‘Art enables me to face my body and my life with courage.’ Chronic 24/7 pain, fatigue, swelling, and a host of other symptoms are all part of my journey with rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, osteoarthritis,…
Chronic illness
Understand chronic illness, its symptoms, common causes, and effective management strategies to improve health and quality of life.
Fibromyalgia Symptoms: 10 Clues You Might Be Ignoring
If you’ve had a nagging sore throat, your doctor may take a swab to check for strep. If you’re suffering from a high fever and bad cough, your doctor may order a chest X-ray to…
Arthritis in Your Wrist: Signs of Wrist Arthritis, and What to Do About It
When you think of arthritis, you might think of creaky knees or painful, swollen fingers. But if your wrist is feeling swollen and stiff, this wrist pain may be caused by arthritis too. The wrist…
More Than One-Third of Axial Spondyloarthritis Patients Develop Peripheral Arthritis
Doctors and patients need to be on the lookout for these additional symptoms. Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is often described as an inflammatory form of arthritis that causes low back pain. While chronic back pain is…
Butt Pain and Arthritis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
When you have arthritis, buttoning a shirt or fastening a clasp can be a pain in the butt. So is folding laundry with achy joints, blow drying your hair, or even signing paperwork. But then…
Feel that cold – Fibro Weather
“Fall Blends” oil pastel by Shelley Lockwood Fall was one of my favorite seasons. Some days, damp ones to be more precise are rarely pleasant or enjoyable. Last week the dull ache got less dull…
Dropping the Fibro Ball – Fibromyalgia
There it was again…the “F” ball and from a second Doctor no less. I had no idea what this fibromyalgia was but figured I should probably read up on IT. It would have to wait…
Tired of Wishing my Life Away Fibromyalgia
Last month was awful. Not because of family, not because of friends, not because of anything that I can control but because of something that is a part of my life, like it or not.…
Fibromyalgia Ain’t Gonna Get me Down
I realize for those of you meeting me here for the first time, your initial impression might be that I’m a complainer or ungrateful. I am not. I am thankful every single day for the…
Kicking and Screaming Toward the Fibromyalgia Half-Century Mark
As I am reluctantly dragged, kicking, and screaming toward the half-century mark…side note: boy do I wish I had the strength to actually physically resist, kick and scream right now ? … I think of…