August 20th, 2010 by Kelly Young

If you read yesterday’s blog, “The Mortality Dragon: Do Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Have to Die Early?” then you know I was glad to find a researcher discussing preventive care for Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, especially in the context of cardiovascular disease. If you read the article “Why do people with rheumatoid arthritis still die prematurely?” you [...]
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August 19th, 2010 by Kelly Young

Reasons for the high mortality rate with Rheumatoid Arthritis This is not a morbid post. If we’re going to fight a dragon, we need to know about the dragon. Why do Rheumatoid Arthritis patients have such a high mortality rate? Some of you have probably heard me speculate about mortality and RA in response to [...]
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August 17th, 2010 by Kelly Young

Anxiety or depression with chronic illness is not unusual Many individuals who suffer from a chronic health condition experience some symptoms of anxiety or depression. There are several different types of both anxiety and depression. Yesterday, we discussed symptoms of some common forms. Please read part 1 if you are trying to identify symptoms of [...]
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August 16th, 2010 by Kelly Young

I’m excited about this guest post to introduce an important discussion. Various types of anxiety and depression are more common in those who live with chronic illness & chronic pain. I hope this post will help us to think about when symptoms are serious enough to need help. Hello brave RA Warriors! My name is [...]
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August 13th, 2010 by Kelly Young

“Mickelson arthritis” brings shrugs “Phil Mickelson arthritis” was such a common search already that it was suggested to me by Google’s search tool as I typed his name yesterday. That was only two days after Mickelson announced his diagnosis of Psoriatic Arthritis to the press. I have to admit that I shrugged the first time [...]
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August 12th, 2010 by Kelly Young

Many patients take low enough doses of methotrexate that they don’t even have side effects… But, some strange methotrexate side effects are for real No one ever told me methotrexate could have side effects. I’m not complaining! I think that worked for me. I didn’t approach the treatment with fear. Don’t get me wrong – [...]
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August 10th, 2010 by Kelly Young

Actemra is my fourth Biologic treatment My first Actemra treatment was two weeks ago. I never dreamed I’d be going for my fourth different kind of Biologic treatment. When my first rheum doc said I’d feel much better soon with Humira, I believed it. When the Rheumatoid Arthritis continued to progress, the doc seemed as [...]
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August 9th, 2010 by Kelly Young

What keeps you fighting? I tried to quit… At one point, I thought I would be fired as a professional patient. No such luck. I’ve also tried to quit Rheumatoid Arthritis. Maybe you remember my Eject Button. I tried to quit another chronic illness once. Maybe you read my ostrich jokes. I haven’t had a [...]
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