February 2021 Chronic Journeys with My Guest Daniel P. Malito
On the latest episode of Chronic Journeys, I talk to Daniel P. Malito about growing up with juvenile arthritis, stretch marks and opioids! Get Dan’s book So Young: A Life Lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on the link and make a purchase, I may receive a small…
Emergency Preparedness with a Chronic Illness or Disability
Updated April 20, 2024 Big and scary emergencies are thankfully rare occurrences, but when they happen, those of us who live with chronic illness and disability may have challenges that others don’t experience. Part of your emergency plan will be the same as your healthy and able-bodied neighbours, but you will also need to make…
I Tried CBD Oil for Chronic Illness and Pain. This is What Happened
As the war on opioids continues to restrict prescription pain medication, those of us who live with chronic pain are looking for alternatives that will help us to continue living our lives. CBD oil is one option. It has had a profound impact on the pain caused by my rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia and surprisingly,…
5 Great Blogs from RDBlog Week
Last week, 31 bloggers came together to write about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or, as some prefer, rheumatoid disease (RD to reflect the systemic nature of the beast. Every day had a different topic and every day, I’d read through the entries, in awe of the talent and passion of all who participated. Here are five…
How a Pain Specialist Can Help Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain
Living with rheumatoid arthritis means facing many challenges, one of which is getting effective treatment for pain. My latest article for HealthCentral looks at how a pain specialist can help: “Treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) doesn’t begin and stop with a rheumatologist. RA is a complex systemic condition that can benefit from a team approach. 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
The Invisibility of Pain: The New Ontario Opioid Strategy
Sometimes, sharing the chronic pain voice and perspective on opioids feels like shouting into a gale. But you have to keep trying. Thank you so much to the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance for the great work they do and for hosting my article about the new Ontario Opioid Strategy and the missing missing voices of…
Ontario Joins War on Pain Patients: Opioids, Stigma, and Human Rights
I used to start the day crying in the shower. The pain was so great that waking up and beginning to move was torture. So I sat in the shower, salty tears mixing with the fresh water. Every day. And then my doctor gave me a prescription for opioids and the pain subsided. No longer…
Longing for a difference: Super Bowl Ad and Opioid Addiction Insanity
A little over a week ago, this ad ran during the Super Bowl [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr78_7Kip3Q] It deals with opioid -induced constipation and is, in my opinion, both discreet and direct, as well as very, very charming. It’s a very subtle ad for a medication that might help, but it is also much more than that,…
Cake
Cake is a movie about a woman who lives with chronic pain. Claire, played by Jennifer Aniston, has the kind of pain that makes it difficult to move and difficult to be polite. She is cranky and bitchy and incredibly honest. She is also dealing with a great deal of emotional pain, although it takes…
Chronic Pain, Opioids, and Quality of Life: A Guestpost by Dan Malito
September is Pain Awareness Month in the US. One of the crucial issues to people living with high levels of chronic pain is the ability to have access to opioids. Yet, there are so many misconceptions that block that access. To help raise awareness and understanding about what it’s like to live with the kind…