Infections, Vaccines, and GLP-1s for Hypermobility with Dr. Ina Stephens | Ep 219

If an infection triggered your mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), Sjögren’s, or dysautonomia, can treating that infection reverse it?

In this episode of the Bendy Bodies Podcast, Dr. Linda Bluestein and Dr. Ina Stephens answer a listener questions.

Dr. Stephens explains molecular mimicry and how a virus like Epstein-Barr can set off autoimmune conditions such as Sjögren’s in genetically predisposed people, and why killing the infection does not undo that autoimmune cascade. The conversation then moves into one of the most charged topics in the chronic illness world: vaccines. She shares an evidence-based view on the shingles vaccine, flu shots, and COVID boosters, who should be cautious, and why reaching for ibuprofen after a shot can blunt your immune response (reach for acetaminophen instead). Finally, Dr. Bluestein and Dr. Stephens dig into GLP-1 medications like tirzepatide and semaglutide, and the surprising, still-anecdotal reports that microdoses as low as a fraction of the weight-loss dose may calm refractory MCAS, inflammation, and pain. This episode offers practical, hopeful information for anyone told there’s “nothing you can do.”

Takeaways:

If an infection set off your Sjögren’s or MCAS, can treating it make the condition disappear? The answer reframes what “healing the trigger” really means.

How can a common virus like Epstein-Barr switch on an autoimmune disease years later? Molecular mimicry may be the hidden link.

Should you get the shingles vaccine if you have EDS? A vaccinologist explains why postherpetic neuralgia pain is worth preventing.

Why might that ibuprofen after your flu shot actually work against you? One painkiller can blunt the immune response you’re trying to build.

Had a bad reaction to a COVID vaccine that flared your symptoms for good? Here’s who Dr. Stephens says should skip the booster, and who shouldn’t.

Want to learn more about the UVA EDS Center?

For Appointments and Questions: [email protected] EDS: https://www.uvahealth.com/healthy-practice/advancing-care-through-ehlers-danlos-clinicUVA EDS FAQ: https://www.uvahealth.com/support/eds/faq

UVA Pediatric Integrative Medicine: https://childrens.uvahealth.com/specialties/integrative-health

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