Living with chronic illness for almost 30 years gives one a thick skin. I've met so many people who love to give me free advice. For the most part, it's all good intended suggestions, but I often feel stumped on how to respond. Today someone said, "My friend says those infusions you take are bad,... Continue Reading →
This past few weeks I've been dealing with a horrible rheumatoid arthritis flare. It started after the holidays and has caused me to miss time from work, avoid get togethers, and greatly altered my life. I've also been rekindling my affair with my trusty cane. Basically, nothing fun. Last year, I felt like my meds... Continue Reading →
Life is scary for all of us right now. None of us have experience with this, so I've been following the recommendations of WHO (World Health Organization), the CDC (Centers of Disease Control), and the ACR (American College of Rheumatology). I did reach out to my personal rheumatologist and her advice was to get blood... Continue Reading →
IFAA just put out the 2nd part of our first episode of Rheumy Rounds™, a breakout series from our ArthritisVoices360 podcast. In this episode we talk about the doctor/patient relationship. We also touched on what a patient expects to accomplish during visit as opposed to what a rheumatologist expect to accomplish during a visit. It's... Continue Reading →
I recently started a foray into podcasting with my IFAA cofounder Tiffany. She is the brains behind the project, in which patients co-host a podcast to discuss issues impacting patients in the autoimmune/autoinflammatory arthritis community. Our latest series is called "Rheumy Rounds". Personally, I think it is ground breaking. How many of us (patients) have... Continue Reading →
Christmas is in 4 days. Are my gifts wrapped? No. Am I packed? No. My decorations are minimal....and so is my Christmas spirit. My 2019 was extra crappy. Here is a little recap.... January: I started the year with a broken foot/non-weight bearing. On January 2, my cat tripped me and I ended up tearing... Continue Reading →
I just recently started to feel like my new medication is working. It's kind of shocking. My pain level is so much more tolerable. I still have pain, but I can make it all day without taking extra meds. My swelling is also getting better. I still swell when I overdo it, but for the... Continue Reading →
It's been a while since I had time to blog. So much to write about. Working full-time Patient Advocacy A milestone birthday So let's start in September. I had spent the majority of my summer with serious gastroenteritis. I swear I have never experienced stomach issues like that in my life. I went through test... Continue Reading →
This past week, I've been dealing with one of the worst flare ups of my disease in years. I say the word "disease" because honestly, no one seems to know for sure what I have. Sometimes I'm told I have rheumatoid arthritis. Other times, I'm told I have psoriatic arthritis or spondyloarthopathy. All I know....is... Continue Reading →
Insurance is a blessing and a curse in my life. I'm grateful to have coverage, but so frustrated a the antiquated system of step therapy that they industry still holds valid. I've written before about suffering for 7 years before finding a biologic drug that made me feel somewhat human again. Why? Because I had... Continue Reading →
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