Living

Unfortunately, inflammation is my superpower. It is unfortunate because I’m both very good at creating inflammation and, yet, haven’t found a useful purpose for this superpower. In the last couple...

From the time I was 8 years old, my Christmas memories were of my mother's constant fight to live. My mother suffered from Type 1 diabetes. I say suffered because...

So, you probably don’t know this since I don’t write about it much, but my husband is a man for which I will sing praises until the end of time...

Some people believe that accepting and moving forward with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis may lead to surrendering to it as well. I am not one of those people. I think that...

When I was a kid, Saturday morning was my jam. And my favorite part of the morning was watching Bugs Bunny on the Looney Tunes hour of Saturday morning cartoons...

Rheumatoid arthritis affects every aspect of a person’s life. It affects a person physically, socially, and mentally. It also impacts their ability to perform everyday activities, work, and go to...

The holidays. There is nary a more stressful time when it comes to dealing with people and as much as I love "people," I also say, "Ugh, have you met...

I ran across an old article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled the “Effects of Writing About Stressful Experiences on Symptom Reduction in Patients with Asthma or...

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that vitamin D supplementation increases a person's risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Research shows that vitamin D has many...

There's a lot of grief in having rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We know the pain that RA causes (achy joints, low-grade fevers, tons of co-morbidities, etc.), but what are the elements...

After my diagnosis with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (now juvenile idiopathic arthritis) as a child, I have made regular visits to the ophthalmologist to get my eyes checked. At the time...

Insurance. It’s a necessary evil when living with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic illness and many of us spend an inordinate amount of time doing so. Prior approvals, EOBs, authorizations, co-pays...

The RheumatoidArthritis.net community forum is an insightful resource filled with thoughtful questions, tips, and perspectives. Each month we are sharing 5 forum discussions we think deserve extra attention. Explore the...

I’ve written a few articles about the lovely compassion of people in the face of my disability and I have another one for you! This summer 2021, I returned to...

While I live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I also manage Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines. In fact, for many years, my RA symptoms were overshadowed by...

My rheumatologist put me back on Humira for the third time a while ago and I still haven't started it. I know, it's bad that I'm not being compliant with...

Sleep and I have a complicated history. I’ve never been the type of person who hits the pillow, closes her eyes, and starts snoring. Growing up with JRA, I would...

Who sang along with me to the tune of Nat King Cole’s "Unforgettable"? It’s hard not to sing along because otherwise, we might cry. While you never get used to...

Researchers at the University of Toledo recently reported the potential of creating a vaccine against rheumatoid arthritis by discovering a molecule that suppresses the disease in animals. The findings are...

Something I wish I'd learned a long time ago was that an orgasm could temporarily reduce the pain I was struggling with from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It's bold and, to...