Living

There are two things I have found that solicit the most unwanted and inaccurate advice from others: rheumatoid arthritis and parenting. Whether it is friends, family members, or casual conversation...

Dear Mom, I'm not Prince. I'm not secretly taking Fentanyl or having to land my private jet in Illinois in order to get revived from a drug overdose. I'm not addicted...

OK, this is something we’ve really got to talk about. Yes, it’s a bit awkward; it’s the kind of thing we usually don’t discuss in polite company. But if you’ve...

Living with rheumatoid arthritis is frustrating to say the least. This disease causes pain, inflammation, and fatigue, all of which can place limitations on one's activity level. While that's bad...

Note:If you haven’t read my earlier posts, “The War On Opioids Comes Home” and “Laying Off Opioids: Part 1,” you might want to now. They’ll give context to this post...

I just got married, for the first time, at the age of 47. Growing up with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (now called juvenile idiopathic arthritis), I wasn’t sure this would ever...

Seeing Instagram or Facebook photos of fellow RA sufferers, my "Spoonies," running in marathons or completing triathlons is amazing and inspiring. Running, mountain-climbing, hiking, biking very long distances at a...

Ever wonder why the RA drugs you take only seem to affect certain joints? Or why the drugs might be literally life-changing to one person with rheumatoid disease, but have...

Most people are surprised when they hear that I have rheumatoid arthritis. This is in part due to RA being an "invisible disability," meaning that I may look fine on...

I’ve loved to read since I learned how as a little girl. Reading has always informed and even transformed my days, my nights, and my life. With a book in...

Living with a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis requires my active engagement in managing my health. I have learned that being knowledgeable and inquisitive about my care and maintaining my...

Despite the fact that I, and many of us, have terrific support, there is still a strong sense of loneliness that accompanies RA.  At first glance, one may think that...

I am losing my grip. I don’t mean my grip on reality (although that’s a possibility). I mean the physical grip in my hands. When I was diagnosed, there was...

Like many of you out there, I have some degree of pain every single day. The last time I had a completely pain-free day was sometime in early 1997, I'd...

Of all the things about rheumatoid arthritis I hate (and there are too many to list here), fatigue has to be one of the worst. RA-related fatigue is not being...

Many of us with RA have other challenges to contend with that are not always so overtly related to the disease. One of those is dryness. I mean dryness of every...

Is our mind separate from our body? Do we have mental control over the prognosis of disease? Have you ever been told that rheumatoid arthritis is all in your head? If...

As a working mother of two young children, I constantly feel like there’s never enough time to accomplish all my tasks. There are always dishes to wash, baskets of laundry...

"When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes and facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition.” - Carl Sagan We had to speak loudly to be heard above...

I recently had a discussion with my rheumatologist about footwear and RA.  For most of us with RA, foot pain and general discomfort are part and parcel of the RA...