FDA Approves Xeljanz (tofacitinib) to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis
Really great news in RA treatment! I wrote about the new drug in more detail on HealthCentral: “Last week, the FDA approved a new drug to treat moderate to severe RA. Pfizer’s Xeljanz – brand-name tofacitinib – is the first in a new class of medications called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. It is also the…
Fuzzy Brains: RA, Pain and Cognitive Issues
Earlier this week, I had a medication-related senior moment so profound that it was the driving force behind the idea to write today’s HeakthCentral post. Write what you know, right? “In 2004, I was in one of the worst flares of my life, the pain so intense and omnipresent it cast a shadow over everything….
Vote in the User’s Choice Awards
The nominees in the User’s Choice Awards have been chosen and voting is open until November 18, 2012. Help the Arthritis Foundation to develop a list of arthritis-friendly products and services – vote now!
2013 Calendar, Cards and Gifts
It’s that time of year again: the Shop has been updated and new products added. There’s the new 2013 The Seated View calendar Several holiday cards and note cards in different quantities There are new prints. I call this one Still Standing. It may be creaky and rusty, but like so many of us, it…
Domino Effect
About 10 days ago, I had a bit of a wonky transfer. The person helping me to get from my bed to the chair put her foot half an inch closer to me than it should have been, blocking my left leg from moving and my left ankle twisted. These things happen. My left leg…
Muffin: She Came, She Saw, She Conquered
This cat has mind and personality to spare, but she is also beautiful. She is completely different from Lucy’s tall and elongated frame, Siamese-narrow face and rather coarse coat. Muffin is short and compact, standing solidly on this earth, with a face as broad as a tomcat’s. Her eyes are ever alert and communicating her…
User’s Choice Awards
The Arthritis Foundation is currently accepting nominations for their User’s Choice Awards. These awards will be giving out to products and services that work well for people living with arthritis.Categories include cell phone, weight management, car, hotel, health plan and so on. Nominations are open until Sunday, October 21, so hop on over and nominate…
Real RA: Blood Tests of Perspective
RA isn’t just about inflammation and your joints. RA is a systemic disease, also affecting muscles, organs and other systems in your body. The first time I learned about that was when I was 12 when it tried to kill me by attacking my heart and liver. The reason there has historically been a mortality…
Waving for World Arthritis Day
Today is World Arthritis Day. One of their nifty activities is the awareness campaign Wave for World Arthritis Day. The idea is beautifully simple, something everyone can do: take a photo or video of yourself and family and friends waving and submit it to the World Arthritis Day website. So that’s what we did after…
World Arthritis Day: Global Awareness and You
Tomorrow is World Arthritis Day and all sorts of cools things are happening. I wrote about some of them on HealthCentral: “You are not alone. All over the world, millions of people live with arthritis. This Friday, October 12, is World Arthritis Day – a time for all of us to get together and make…
Join the Show Us Your Hands! Board!
Show Us Your Hands! is moving to the next level. We are beginning the process of becoming an official nonprofit charity organization in order to continue organizing creative community projects and awareness campaigns aimed at increasing public understanding of inflammatory arthritis. This means we need to grow our Board of Directors. This is where you…
The Time of My Life
Ah… The bliss of long weekends. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and although I never really got into the habit of eating turkey, I do like the part where you remember about gratitude. I was talking to my naturopath the other day about stress, its physical manifestations and ways to manage that. I talked about being…