Chronic Illness Brain Fog, Part Two: What You Can Do To Cope
Updated April 19, 2021 Brainfog. It’s part of many people experience when they have a chronic illness. Yesterday, I discussed what brain fog is and what causes it. Today, let’s talk about how to cope. When you have brain fog, there are number of things you can do to reduce the density of the fog,…
Chronic Illness Brain Fog, Part One: What It Is
Updated April 19, 2021 Many people with chronic illness also experience the phenomenon colloquially known as brain fog. This includes symptoms related to problems with focusing and concentrating, memory problems, and basically your mind feeling less nimble than it used to. It can be a really big problem, but it doesn’t receive a lot of…
Patterns are Key with Chronic Illness Or The Mushrooms Did It
Updated April 14, 2021 When you live with an unpredictable chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), fibromyalgia, migraines, or any of a multitude of conditions that play havoc with you every day, figuring out triggers — things that make your symptoms worse — can be an important part of improving your life. Also feel…
A Woman’s Journey with a Chronic Illness: A Review of Take Daily as Needed
The thing about chronic illness is that life doesn’t stop. It continues its messy, difficult, joyful, out-of-your-control spinning right around you. Kathryn Trueblood’s new book Take Daily As Needed captures it all, then weaves it together to show how every bit of your life is interconnected and affected by all the other parts. Recently, I…
My RA Made Me Do It: 10 Really Great Things About Having RA
Photo description: a girl dances with a rainbow-coloured umbrella on a black and white backgriound. Credit: Dan Park Living with rheumatoid arthritis is a dance on roses — there are plenty of thorns. In my new Made with RA column, I flip it. Can I find 10 reasons to be grateful for RA in my…
New Release: The Ultimate Makeup Journal
Do you use makeup? I bet you have more than you technically need (I know I do). Maybe several of one particular kind — say lipstick, eyeshadow — plus a few rattling around in a drawer that you just can’t let go of. Maybe because of the way one brings out the light in your…
A Very Personal Take on RA
I am SO excited! I have a brand-new role at HealthCentral: columnist! The Powers That Be are giving me free reign to be opinionated about what matters to how you live with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain. My first column is live now: “It’s time to move on. But thankfully—because I hate change—I’m not going…
Arthritis at Work: Two New Resources to Keep You Working
Over 80 percent of people with arthritis have trouble working because of their health and felt work had a negative impact on their health. These findings from a Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) study formed the foundation for two organizations to create some fantastic arthritis and work resources that can help you keep working without…
Meatless Monday: Quick and Easy Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad
I am always on the lookout for yummy, but quick and easy ways to create a meal that will also serve as leftovers. And boy, did I find a good one! It’s tomato season. I love roasted vegetables. I miss pasta salad. My dietitian told me to get a variety of protein sources. These four…
5 Tips for Coping When Your Illness Takes Over
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over my five decades with autoimmune arthritis, it’s that it ebbs and flows. There are times when everything’s as great as it can be, others when you enter the abyss, and everything in between. Having a chronic illness is much like being on a roller coaster, except slower and…
I’m Nominated for the WEGOHealth Awards!
image credit: WEGOHealth Every year, the WEGOHego Health Awards “recognizes patient leaders that are making a positive impact.” Nominations open nominations come from the community and there are a lot of them. I’m very happy to tell you that I’m one of the nominees! I have been nominated in the Best in Show: Facebook category…
The Incredible Pain-Killing Powers of Orgasm
No one talks about how RA affects your sex life. So I will (and have in the past, as well). In my latest article for HealthCentral, I look at the magical painkilling powers of orgasm: “When you’re managing the crushing fatigue and painful joints that come with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), sex is often one of…