You Deserve a Better Shower With RA
Do pain and fatigue make this daily ritual an ordeal rather something to enjoy? Check out my tips for showering with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain in my new column for HealthCentral: “STARTING THE DAY with a shower can be one of the most exhausting things you do with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Mornings can be hard,…
Made With RA: How to Get the Sleep You Need With RA
Rest is key to functioning well with rheumatoid arthritis, but what do you do when your RA is often what keeps you up at night? In my new column for HealthCentral, I share tips to get the sleep you need: “WHEN IS THE last time you had a good night’s sleep? The kind that has you…
How Mindfulness Helps Me Cope With RA
Mindfulness has taught me to slow down and appreciate the small details around me as a source of joy. In my new column for HealthCentral I talk about how it helps me live with chronic pain and easy ways for you to try it: “IT’S SNOWING AS I write this. Big fluffy flakes falling quietly, gradually…
Managing RA Pain in a Post-Opioid World
Pain meds aren’t always available when you need them. In my new olumn for HealthCentral, I share relief strategies can help get you through a rough patch: “LIKE IT OR not (and really, who would?) to have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is to know pain—even people in remission may have occasional flares or breakthrough pain. For me…
Made with RA: Having RA Means You Are Resilient
When a flare gets you down, you have to get back up. In my new column for HealthCentral, I remind you that you already know how to keep going (and share tips and how-to in case you need a refresher): “RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) can stop you in your tracks, taking over every single part of your…
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…
#TalkOverRA: Pro Tip to Help Your Rheumatologist Understand Your Pain
One of the defining characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is pain. It can run the gamut from mild or temporary to severe and chronic, caused by active inflammation or damage to the joints, exacerbated by overdoing it or not moving at all. Living with unpredictable pain is incredibly difficult — because (obviously) it’s deeply uncomfortable,…
My Body Can Beat Your Weather Radar
Photo credit: David Govoni Every single person I know who has chronic pain response whether. Get any of us together in a room and the conversation will inevitably turn to have the current weather is making us feel. Exactly how this is in which kind of weather makes it worse, can differ from person to…
Two Kinds of RA Pain and How to Cope
Pain is often one of the first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and may continue to play a leading role in your life with this condition. When you have RA, there are two general causes of pain: one is active RA inflammation and the other RA damage. I’ll take a look at both, as well…
Boundaries Start with U: Protecting Your Health with RA
It was my nap that taught me about boundaries and my role in maintaining them. Years ago, my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progressed to the point that I needed a daily rest to manage fatigue and pain. And that’s when I banged hard up against other people’s preconceptions. “It must be wonderful to have a nap…
9 Quotes That Inspire Me When the Struggle Gets Too Real
We all have when you wake up to discover that everything has chosen this exact moment to fall apart: your chronic illness has flared, your pain is out of control, the cat puked in your shoes, and brain fog is making it impossible to think. For instance. And sometimes, we have several days like that…
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,…