Living

I can imagine that at first glance the notion of laughing about a chronic disease borders on absurdity. But let me make a case for why laughing can actually improve...

Recently I went to pick up my kids from preschool, and was feeling really achy. There had been a series of storms and temperature fluctuations all week, and the shifts...

I have a new dermatologist. It wasn’t really a choice. My previous dermatologist of many years passed away and the practice was sold. My records weren’t even in the system...

When I was young, I thought rheumatoid disease (arthritis) was something only old people had. Then I got it myself. I was only 31. I learned that there were other...

It’s always a gamble, a guessing-game to get the medications right. I think of it as a delicate balance. Enough of the drugs to reduce the inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis...

I bustle around the kitchen prepping food. It’s my daughter’s birthday, and we’ve invited several families over for a backyard barbecue to celebrate. The guest list was made and invites...

So the final E in my EEE approach to RA management is Engaging (the first two E's can be found here and here.) .  By that I mean simply staying...

As a very active kid, exercise wasn’t a chore; it was the means to a great time. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that running and playing started to...

I came home Friday feeling wrecked from the week. My bag was full of work to catch up on over the weekend and I had a long checklist of personal...

Most people familiar with rheumatoid arthritis understand that mornings are tough. Those of us with RA tend to experience morning stiffness, so we need more than a cup of coffee...

Like thousands of other aging boomers, I’m caring full time for my elderly mother. She’s 83 now, and while she’s doing fairly well at the moment, she’s been on the...

People who cope with chronic pain--the kind of pain that comes to live with you forever--are very good at hiding it. I know. I do it all the time with...

You would think that after nearly 20 years, my memory of the onset and diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis would be at best faded and at worst deposited into a long...

As a rheumatoid disease (arthritis) patient, I’m used to feeling like a failure. After all, the pain, fatigue, malaise, and disability it causes make me fail at all kinds of...

When I was a nanny in college, I vowed that when the day came when I had kids of my own, I would be a fun mom. I would be...

At my last rheumatologist appointment, I had a somewhat bizarre experience. When my doctor orders labs, one of the nurses comes in and does them right there in the same...

I have learned through the years of association and friendship with others with Rheumatoid Arthritis that many of us were used to living in the "fast lane" pre-RA.  By that...

Rheumatoid disease (arthritis) is sometimes overwhelming. The frequent pain, fatigue, niggling low-grade fevers, and feeling ill and foggy are a lot for anyone to cope with. Add it to all...

Every morning I wake up and dread the first movements of the day. I hate waking up and I’m the worst at it (just ask my amazingly-patient husband). I don’t...

I received shocking news recently that I'm still trying to digest and accept. A family friend--a 61 year-old wife, mother, and grandmother--was found lying dead on her kitchen floor. When...