Dollars and Cents: The Real Financial Stress of Being Sick
Release Date: 09/24/2025
MCAS vs Histamine Intolerance Why Your Body Reacts to Everything (And You’re Not Crazy)
Dear body, I’m listening
“A reaction is not a moral failure— it's information. Your body is just responding to something, and right now it's giving you signals that it doesn't want that or it needs some extra help.” —Donna Piper When every meal feels like a risk and symptoms seem to come out of nowhere, it can start to feel like the body has turned against us. Many in the chronic illness community are stuck between labels like “histamine intolerance” and “MCAS” while still getting no clear plan or validation. This conversation names what is happening in the body and why it is not “all in...
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Rest Without Guilt (When Your Worth Got Tied to Output)
Dear body, I’m listening
“Rest isn't a character flaw. It's what your body needs in order to heal from these invisible illnesses. And for some of us, it's also a grief process, because we're not just resting from task; we’re resting from the version of ourselves who thought we had to earn love through output.” —Donna Piper Ep 36 Shownotes: Podcast Platforms We talk about rest like it is simple, but for many bodies it brings guilt, fear, and shame. When worth gets tied to productivity, stopping can feel dangerous even when the body is breaking down. This conversation meets the tension...
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Is It POTS? When Standing Up Feels Like a Trap
Dear body, I’m listening
“You're not making it up. You're not weak, you're not failing. Your body is working hard to keep you upright, and you deserve support that matches the reality of that.” —Donna Piper Standing up should not require strategy, recovery time, or mental math. When heart rate spikes, dizziness hits, and showers wipe us out, the hardest part is not the symptom. It is being told nothing is wrong while our body says otherwise. Donna shares lived experience with POTS, dysautonomia, and multiple comorbidities, blending physiology with trauma-informed insight. Her work is shaped by years...
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Traveling with Chronic Illness: Germany Edition
Dear body, I’m listening
“If you're traveling with chronic illness, I want you to hear me. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have to prepare a little bit. You deserve to travel in a way that doesn't punish you, that helps you, that makes you feel good.” —Donna Piper Travel takes more out of the body than most people admit. For those living with chronic illness, the cost shows up before the suitcase is even packed. Energy drains through lines, noise, time pressure, swelling, and the fear of crashing far from home. Donna shares her real-time approach to spending a month in Germany while...
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Pack, Move, Fly, Heal: Why I’m Choosing Germany for Lipedema Surgery
Dear body, I’m listening
“Movement and less pain is why I'm doing this and why I've chosen to go to Germany.” —Donna Piper Big life changes rarely wait their turn. When health decisions collide with exhaustion, logistics, and uncertainty, clarity matters more than certainty. Donna shares the personal and medical reasoning behind traveling to Germany for lipedema surgery while managing multiple chronic conditions. This episode traces how lived experience, failed conservative treatments, and the need for long-term care shaped a choice rooted in mobility, pain reduction, and nervous system safety. Press play...
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Lipedema Surgery Vs. Non-Surgical Care… Do I Have To Choose?
Dear body, I’m listening
“Anything you choose is not weakness. It's the best for you… Instead of thinking surgery or no surgery, try this question: ‘What would make my next step safer?’... Safety is a step, not a switch.” —Donna Piper Pressure around medical choices can turn care into panic. When the body is complex and money, time, and fear are involved, certainty starts to feel like a deadline. This conversation slows that moment down and gives it room to breathe. In this episode, Donna shares her lived experience navigating lipedema and the long road of conservative care, research, and...
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Hot Flashes, Heavy Legs: Lipedema Meets Perimenopause & Menopause
Dear body, I’m listening
“Lipedema is not a willpower issue. Shame is not a treatment plan. Late diagnosis does not mean late reality. It means late recognition. Your best advocate is yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. You've just been navigating a body that hasn't been understood by the medical world yet. Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are.” —Donna Piper Bodies can change in ways that do not follow the rules we were taught. Pain, swelling, and heaviness show up, and the explanations never quite fit. Many women carry this quietly for years, assuming it is just weight or age....
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How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 4: Flare or Trauma Response? When the Body’s Signals Get Confusing
Dear body, I’m listening
“Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible.” —Donna Piper The body can shift from steady to overwhelmed without warning, leaving confusion about what just took over. Pain,...
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Transformation Boundaries: Protect Energy And Design A Purposeful Life with Didi Selwa
Dear body, I’m listening
“Move forward, take action. It may happen, it may not, but it's just about putting one step in front of the other— doing that is so important. When you go forward, you realize, ‘oh, that's not for me’, but in the process, you discover what is.” —Didi Selwa Drop the guilt of being stuck and discover a movement that meets your body where it is. Press play to hear how embodiment, faith, and small practical steps shift shame, chronic illness limits, and stalled dreams into forward motion. Didi Selwa went from a 25-year banking career to a Certified Transformational Life...
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The Science of Feeling Safe: Gentle Practices to Regulate Chronic Stress with Ann Diment
Dear body, I’m listening
"We are the experts in our well-being and our own bodies, and it's important for us to advocate for ourselves. We're not defined by our past. Our past is gone. It's in the past, and the beliefs we formed about ourselves based on what we've been told by other people or experienced in the past aren't necessarily true." —Ann Diment Some seasons of life push us past our limits, and the body keeps score long before we understand why. Many of us try to outwork the chaos, yet the real shift begins when we finally question the version of resilience we were taught to admire. There is a quieter...
info_outline"I'm not my bills. I'm not my debt. I am worthy of care." —Donna Piper
Being sick isn’t just exhausting—it’s expensive in ways nobody warns you about. The stress of medical bills, insurance denials, and endless receipts can weigh just as heavily as the symptoms themselves. If you’re tired of feeling like your wallet is as worn out as your body, you’re not alone.
In this episode, Donna opens up about the real price tag of chronic illness, sharing her journey through misdiagnoses, out-of-pocket treatments, and the emotional toll of fighting for care. She breaks down the true costs while offering hard-won tips for tracking expenses, finding support, and making every dollar count.
Tune in and get the unfiltered truth about insurance battles, budgeting for treatments, organizing medical expenses, funding hacks, and the mindset shifts that make it all survivable—plus a few laughs and a lot of solidarity.
Connect with Donna:
Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipedema_donna
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper
Episode Highlights:
01:30 Why Money Stress Hits Harder with Chronic Illness
06:12 The True Price of Treatments, Surgery, and All the Little Extras
17:04 Mindset Shift: Spending for Quality of Life, not Guilt
25:22 Smart Spending: Where to Splurge, Where to Save
31:16 Why Documentation and Planning Every Expense Matters
39:00 Shake Off the Stress: Letting Go of Financial Tension
46:05 Practical Reset: Clear Your Mind Before Spending
54:11 Make a Money Map
01:02:48 Money Stress is Felt by the Body
Resources:
🤔Got a question for me? Every month, I do a listener coaching episode—and I’d love to hear from you!
Send your questions, stories, or flare-up confessions to donna@donnapiper.com, and you just might hear your answer on the show.
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Money stress hits harder when you’re already fighting for your health. Get real talk on medical bills, insurance battles, and smart spending in this episode as Donna shares practical tips to track costs, budget smarter, and shake off the financial tension. #DearBodyImListeningPodcast #Lymphedema #lipedema #MCAS #ChronicIllness #HealthCosts #SelfCare #Insurance #FinancialHealth #PatientAdvocacy
Quotes:
01:49 "Financial stress has its own smell, its own energy, and you feel it everywhere when you live in a body like ours." —Donna Piper
03:23 "Being sick is expensive, and I don't just mean co-pays and deductibles. I mean the whole invisible price tag." —Donna Piper
15:27 "When I spend this money, I'm buying for something that is going to drastically shift my quality of life." —Donna Piper
16:26 "Stress fuels the inflammation, which then fuels all the other stuff that we have. Having chronic inflammation and having chronic stress feed off of each other." —Donna Piper
31:31 “Figure out what other comorbidities you may or may not have, and then start to make purchases based on what you need.” —Donna Piper
38:35 “Figure out where you need to splurge and save.” —Donna Piper
43:46 “Invest in something that you want to do and what you like to do.” –Donna Piper
51:52 "Think of a budget as what you want to spend, not what you are constricted by." —Donna Piper
54:17 "You can create a money map that supports your body without drowning your finances." —Donna Piper
01:04:33 "Say: I'm not my bills. I'm not my debt. I am worthy of care." —Donna Piper
01:05:21 "Just let your body feel free. Your body is already carrying enough. You don't have to carry the stress of money on top of it." —Donna Piper
01:07:11 "Say the numbers out loud, name the stress, and break the silence. It's a small rebellion, and it does help you come to grips with what is important." —Donna Piper
01:07:54 "Make the invisible visible with not only what the illnesses are, but all the other things that come with it." —Donna Piper
01:09:03 "Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are." —Donna Piper
Meet Your Host:
Donna Piper is a Relationship Coach, Trauma Expert, and Akashic Records Healer dedicated to empowering successful single women to transform their love lives and attract fulfilling partnerships without sacrificing their professional ambitions.
With a holistic approach blending therapeutic coaching, trauma-informed techniques, and Akashic Records wisdom, she guides clients to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional blocks, and cultivate unshakable self-trust. Her work focuses on aligning mind, body, and spirit to create lasting change—helping clients refine communication, deepen self-worth, and build the foundation for healthy, loving relationships.
Donna’s sessions are a safe haven for those ready to break cycles, embrace vulnerability, and design a love life that harmonizes with their thriving careers. For women committed to both personal and professional fulfillment, she offers tailored strategies to unlock their full potential and step into the relationship of their dreams.