Chronic Awareness: Understanding Chronic Illnesses & Supporting

This Is Important for RA Patients to Know: Taming Inflammation Doesn’t Always Alleviate Pain

“This may have implications for management decisions beyond treating to disease activity targets alone.” Pain and inflammation often go hand in hand, especially for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). So it logically follows that when inflammatory markers decrease, less pain would follow. But according to a new study that isn’t always the case. The study, which was presented at the 2019 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Meeting…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Nearly 20% of People with Spondyloarthritis Also Have Fibromyalgia, New Data Show

Female patients were much more likely to have a dual diagnosis. Small studies have suggested an overlap between spondyloarthritis (SpA) and fibromyalgia, but now a larger meta-analysis confirms it: About 17 percent of SpA patients also have fibromyalgia, compared to 2 to 8 percent of the general population that has fibromyalgia. Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More…. These findings, which were based on an analysis of 15 earlier observational trials, were…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

30% of RA Patients Don’t See Fatigue Improve After Starting Treatment

And a few factors seemed to be responsible, including being obese and also having fibromyalgia. When most people think about rheumatoid arthritis (RA), they focus on joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. While those issues are certainly common, they tend to co-exist with another symptom — overwhelming fatigue — that can be harder for friends and family to understand. Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More…. Fatigue is more than being a little…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

The 5 Ways My Artwork Helps Me Cope with My Multiple Chronic Diseases

‘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, fibromyalgia, and other chronic conditions I’ve been living with for years. I’ve loved drawing since I was a child, and after my RA diagnosis in 2011, I started to create art more regularly. As my diseases progressed and multiplied, my…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Medical Marijuana for Arthritis: Does Legal Status Affect Whether Patients Use It — or Talk to Their Doctor About It?

No matter who you talk to in the chronic pain, arthritis, and musculoskeletal disease community — patients, clinicians, researchers, public health experts — medical marijuana is controversial. Is it safe? Is it effective for treating pain and inflammation? Should it be legal? While more clinical trials are sorely needed to understand the benefits and side effects of using medical marijuana to treat conditions like arthritis, it’s important to understand how patients think about and use…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

These Are the Methotrexate Side Effects That Make Arthritis Patients Stop Taking It

Methotrexate (MTX) is considered a “first-line” therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is also used to treat psoriatic arthritis (PsA). But despite the well-known benefits of helping to reduce symptoms and prevent disease progression, methotrexate has a very mixed reputation among arthritis patients. Perhaps because MTX is so commonly prescribed, many inflammatory arthritis patients start to worry about whether or not they’ll have to take it almost as soon as they’re diagnosed. “For anyone with…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

The Arthritis Symptoms That Matter to Patients May Not Always Be the Ones They Discuss with Their Doctor

One of the main reasons people with arthritis visit the rheumatologist frequently — every three months is common among patients with inflammatory arthritis — is for doctors and patients to assess how arthritis patients are managing their disease. Typical check-ins may include a doctor’s physical exam and assessment as well as reviewing the results of blood tests and imaging tests. What’s also critical at these visits is something arthritis researchers and doctors call PROs, or…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Fibromyalgia vs. Lupus: What’s the Difference?

Fibromyalgia and lupus are both chronic diseases with no cure, can both cause some similar symptoms, and can both take a long time to get the right diagnosis. But fibromyalgia — often called fibro — and lupus are two very distinct health conditions with very different causes and treatments, despite having some features in common. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that involves widespread inflammation and impacts many organs throughout the body. Fibromyalgia a disorder that…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

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 look for pneumonia. But not all diagnoses are that straightforward. Case in point: Fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread chronic pain — as well as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties — is often challenging for a physician to pinpoint.…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Is There a Difference Between Having Ankylosing Spondylitis with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis with Back Pain? A New Study Says Yes

Having AS with psoriasis may have some things in common with psoriatic arthritis, but research shows these are two distinct conditions. About 25% of people who have an autoimmune condition develop at least one more; some people live with three, four, or more. In fact, certain pairs of inflammatory diseases commonly occur together. For one, people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (also known as axial spondyloarthritis) — which is best-known for causing chronic lower back pain…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0