Dear Loved Ones: This Is What RA Feels Like
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complicated and difficult. It is much more than painful joints and affects every aspect of your life. How do you make family friends and… Well, everyone understand what it’s like to live with RA? My new column for HealthCentral is a letter in which I, on behalf of the community, try…
RA and COVID-19: Can We Go Back to Normal?
In the past week, some countries have started to relax COVID-19 restrictions and there is increasing talk about loosening things up. They call it deconfinement, which sounds oddly benign, like a Victorian lady starting to visit acquaintances for tea again after having produced the spare to the heir. But it’s not benign. I have rheumatoid…
My Name is Lene, and I’m at High Risk for COVID-19
My rheumatoid arthritis puts me in danger of developing serious complications from COVID-19. It’s a really scary place to be. In my new column for HealthCentral, I talk about what it’s like and! interview the amazing Molly Schreiber, who co-founded the #HighRiskCOVID19 campaign that’s making a real difference: “Just about the only comforting news we…
COVID-19 and RA: What to Pack in Your Hospital Go-Bag
Living in the middle of a pandemic while being high risk is the most scared many of us have ever been. When you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are taking an immunosuppressant medication, there is a double whammy of risk. We have to consider what might happen if we need to go to the hospital…
Answered: Your Questions About Chronic Illness and COVID-19
Updated March 17, 2020 If you are a member of a vulnerable population, what you need to do and what you need to worry about in relation coronavirus and COVID-19 (the illness you get from coronavirus) may be entirely different than what’s general available. Finding the answers isn’t always easy. I asked my readers to…
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…
Chronic Illness Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Contribute
I can’t work, so I feel like a deadweight in my marriage. We used to do active things together and now we can’t. I worry that it’ll end our relationship. I see these comments all the time as I talk to others in the chronic illness community. When you can no longer do everything you…
What Accepting Your RA Really Means
It took me a long time to know that acceptance isn’t something you arrive at and stay there forever more. It’s something you work on, all the time. In my new column for HealthCentral, I talk about how I do that: “Let’s say you found an old lamp at a flea market and it had…
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…
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…
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,…
Failure-Proof Your Goals for 2020
Sometimes, little things can create big changes. My new column for HealthCentral shares tips on how to change your life: “Last year, an article I wrote for HealthCentral inspired me to create a new way to improve my life and achieve my goals (despite the overwhelming mountain of stuff that comes with living with rheumatoid…