Living

A month or so ago I watched a motivational TED Talks video at work in my special ed students' "Life Skills" class. Most of the kids were bored out of...

When my rheumatoid arthritis strikes, when I’m feeling especially bad—it helps me to focus on some of my favorite things. In fact, my worse days are when I need to...

Not too long ago I wrote a post about the challenges of making decisions and sacrifices in life because of RA--Doing What You Love vs. Doing What You Can. I...

For many people, holiday plans include some kind of travel. In addition to the ordinary stress and chaos of travel, many of us with rheumatoid arthritis also need to figure...

Between June and August of this year, Rheumatoidarthritis.net utilized an online survey to gauge trends in RA patients. The entire survey results, containing over 1,000 patient responses, are available at...

When people hear the general term arthritis, they typically think of an older person with joint pain as in osteoarthritis - common wear and tear on the joints. But this...

It sounds weird.  It sounds almost antithetical to say that you are thankful for a chronic illness. But in reality, I am thankful for RA. I wouldn’t be where I...

One of my most favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. I love the pure purpose behind it—giving thanks. There’s no confusion with religious tensions or commercial pursuits. Instead we gather with our...

I have had rheumatoid arthritis longer than I have been a mom. At times, motherhood has challenged me to the greatest degree possible. I’ve spent countless hours worried, stressed, and physically exhausted...

I recently had an appointment with the psychologist I’ve been seeing for two years and let’s just say it didn’t go very well. Arriving there in a good mood, I...

As mentioned in a recent post (When RA Treatments Fail to Work), up to 40% of RA patients do not respond to the current set of treatment options. This can...

You all know the moment when you pull into a busy store parking lot and say to yourself “Is this the apocalypse?  Why is everyone grocery shopping now?”  Whether you...

Early in September last year my pain changed. I don’t remember it happening on a specific day in a sudden way, but gradually my left knee grew more painful. It...

Recently I have found myself thinking a lot about the arthritis community as a whole. Did you know that we have the potential to be a very large community? In...

Diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis in the early stages of the disease is often difficult. The diagnostic processes are clinical and not

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines wellness as “the quality or state of being healthy.” It seems simple, but for people with rheumatoid arthritis this is not a clear definition. We can’t compare...

I've been working as a substitute special education paraprofessional (para) at a high school since the beginning of the school year. Teaching has never really been a serious career option...

About three months after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I realized that I was more tired than I had ever been in my life. I was tired of my joints...

In a perfect world, those of us with RA would never have to worry about insurance issues.  Our copays would be so low that we would never have to worry...

Legs up the Wall No restorative practice would be complete without this rejuvenating gentle inversion. For the ultimate relaxation experience, place a sandbag on the soles of your feet and...