Author: Emma Yasinski

Emma Yasinski

I am a freelance science and medical journalist, fascinated by how the scientific process leads to incredible discoveries, but also can lead to publication bias leaning toward positive findings and minimizing negatives. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Lafayette College and a Master’s in Science and Medical Journalism from Boston University, I’ve written about clinical trial transparency, organ donation, and basic molecular biology for publications like The Scientist, The Atlantic, Undark.org, Kaiser Health News, and more. At MedShadow, I research and write about the sometimes unexpected ways that medicines can affect us, and what we can do if and when it does.

A few months into the pandemic, researchers learned that some patients were reporting that some of their Covid symptoms,  like shortness of breath, brain fog, diabetes, and heart problems, persisted long after they’d tested negative for COVID-19. A doctor in Italy was the first to use the term, “long Covid” when she described  the disease as cyclical, progressive, and multiphasic. When COVID-19 first emerged, doctors identified it only as a respiratory virus—one that primarily affects the nose, throat, and lungs, causing coughing and shortness of breath. Over time, physicians found that the virus seemed to produce many other symptoms not…

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Usually, our immune systems protect us from all kinds of outside invaders like the bacteria that causes strep throat and the virus that causes COVID, but what happens when our immune system’s highly-specialized antibodies, white blood cells, and inflammatory molecules glitch and turn against us, attacking our body’s own tissues and organs? We get autoimmune diseases.  There are 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and they’re often difficult to diagnose. The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can vary widely based on the parts of the body that are affected. Often, the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, like painful swelling and inflammation, change from…

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Olivia Walker was diagnosed with Lupus when she was just 6 years old. Over the past 25 years, she’s been prescribed “nearly everything on the market.”  For the most part, that consists of over the counter painkillers, corticosteroids, and hydroxychloroquine (yes, the one that some thought could help treat COVID early in the pandemic.) Just recently, she started taking Benlysta (belimumab), a drug approved in 2011 specifically for lupus.  “It has been my favorite of the treatments I’ve taken over the last 25-plus years,” she says. “I find myself having more energy and fewer symptoms.”  But Walker is Black, and…

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Morgan’s parents weren’t too concerned in August of 2021, when her daughter had a fever. After all, she’d recovered from COVID-19 just a few weeks before. Her parents figured it was just a cold. But within a few days, the 8-year-old was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, rash, aches, and stomach pain. Her heart rate skyrocketed while her blood pressure dropped. She stayed in the hospital for about two weeks, where doctors gave her corticosteroids to ease the inflammation rioting through her body.    Her COVID-19 infection weeks before had triggered an immune response that went haywire and…

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[Editor’s note January 2023: Evusheld is no longer authorized for COVID-19 prevention, since it does not appear to be effective against the newest variants.] None of the COVID-19 vaccinations guarantee immunocompromised people much protection from the disease, but now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an antibody engineered to protect you from getting COVID-19.  Only 27% of transplant recipients, for example, who are severely immunocompromised,  mounted a sufficient antibody response after two doses of an mRNA vaccine, made by Moderna and Pfizer. The immunocompromised state is due to drugs prescribed to prevent their immune systems from rejecting a…

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When Pat (now 71) was in her 40s, her vaginal dryness became so severe that the vaginal tissue would flare with even a gentle wipe. She’d been exposed to a drug called DES (diethylstilbestrol) when she was in utero, which caused myriad health issues as she grew up, and was likely behind the dryness. For her, coconut oil made a huge difference. “If only I had known I was not alone with this personal issue,” she says. Vaginal dryness is likely more common than you think. It can affect women of any age, but is especially prevalent among those who…

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It took seven years for Madeline Shonka to be diagnosed with lupus. Unfortunately, her struggles didn’t end there.  The side effects of medications for lupus that her healthcare providers prescribed were often debilitating side effects, such as weight gain, rashes and even difficulty managing anger. Then, over time, her physicians tested different, better-suited treatments on Shonka. She found that certain new habits, like light exercise, made a big difference in her quality of life. She then founded Co-immunity, which hosts support groups for patients with chronic illnesses, so that they can share their experiences. What Is Lupus? Lupus is an…

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Madeline Shonka told MedShadow it took her years to get an accurate lupus diagnosis. Even then, she had to go through trial and error with many different combinations of medications for treatment, all the while trying to decipher the best lifestyle changes to manage her condition. For example, she eventually discovered that making time for light exercise had a huge positive impact on her quality of life. Jill Dehlin, an RN who suffers from migraines, told MedShadow that tracking her symptoms helped immensely. “I recommend to everyone that I speak with to keep a journal or diary and keep track…

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