What do menstrual cramps, hot flashes, one bowel movement every three days and heartburn have in common? They are all symptoms we would classify as common, but none of them are normal. We have grown up in a culture where we pop an anti-inflammatory to manage pain and an antacid to cope with post-consumptive heartburn. We do it over and over again, rarely stopping to ask, does this happen to everyone? I spend my days talking to people about their health. We examine the big things that brought them through the door, but we dedicate an equal amount of time to checking-in on the small stuff. Bowel habits, menstrual cramps, pain during intercourse, we discuss it all. Remarkable in this investigation is not that we have the opportunity to discuss these matters, it is the amazement on people’s faces when they realize that their weekly headaches, post-nasal drip or joint pain are a common, but not necessarily “normal” part of our physiological experience. 

Acknowledging these common symptoms does not negate the notion that the range of normal for a population can be varied, or that it is in fact expected that we will oscillate in and out of a state “ideal” health. It is the chronic presence of “common” symptoms that I am attempting to honour. Appropriate medical evaluations will help to elucidate when, as clinicians, we [...]