LIVING LIFE AND LEARNING ALL I CAN ALONG THE WAY
For quite some time now, the online #rheum community has been creating their own language, including made up words and terms to describe our experiences with rheumatoid disease. Quite often these terms are punny and mildly humorous. Other times, these terms are downright hilarious. As I’ve already stated that I believe laughter is often the…
Last November, I spent a weekend in Chicago and was able to attend a brief part of the American College of Rheumatology’s Annual Scientific Meeting which was being held there. I spent a day working in the Exhibit Hall on behalf of the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation (RPF), met other patients with Rheumatoid Disease that I…
The story of the Sed Rate Saga continues. I wish I could say this was the ending, because it would be a happy one. I went to my rheumatologist’s office last week Monday and he gave me a lab order to get some more blood work done. The last time we had checked my Sed…
I recently had somebody tell me that I should do a blog post about what it means day-to-day to live with rheumatoid disease. And, I immediately thought: that’s a good idea! Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) or Rheumatoid Disease is a chronic autoimmune disease whereby the body’s own immune system attacks healthy tissues. This leads to joint…
This month marks 10 months now that I’ve been on Humira. Overall, it has worked great, and I have not experienced any side effects. It was a little rough getting started, but I really feel like I have continued to make progress since March and feel the best I have in a long time. I’m…
I don’t like to think of myself as a forgetful person, but sometimes I am. When it comes to taking medicine, I can usually get into a routine and keep it going without forgetting very often. Of course, this is easier under a couple of conditions: 1) When the medicine is taken daily, 2) When…
I am past due for a RAD update, so here it goes: I had my last appointment with my rheumatologist in June, shortly after I returned from vacation. Since the beginning of March, I’ve been slowly but steadily improving, with my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms becoming less severe and less frequent. The only real persistent symptom…
Here’s a topic I’ve been able to find precious little about. So, I’ve decided to do some research since we do want to have kids someday, and it doesn’t look like my RA is going anywhere. While research shows that a lot of women experience a decrease of symptoms during pregnancy, there’s no guarantee that…
It’s time for my next update to my ESR chart. You can read about the Sed Rate Saga and my switch from Enbrel to Humira to treat my rheumatoid autoimmune disease back in December. I’ve been tracking my Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR / Sed Rate) –a measure of inflammation — since that time, trying to…
So, I signed up to receive prompts from WEGO Health for the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – it’s supposed to be one post each day. I thought it might be fun, but now I’m thinking I can’t commit to doing this every day right now. Nonetheless, I will participate where and when I can.…