Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) means adjusting... literally everything. Over the years, I’ve found some of the parts of getting dressed that once were easy (clasps, hooks, zippers) have gotten ...

A couple of months before my 16 th birthday my mom got me the most amazing gift any teenager could want: a car. It was a 12-year-old Nissan and was nothing fancy, but it was a car, it was red, and it ...

I have lived in the midwest my whole life, growing up in Illinois and attending college in Iowa. I am used to the saying, "If you don’t like the weather, wait an hour and it’ll change" — which is ...

Most people jump at the opportunity to travel to an interesting destination for fun or work. Whether you are a natural traveler or a homebody, most of us occasionally need to travel for family matters ...

I’ve spent my whole life with joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. In my younger years, it was chalked up to growing pains or injuries from being athletic. It wasn’t until I was 30 years old and ...

When you explore Dr. Google for general information about rheumatoid arthritis, you will often see references to the term "flare." Many general information websites discuss flares as if patients with ...

I am not a good sick person. Now, this might seem bonkers considering I am a 3-decade alum of living with rheumatoid arthritis, but it’s true, and right now I am going through it. I have a full-blown ...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune disease. Autoimmune means that your immune system begins to attack and damage your own healthy cells. RA can lead to bone erosion (loss of ...

Several community members commented on those articles, sharing such similar stories, saying that they felt seen and heard in my sharing this seemingly ridiculous journey I've been on. To be honest, ...

Foot pain, swelling, stiffness, and inflammation are extremely common in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Studies have found that nearly 90 percent of people with RA experience ankle or foot ...

Yet I can blame the evil prednisone for some of it. For making me bloated and screwing with my metabolism (do I still have a metabolism?) and for making me want to devour loaves of white bread and ...

This is kind of embarrassing and not very ladylike to mention and write about, but unfortunately it's a reality--a reality I'd rather not have to deal with, honestly. Once again I'm frustrated with ...