How To Build Back Your Strength After a Rheumatoid Arthritis Setback
In my 5+ decades of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I’ve learned that setbacks are inevitable, whether caused by flares, difficulty finding effective treatment, overdoing it, or injuries. Once the flare ends or an injury improves, you need to build back your strength and stamina, but sometimes exercise can be complicated by the state of…
You’re Not Lazy: How Rheumatoid Arthritis Affects Motivation
Motivation is your get up and go, determination, the drive and interest in doing something. Whether it’s exercise, brushing your teeth, writing (or reading) a book, painting a picture or wall, making that call to your insurance company, or simply getting out of bed on a high-pain day. All of it takes motivation. One of…
You May Have to Switch to a Biosimilar for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Here’s Why.
In March 2023, I received a letter from the Ontario government. It informed me that a biosimilar switching policy was now in place. People like me who receive funding from the government to pay for Biologics for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn’s disease, and other forms of autoimmune disease were given until the end of 2023…
Tired of Being Tired: 10 Pro Tips for Coping with Rheumatoid Arthritis Fatigue
I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for over five decades and for me, one of the most debilitating symptoms is the fatigue. I’m not alone in dealing with this symptom. In fact, according to the Talk Over RA website, 79% of people who live with RA also have fatigue. RA fatigue is very much…
Thoughts on my 18th Blogiversary
The Seated View is old enough to vote. I feel very much like I imagine any parent when their child hits this magic number: proud, a little teary, and consumed with the memories of the past eighteen years. There was the overwhelm of the first month or two when you convince you’re going to drop…
The Best Thing You Can Say or Do When Someone’s in Pain
Living with chronic pain is incredibly difficult. It’s invisible, which means that in order to be understood, you have to tell people about it and that’s when you hit another barrier. How do you put into words something that is pure sensation and unlike anything the average person has experienced? But on the other side…
Thoughts on Guilt and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Guilt and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) go hand-in-hand. It goes something like this: You made plans. Sometimes big plans, sometimes small. Then you wake up to a day when your RA has decided to be extra — extra painful, extra flare-y, extra getting in the way of your life — and there’s only one thing to…
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…
The Healing Touch: How My Mother Took Away My Pain When Nothing Else Could
“That pain you had… For a mother to see a child with that kind of pain, is so terrible.” — My mom, Birthe Andersen I have had juvenile arthritis since I was four years old, which means this condition and I recently celebrated (?) 50 years together. For most of that time, there were no…
When Strong Gets in the Way
This post is written for the Facebook Live conversation between myself and Kirsten Schultz on how to stop being so damn strong. You can see Kirsten’s post here. I am very good at lying to myself. So good, in fact, that most of the time, I have no idea that I’m pulling the wool over…
How to Train Your Rheumatologist in Six Easy Steps
Congratulations on getting yourself a brand-new rheumatologist! Rheumatologists — or rheumies, as they are affectionately known in the community — can add so much value to living with any kind of arthritis. Like any other new relationship, though, you have to get used to each other, and your rheumatologist has to come to understand how…
Your Life with RA Is On Sale!
It’s January, a month famous — infamous? — for being full of resolutions and decisions to take charge of your life. My Amazon Bestseller Your Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tools for Managing Treatment, Side Effects and Pain is your perfect partner in the quest to become empowered and put yourself in the driver’s seat with…