Study Finds Link to Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Microbiome
Really exciting news! We’re getting much closer to finding the cause of RA: “A new study has found a direct link between specific bacteria in the gut and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) — an exciting discovery that could bring us closer to understanding the cause or causes of RA. Micro bacteria in the gut Each of…
Increase in Deaths Associated with Methotrexate
A new study finds that accidental overdoses of methotrexate are causing an increase in deaths. More on this and how to be safe in my new post for HealthCentral: “A new study out of Australia shows a worrying increase in accidental overdoses of methotrexate, a drug commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). About methotrexate…
Live Bold Live Now Update
Almost exactly a year ago, HealthCentral released a series of immersive multimedia stories, featuring people living with different conditions. The rheumatoid arthritis story “starred” me. This week, I’m proud to present the update to the Live Bold Live Now story, featuring myself and my buddy Brad Carlson talking about how we’ve created a life with…
CreakyJoints “Clean My House”: A HealthCentral Exclusive
There are a lot of of great things about my job, but this week I got to do something extra cool: be the first to spread the news about the wonderful new initiative by CreakyJoints: “Keeping up with the tasks of life is one of the most challenging aspects of living with RA and the…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Then and Now
I talk a lot about the revolutionary changes in RA treatment. This week on HealthCentral, I went into some more depth about how, specifically, RA treatment has changed: “Receiving a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) used to mean an inevitable deterioration into joint damage, deformity and disability. Receiving an RA diagnosis now means a much…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Blood Tests – What Do They Mean?
Did you ever wonder about the blood tests for RA? My new post for HealthCentral outlines the most common RA blood tests and what the numbers mean: “RF. ESR. Anti-CCP. ANA. CPR. No, these aren’t codes used by secret agents to communicate their missions. They’re names of blood tests used in diagnosing and managing rheumatoid…
Losing Weight with RA and Chronic Pain
I`ve been feeling pudgy lately. What better way to deal with it than to recruit weightloss buddies on a grand scale? This is my new post for HealthCentral: “How do you lose weight with RA? That’s a good question, one that I’ve been stuck on for a while. These days there’s more of me than…
Live Bold Live Now Launch!
Remember this? Photo Credit: David Govoni Three months ago, I had a film crew following me around for two days while I told my story of living with RA, the big flare and reinventing my life afterwards. And today, you can see the result of all the hard work! Over the next few weeks, I’ll…
A Beginner’s Guide to RA: How To Read a Study
My new post for HealthCentral deconstructs how to read a research article: “How do you interpret a research study? Staying informed about rheumatoid arthritis, treatments and other aspects of living with the disease is a big part of becoming empowered. Finding that information often involves learning more about RA research, even reading articles about studies…
10 Questions You Should Ask Your Doctor about RA
This week on HealthCentral, I go back to basics… “Your doctor has just handed you a brand-new diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. On the one hand, you’re relieved to finally have an answer, but on the other hand, your head is spinning. The next step is to find out more about your disease, but you don’t…
Ready for My Close-Up?
Never in a million years did I imagine that someday, I would be in this situation. But I get ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. You may have noticed that I’ve been rather absent from the blog lately. As you may have suspected based on that photo up there, I have a…
For Grace: A Voice for Women in Pain
In my new post for HealthCentral, I did a follow-up interview with Cynthia Toussaint about her nonprofit foundation For Grace, an organization for women who live with pain: ‘“I wanted to start what I needed when I got sick.” Cynthia Toussaint is a woman with a mission. She wants to help women in pain get…