Living

One of my favorite summer shows is about a concierge doctor in the Hamptons, New York. In one episode, a patient spends his entire adult life with a MS diagnosis;...

It's July, and July in Minnesota (usually) means hot, muggy, humid, tropical, oppressive, and miserable weather. The miserable part is my own opinion, of course; some crazy people love living...

The title of this article is my favorite definition of pain. Pain is an unpleasant experience that is subjective in nature, with a physiological component; this definition may be more...

There is a lot of discussion of obesity and rheumatoid arthritis (including many great articles on this site). But I am given to wonder, which came first – the RA...

So, I’m just making my bed, a small chore I do every single morning without much thought. Neatening my bedroom for the coming day lightens my mood and puts a...

A very interesting thing happened to me a few weeks ago: I attended my 10-year high school reunion. First of all, I am not old enough for this reunion. Second...

I recently was talking to a good friend of mine who lives with ulcerative colitis, and the conversation turned toward how hard answers can be to seemingly innocuous and easy...

My husband and I really enjoy travel. We visit family, friends, and take trips to different places to see the sights, enjoy the food, and discover new experiences. I’ve felt...

I was recently at a meeting that included a number of other RA patient advocates. Over lunch, conversation turned (not unexpectedly) to various treatments and side effects. One of the...

Below is a screenshot from my phone. It shows a recent night of sleep tracking from my Fitbit. The red parts are when I was awake. It’s pretty easy to...

We have all heard about how certain events or changes in our lives can produce stress.  Marriage, divorce, the death of a loved one, a new job, moving to a...

It was a dream job. One of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to do meaningful work you enjoy with people you respect at a generous salary. Those jobs are rare to begin...

I recently found myself suddenly in the middle of a heated debate about opioids and pain treatment via an E-mail thread, surprisingly made up of other patients and patient advocates...

When was the last time you pushed yourself too far and suffered the consequences of extra pain, stiffness and disability? My arms and legs screamed in pain. I felt the...

Marc Ian Barasch is someone I discovered about ten years ago when I came across his books, The Healing Path, A Soul Approach to illness, and Remarkable Recovery, which he...

Sometimes I get angry with the mirror. I feel it doesn’t reflect how I am feeling—specifically, how I am feeling on a bad RA day. There’s the saying: “It is...

The ribs are an important part of our bodies. They protect our lungs and hearts and other organs like the spleen. They help us breathe by aiding the lungs and...

Between driving to doctor’s appointments, picking up prescriptions, and getting to therapy, you have plenty of places to go, in addition to work/school, family responsibilities, and/or social activities, driving is...

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how what I have learned from my father has helped me to live with rheumatoid arthritis. Actually, it’s not just really about the RA, but...

Is weakness a state of mind? A feeling? Is it physical or mental? Can I control it? The definition of "weakness" is lacking in strength, feeble or slight defect so...