The Real Rheumatoid Disease Archives | Page 18 of 19 | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

To Tell the Truth: Will the Real Rheumatoid Arthritis Please Stand Up?

August 21, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 26 Comments Exercise with RA, Invisible Illness, Rheum Disease in the Media, Rheumatoid arthritis disability, Woman's Day problem

Swimming with dragons This RA Warrior is a dragon slayer. There is one particular dragon who is my arch enemy. It is the mythical version of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I imagine that as it deceives people about Rheumatoid Arthritis, there is less concern about whether a cure is needed for the real RA. The mythical version of RA...Continue reading 26 Comments » Read more

Mortality and Rheumatoid Arthritis

August 7, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 27 Comments Death and Rheumatoid Arthritis, History of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis and heart

Is it the best time to live with Rheumatoid Arthritis pt 2: quantity of life? This is the second post in a series which addresses the question, “Is this the best time in history to have Rheumatoid Arthritis?” Yesterday, we looked at “quality” of life. Today we look at “quantity” of life, or longevity. This might be...Continue reading 27 Comments » Read more

Is This the Best Time to Have Rheumatoid Arthritis? Part 1: Quality of Life

August 6, 2009April 17, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 11 Comments History of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Living with chronic illness like RA

We hear it all the time: “This is the best time in history to have Rheumatoid Arthritis.” How true is that? Let’s examine the facts. But first, what person with a disease can hear that said without a reaction of dismay? No one who actually has Rheumatoid Arthritis claims that there would be ANY good time to...Continue reading 11 Comments » Read more

Woman’s Day’s Article: Rheumatoid Arthritis Information

July 15, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 19 Comments Invisible Illness, Rheum Disease in the Media, Woman's Day problem

Click here to follow all rest of the Woman's Day RA story! I didn’t want to take Rheumatoid Arthritis to the beach with me! I went to the beach the other day. We tried to take a day off from all of our vocational and avocational activities. We hardly ever take time off from school or...Continue reading 19 Comments » Read more

If You Do Not Have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Please Read This

July 13, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 38 Comments Communicating about RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness, Transparency & living with RA

What I would tell those who are not living with Rheumatoid Arthritis A Memo to Non-RA'ers: My mailbox stays full of “nobody gets it” messages. People feel lonely and frustrated because most people don’t get Rheumatoid Arthritis. No, I mean they don’t “get it” as in understand what it is like. Recently, we discussed the UK campaign...Continue reading 38 Comments » Read more

What is Sjogren’s Syndrome?

July 10, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 26 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms, Sjogren's syndrome

What does Rheumatoid Arthritis have to do with Sjogren’s Syndrome? Often we hear of the “characteristic dry eyes of RA.” However, we have more urgent concerns of our Rheumatoid Arthritis. This may be one reason that we don’t know much more about Sjogren’s syndrome. We have often accepted dry eyes as just one more RA symptom without exploring...Continue reading 26 Comments » Read more

The Me Before Rheumatoid Arthritis

July 7, 2009May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 74 Comments Empathy and RA, Rheumatoid arthritis disability, Transparency & living with RA

Let me introduce you to the me you can never meet: The Me Before Rheumatoid Arthritis If you have RA, you spend lots of time adjusting to change. For me, the biggest adjustment has been to the disability. First, there is frustration that I cannot do what I still want to do. But the “old me” is still...Continue reading 74 Comments » Read more