How I Cope with Taking Medication for My Chronic Conditions
Let’s get this out of the way first: no one likes taking medication. If my fairy godmother showed up in a sparkling red off the shoulder number (because my fairy godmother rocks) and offered to waive her magic wand over anything in my life, of course my first choice would be to magick away my…
Medical PTSD and Long-Term Effects of Ventilator and Tracheostomy
Updated April, 2020 Rheumatologist: “how are you feeling? ICU PTSD can happen after such an experience.” Me: “I’m fine.” This conversation occurred two weeks after I’d been discharged from the hospital after my medical adventure. And the very next day, my GP brandished a pneumonia vaccine and I burst into tears, terrified that it would…
The Best Way to Achieve Rheumatoid Arthritis Remission and Barriers to Its Use
Updated May 3, 2020 It is now possible for many people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to go into remission. This in and of itself is mind-boggling to me. I grew up during a time when there were no treatments, and when the inevitable of progression lead to severe disability, wheelchair use, and often early…
Weight Gain and Biologics: The Battle No One Talks About
Updated May 20, 2021 Several medications for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can lead to weight changes. Steroids is well-known for it, but if you mention Biologics and weight gain, many rheumatologists will tell you there isn’t a link. Many people in the community disagree, saying their lived experience says different and I’m one of them. I…
Real RA: Side Effects of the Miracle
Yesterday, as I moved down the street with the first vague sense of woozy pressure building in my sinuses, it came to me that the next post in my Real RA series should be a look at the cost of the miracle. And by the miracle, I mean Humira and everything good and beneficial it…
Calamity Jane Not So Calamitous: My Ongoing Biologics Miracle
Updated May 5, 2021 When your life seems out-of-control, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and every day disasters combining to create chaos, sometimes all it takes is one moment to bring you out of it. A brief synopsis: it started with my phone crapping out, bringing with it a sort of domino effect of calamities worthy of…
Everything
Updated June 21, 2020 In December of 2004, I looked into the abyss and the abyss looked back. It’s hard to write about this — doing so with any emotional truth means going back to a place I’d rather never feel again — but there’s something I’ve wanted to say for a long time and…
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