Living

I’ve often said being young with Rheumatoid Arthritis presents some unique challenges and deciding to show my symptoms is a regular debate. I do have a disability placard for my...

The other day I read an interesting article that caught my attention, written by my friend Wren for RheumatoidArthritis.net: "The PTSD of RA." She wrote about RA or RD (rheumatoid...

You know how sometimes someone’s stomach hurts after a meal. The more you think about it the more certain you become that it’s the cause of food poisoning, then you...

I’ve come to realize that my life is fight club. And I’m about to break the first (and second) rules by talking about it. It must have started when I...

It has occurred to me that our culture consistently and relentlessly encourages us to compare ourselves in so many ways to everyone else that we are in danger of losing...

I have rheumatoid disease (arthritis). It’s just one of many rheumatic diseases, which, according to the American College of Rheumatology, are “often lumped under the term arthritis, which describes over...

Labor Day marked the last day of the Minnesota State Fair a.k.a. "The Great Minnesota Get-Together," as it always does. Each year, thousands of people gather at the fairgrounds in late...

Last month my father underwent an arthroscopy, or knee cleaning. During high school, forty some years ago, he sustained a soccer injury where an opponent accidentally kicked him in the...

I spend a great deal of time considering what food to eat, especially since RA has brought along the fun side effect of added weight thanks to the medications I...

"Replace all of your lists of things to do with lists of how you want to feel." --Maryam Hasnaa I came across this quote by Maryam Hasnaa on Instagram some...

My mother’s death day anniversary was at the beginning of August. She passed away when I was 12 and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. But...

I used to hate going to the doctor’s. It was time ill spent and usually came with needle sticks, blood and urine. Everything I disliked. I also was a very...

It’s nearing two decades since my diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis/rheumatoid disease (RA/RD). Before long, the post-diagnosis length of my life’s timeline will be longer than the stretch before I knew...

My first experience with numbness related to my life with rheumatoid arthritis occurred after my double knee replacement surgeries when I was a teenager. While the incision healed, I was...

Attempting to clean my bedroom the other day, I found a couple of worn old notebooks lying buried in a pile on the floor. I hadn't looked at them for...

At a recent conference, one of the marketing guru speakers argued that “we’re all competing against the best experience ever had by a customer!” It sounded nice, but I couldn’t...

“Ow, I hurt.” “WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK FOR HELP??” “...” I recently wrote an article asking why I continually push my limits. Many community members commented with their experiences with...

As I write this, I am at home in front of my computer instead of riding my bicycle.  Instead, I am sitting here nursing a broken foot one day away...

Even after all these years, I am still shocked (yes, shocked) by the vast number of outlandish ideas people have about rheumatoid arthritis. I thought, just by my own personal...

I’m sitting here writing with my stationary bicycle next to me and I’m pondering my next move. Do I force my painful, swollen knees and ankles to get on and...