Amanda Osowski

I have lived in the midwest my whole life, growing up in Illinois and attending college in Iowa. I am used to the saying, "If you don’t like the weather...

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the fall of 2016 at age 30, although in retrospect, I’d likely been dealing with the disease for most of my life...

As someone who has experienced joint pain and lived with rheumatoid arthritis for most of my life now, there is one consistent question I ask myself: How do you get...

I’ve spent my whole life with joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. In my younger years, it was chalked up to growing pains or injuries from being athletic. It wasn’t until...

I've lived with joint pain for most of my life and have officially carried the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis for nearly 7 years now. I've explored a lot of different...

I’ve lived with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms since childhood, and an official diagnosis/treatment plan since late 2016; and still, to this day, I find myself learning things about the disease...

For as long as I can remember, I've found that non-medicinal methods of managing my RA have been just as important as the medication I take (currently Remicade). I've used...

I am hardly ever a person who gets a fever. To be honest, I can count on one hand the number of fevers I experienced during this past year. And...

I live with several comorbid conditions along with rheumatoid arthritis. Some of them have distinct symptoms, but many of them happen to cause similar responses in my body. Recently, I've...

I've been lucky enough to have had care with the same rheumatologist for the last 8 years, covering my diagnostic odyssey, medication trials, and luckily, now, several years of remission from...

The first few times I heard these words from my daughter were about a year ago. She was around 3.5 years old, and not only really noticing things around her...

I have previously written about an initial injury (a herniated disc), which led to a very difficult surgery and recovery, and then how adaptations made to move and exist during...

When I was finally diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I was already living with Crohn's disease, another autoimmune disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Because of this, I was actually already...

An open letter to my younger self, before I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis: Dear Amanda, There's so much I want to tell you about, but I'm going to start...

As someone who lives with chronic illness, I have come to expect the unexpected in many ways. Unfortunately, life still throws curveballs our way. This summer, my lower back pain...

I recently shared an article about my emergency spinal surgery last fall and how the required adaptations following that procedure required me to avoid bending or twisting at the hips...

I recently shared an article about an unexpected, rather emergent surgery I had to repair a ruptured disc in my back. The injury, subsequent quest for surgery, and recovery shook...

Before I was a mother, I dreamed about all of the things that I would do with my children. From thoughts of carrying them on my hip through stores, chasing...

Along with rheumatoid arthritis, I live with another autoimmune condition called Crohn's disease. Luckily, the same systemic biologic I was prescribed for Crohn's also manages my arthritis. In general, I'm...

I love going to events. Things like concerts, listening to speakers, book tours, comedy shows, exhibits, conferences, comic con - you name it, and I've likely considered attending it. Logistics...