Stopping Rheumatoid Arthritis before It Starts
I used to think that all the emphasis on raising money for a cure for rheumatoid arthritis was a waste of time. This disease was incurable. All the research in the world couldn’t help. Boy, was I wrong! I now firmly believe that we will see a cure in my lifetime. In my new post…
Tips to Stop Pretending and Live Authentically with Chronic Illness
Once a year for Halloween, we dress up and pretend to be someone else. But when you live with a chronic illness, the pretending happens every day, as we tried to act like everything’s better than it is. And it can really mess with your life. This week on RAHealthCentral, I wrote about this pretending…
Book Review: The Iron Druid Chronicles
Atticus O’Sullivan lives a mostly quiet life in Tempe, Arizona with Oberon, his Irish wolfhound. He runs an occult bookshop, hangs out with his friends, and his biggest problem is a cranky neighbour. Well, and that he’s been hiding from Aenghus Óg, the Celtic god of love for well over a thousand years and that…
Restricting Biologics for RA
We live in an amazing time when there are more treatments for rheumatoid arthritis than ever before. Biologics have had a profound impact on the lives of people with RA and on the field of rheumatology. These drugs are expensive, though, and it can be an obstacle to treatment. Another obstacle is developing. My new…
Voting and Chronic Illness
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that there is an election coming in the US. We all have opinions about it, but that is not what my new post for HealthCentral is about. It’s about the obstacles that people with chronic illness may face during the election process and what you can…
5 Self-Care Tips for Chronic Illness Bloggers and Group Admins
I got a question on my Facebook page about how to practice self-care way as a blogger, community or Facebook group moderator or, group member. Sue said “I love my little group and mostly find it rewarding and supportive but at times I find it overwhelming.” Being a chronic illness blogger or group moderator is…
Job Hunting and Chronic Illness
Our September theme on RAHealthCentral was all about chronic illness and work. We had a lot of great posts and some terrific conversations came out of it. I am closing out the theme with my new post on job searching with a chronic illness. I made sure to share some important information, but we also…
Rewrites Suck
Oh, hi there! I miss you. I want to write blog posts, but am yet again stuck in editing hell. I am really excited about this next book. You didn’t know I was writing a book? It has come together kind of quickly and I am having a great time. Well, I had a great…
How to Nurture Self-Worth When You’re Not Working Because of a Chronic Illness
Work is an important — even essential — contributor to self-worth. But what do you do if you cannot work because of a chronic illness or disability? I take a look at this issue and share tips on building self-esteem without work in my new post for HealthCentral: “‘What do you do?’ It is often…
Don’t Let the Flu Send You to the ICU
In my new post for Mango Health, I revisit the medical adventure and some of the factors that brought me to the ICU: “In early March, I got the flu. For the first five days, it was pretty miserable, but it was just the flu. And then things got interesting. The influenza went to town…
Back to Work with Chronic Illness
Years ago, I was away from the job market for 10 years. A change in government meant I lost the job I had and it was very hard to find something else. After the big flare, my body prevented me from finding something else. And then I found something that was perfect for me, both…
#RABlog Week, Day 3: In Defense of Biologics
Today’s #RABlog Week prompt is Biologics can be scary. This is true and it has led to a lot of misperceptions about these kinds of medications. My goal today is to bust some myths about Biologics. Settle in with a cup of tea. To do this subject justice, I had to go a bit long….