I don't feel normal. I'm always tired, no matter how much sleep I get. Last week, I nodded off at a meeting — even though I was outside and standing up.

My mouth and eyes always feel dry, despite my drinking 100 ounces of water a day.

In so many words, the doctors have called me a hypochondriac.

Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night with cramps in my calves. I occasionally get electric shock-type feelings in my toes. I have sciatica that never fully healed, and there is a bump on the base of my lower spine that stinks.

The doctors who work for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation say my problems aren't life threatening or even medical. All my blood and urine tests read normal, so they think my issues are mental, maybe caused by depression.

I don't feel like a hypochondriac, though. Yeah, maybe I am a little depressed, but who in prison isn't? But it's also unhealthy: The prison largely serves and sells processed foods, and they keep us in cages.

How can I eat like this for over a decade, sleep on a thin mattress over a metal bunk, and still be healthy?

Read the full article on prison health care by Rahsaan Thomas at The Marshall Project