Articles

When I moved out of my childhood home to go to college, I was thinking about the adventures of my new life. I was excited and terrified. It was a...

If you have RA, you likely have experienced some pain in your feet. For me, RA foot pain was actually one of the first places that I did indeed feel...

You know, we talk a lot about relationships and chronic illness, and how easily RA can make them more complicated and even ruin them. It happens — there’s no point...

After 45 years of marriage, working for almost as long, and raising 3 sons, my husband and I are now retired and finally able to do the traveling we have...

I did something a little crazy, but it made sense to me: I changed my biologic. My previous one was working great. I had no adverse reactions, and I liked...

I’ve been way too fatigued lately. Too tired. It feels that I have to exert so much more effort to accomplish the things that people my age can do with...

I previously wrote about my insecurities, anxiety, and fears of diving back into job searching. My journey into a new career path continues after I shared my feelings. The next...

Let me tell you — I’ve had a time-and-a-half with this uterus. As I detailed in my previous article, in a last-ditch effort, we tried an IUD to control my...

I have been lucky thus far. The pain pill issues and the war this country is waging on pain patients has only touched me somewhat — with pill shortages here...

Living with a chronic illness can be a challenging and isolating journey. The physical and emotional toll that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can have on people living with it can often...

When I was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I was so grateful to have an actual diagnosis and answer to my most painful symptoms that I didn’t stop to...

My world shrinks smaller when I go into “fierce mode.” I pull back from outreach and engagement. I determine what are the necessary things for me to do, and concentrate...

For quite awhile, I felt that my chronic pain was just another symptom of the bigger disease in my life, cystic fibrosis (CF). I was born with CF, although I...

Have you ever had a real doozy of a month? I have. I fell seriously ill and to be very honest, it was the worst. If you have an autoimmune...

Have you considered joint replacement? Did you factor in your age when making the decision? Did your doctor give you a speech about joint failure and longevity? A friend of...

Over the decades that I’ve lived with rheumatoid arthritis, I’ve learned to straddle 2 realities. One reality is my daily life, where I structure my days so I can best...

In August 2019, before Covid-19 exploded and the world was overtaken by a deadly pandemic, I lost my rheumatologist. It was a devastating blow when he first told me the...

As someone who lives with chronic illness, I have come to expect the unexpected in many ways. Unfortunately, life still throws curveballs our way. This summer, my lower back pain...

It's funny- when you live in pain, you spend a lot of time thinking about (and trying) different ways to think less about your pain. Like, if you could just...

Who would have thought: I'm sick again! And it's at the worst possible time for a graduate student: finals week. This serves as a stark reminder of how much my...