Invisible Illness Archives | Page 2 of 4 | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

Invisible Illness Awareness Video

Positively Real: Keeping the Discussion Real without Sugar Coating Everyone with an “invisible illness” owes such a debt to Lisa Copen, founder of Invisible Illness Awareness Week. She has done so much to provide support to people with “invisible illnesses” like Rheumatoid disease. I don’t know if she coined that term, but she certainly popularized it. This...Continue reading      6 Comments » Read more

Never Mind! 3 Lessons for Evidence-based Medicine and RA

Clash between patient voices and science? Previously, we talked about a controversy over evidence in medicine with the withdrawal of Avastin for breast cancer. It was also a vigorous discussion of how evidence-based medicine relates to RA so I hope you’ll read it again – I did. Today, we see a couple of news stories where...Continue reading      7 Comments » Read more

Rheumatoid Arthritis Severity Scale (RASS) Affecting Treatment Decisions?

Could the RASS Affect Treatment Decisions Dollars? A reader asks about doctor’s ratings of Rheumatoid disease being required by third-party payers (insurance companies, etc) presumably to justify spending related to Rheumatoid disease treatment. She wrote: “according to my rheum today there is a lot of pressure by the insurance companies to having every patient rated using...Continue reading      16 Comments » Read more

I’m Not All Better, Just Too Polite to Whine; Yet Victory Is Still Sweet

Please don’t miss the news at the end of the post! I had to put A LOT on one page since it’s been a few days! My endocrinologist was so excited about my attending the ACR in November and winning the WebMD award in December and it’s really fun to share after being a patient there...Continue reading      43 Comments » Read more

By the Way, I Have RA

I have written about the difficulty of disclosing about RA, especially at events like a Mayo Clinic Center Social Media conference. But we haven’t talked much about the other side: When we explain about RA, do people understand? Not so much. In a recent example, I went through three rounds of explanations about why I could...Continue reading      62 Comments » Read more

Nuclear Bone Scans for Rheumatoid Arthritis or Scintigraphy

Bone scans for Rheumatoid Arthritis that “Lit up like a Christmas tree”! Several patients have told me stories of having a nuclear bone scan (scintigraphy) that made a difference in their diagnosis or treatment. We know how much a reliable imaging tool is needed measuring disease activity for either reason. I’ve read about different versions of...Continue reading      40 Comments » Read more

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse: Was the Moon Really Red?

What would a lunar eclipse on the solstice be without my beloved camera? I pulled my thickest Redskins blanket over my head and went to sleep on the sofa with all of the lights on. The lunar eclipse on the winter solstice was a once in a lifetime event I would surely not miss. When I...Continue reading      7 Comments » Read more

RAWarrior News Flare: Invisible Illness Week & ACR 2010

“News flare” just always seems more appropriate than news flash. There’s some big news for the blog this week. News for the blog is news for all of us since the Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior blog represents the viewpoint of the patient living with the invisible illness of RA and the similar autoimmune rheumatoid diseases. It’s Invisible...Continue reading      9 Comments » Read more

Yale Medical School Graduation Address: a Patient Centered Approach

Dr. Donald Berwick made a unique graduation address at Yale in May 2010. His own daughter was graduating. I wanted to comment on Dr Berwick’s speech and post it for you for a while, but every time I read it I cry. Advocating patient centered care: What does that mean? I don’t often write about how healthcare...Continue reading      5 Comments » Read more

Response to a Blog Written by a Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctor

Please read the first part of this blog: Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctors. That post discusses a story written by a young doctor who describes part of his training. If you read that post and others on the site, you know this is not an attack on good Rheumatoid Arthritis doctors. Those are the ones, like Doctor...Continue reading      6 Comments » Read more
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