Birthday Week: Waves, Geeks, A Few Atrocities, and an Unexpected Gift
Photo by DavidG It was the last week of what was supposed to have been a working month’s vacation. The month saw very little work — that bone crushing fatigue I experienced early in the year came back with a vengeance. I finally clued in that fighting it every day, trying to push through, and…
Precision Medicine: A Vision for an RA-Free Future
We live in a really exciting time — every day, new advances are made in research, medication, and even in the way doctors approach treatment. Precision medicine is a fascinating approach that holds much promise for the future of rheumatoid arthritis and many other health conditions. In my new article for HealthCentral, I take a…
Dealing with Pain in a Non-Medical Way: an Interview with Sarah Anne Shockley
Sarah Anne Shockley is the author of The Pain Companion: Everyday Wisdom for Living With and Moving Beyond Chronic Pain. It’s a wonderful book with lots of great tips that can help you deal with pain in a compassionate and gentle way. I had the opportunity to interview the author via email about her…
August #AskLene: Living and Coping with Pain
This afternoon, during my monthly #AskLene, we talked about living with pain and coping with pain. We had a really lively discussion that is continuing on the Facebook post. Do you have a topic you’d like me to talk about in future forecasts? Please leave it in the comments
I have been nominated…
Being nominated for an award is always nice. Okay, it’s way more than nice. But to be absolutely honest, some nominations are nicer than others. The annual WEGO Health Awards are a fantastic celebration of the way people with chronic illness advocate, motivate, and inspire through their work and lives. Nominations are made by others…
In Which I Regain A Part of Me That Had Been Lost
I watched The Meg yesterday and it was life-changing. But I should start at the beginning. I love film — I mean, who doesn’t? — and used to go to the movies all the time. Especially after I moved downtown to an area that has a discount movie theatre. Once a week or so, I’d…
Chronic Pain Patients and the War on Opioids
People with chronic pain who depend on opioids for quality of life are extremely worried about the lack of nuance in the solutions to the OP or crisis. This week on HealthCentral, there are two articles from me on this issue. First, I talked to the chronic pain community about their concerns and experiences related…
How to Cope with a New Diagnosis
Getting a diagnosis of a chronic illness is never easy, but there are things that can help you adjust. I wrote this article for Mango Health while the blog was dormant: “You have a chronic illness. You’ve just received the news from a doctor, likely a specialist. The name of the condition is ringing through…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Options
Confused about which treatment does what for rheumatoid arthritis? My new piece for HealthCentral looks at rheumatoid arthritis treatment options: “Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in joints and other systems of the body, including internal organs. Untreated, it can cause significant damage to your body, often leading to progressive…
Tips for Managing Infection Risk With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some of the most effective treatments for RA are immunosuppressants. But you don’t have to live in a bubble— my new slideshow for HealthCentral shares tips on how to protect yourself against infection: “We live in a time when there are more treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than ever before. Biologics offer more hope of…
11 Tips to Deal with Nausea with Chronic Illness
Updated March 29,2020 Queasy. Green around the gills. Nauseated. If you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there’s a very good chance you know nausea. For that matter, anyone with autoimmune arthritis or other types of chronic illness probably knows it, too. Between the effects of the condition itself and the medication to treat it, most of…
Preventing Chronic Disease in Women
38% of American women live with chronic disease. That’s more than the 30% of men and is rising. On top of that, six out of the top 10 causes of death in women are chronic diseases — often preventable. My two-part series on chronic disease in women and how to prevent them, even when you…