicated, especially when you’re navigating chronic illness, social situations, judgment from others, and changing nutritional needs.

In this conversation, Sam sits down with Kara Corey, a registered dietitian with more than 20 years of experience, to talk about the realities of managing dietary restrictions and maintaining a healthy relationship with food.

Kara and Sam discuss the importance of self-advocacy, nutrition education, mindset, and support systems when your diet is dictated by medical needs. They explore why advocating for yourself around food can be difficult, how to handle social situations and other people’s judgments, and why having dietary restrictions doesn’t mean you should have to constantly defend your food choices.

They also discuss the emotional side of food and chronic illness, including the challenges of maintaining a positive relationship with food while trying to meet your individual nutritional needs.

Whether you live with gastroparesis, another digestive disorder, chronic illness, food intolerances, or medically necessary dietary restrictions, this conversation offers practical insight and encouragement for navigating food with more confidence and self-advocacy.

Kara brings more than two decades of registered dietitian experience to this conversation, offering perspective on the complex intersection of nutrition, chronic illness, food, and quality of life.

If you’ve ever felt judged, isolated, or misunderstood because of what you can or can’t eat, this conversation is for you.

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical  nutrition advice. 

Living with chronic illness can affect far more than your physical health; it can change your identity, relationships, mental health, and sense of connection.
In this episode of Surviving Out of Spite, Sam sits down with psychotherapist and fellow patient Jodi Taub to discuss the emotional realities of chronic illness, medical trauma, mental health, and relationships.
They explore isolation, feeling like a burden, the “shame-burden cycle,” asking for help, communicating your needs, and supporting loved ones through chronic illness. They also discuss medical trauma, changes in identity, peer support, coping strategies, therapy, and the possibility of post-traumatic growth.
Most importantly, this conversation looks at how relationships, connection, meaning, and purpose can help us navigate life when illness makes everything unpredictable.
If you live with gastroparesis or another chronic illness, or support someone who does, this conversation offers validation, perspective, and practical insight into the emotional side of chronic illness.

Are we treating gastroparesis all wrong?

In this conversation, Sam and Dr. Zachary Spiritos explore the complexities of gastroparesis, chronic illness, autoimmune disease, dysautonomia, and the gut-brain connection, and why treating gastroparesis may require looking beyond a gastric emptying test.

They chat about the limitations of gastric emptying studies, the wide range of gastroparesis symptoms, and the importance of understanding potential underlying causes. They also explore how autoimmunity, dysautonomia, stress, and the nervous system can interact with gastrointestinal health.

The conversation goes beyond diagnosis and treatment to address patient advocacy, compassionate care, medical research, gender bias, and the importance of listening to patient experiences. They discuss why better communication between patients and healthcare providers and a more curious, holistic approach to chronic illness is so important.

If you live with gastroparesis or chronic illness, this conversation offers an important look at why the whole patient matters.

What happens when gastroparesis makes eating and drinking enough nearly impossible? When do feeding tubes or TPN become part of treatment?
In this episode of Surviving Out of Spite, Sam sits down with Dr. Kent Sasse, a surgeon with decades of experience treating gastroparesis, to talk about nutritional support, feeding tubes, TPN, and the realities of living with severe gastroparesis.
Most importantly, this conversation challenges the idea that nutritional support is a “last resort.” For some patients, it can provide the nutrition, strength, and stability needed to get back to living life.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.