Arthritis Life

Episode at a glance Art and arthritis: Maria shares how she participates in artistic hobbies like photography and artwork despite hand pain from rheumatoid arthritis Diagnosis journey: Maria’s diagnosis journey with rheumatoid arthritis in Venezuela and her emotional reaction to the diagnosis at age twenty one Managing expectations: Maria and Cheryl discuss what it’s like to try to manage your exp...

Even after getting diagnosed with bi-lateral pulmonary emboli, a necrotizing lung nodule and periodic paralysis, Kim was repeatedly dismissed as being “hysterical,” “just anxious” and having “nothing wrong” with her when it turns out her lung had collapsed, she had an air leak on her lung suture line and she also had rheumatoid arthritis.   Kim shares her experiences and perspectives with candor i...

Episode at a glance: Suruthi’s diagnosis story of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) at age 3 What it was like to be a small child with hip displasia and JIA, unable to walk for long periods of time, including social isolation The challenges Suruthi faced in college with some “friends” and roommates not understanding her condition, accusing her of faking and ultimately bullying and shaming her Ho...

Episode at a glance: Karol’s experience getting diagnosed with JIA at age 13 and being angry, terrified and grumpy about it The importance of disability representation beyond the cliche “inspirational” story How Karol learned the importance of partnership with a doctor and taking an active role in her care in her 20s Why Karol identifies as disabled, rather than a “person with disability” (includi...

Episode at a glance: Introduction and Agenda Review (1:00) Definition of a Flare Up for rheumatic disease (which includes ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis) (6:30) What causes flare-ups, and why is it so important to discover our own unique flare triggers? (7:40) Focus on Pain: tools to prevent pain and reduce existing pain (25:00) Focus on Fatigue: tools to prev...

This episode includes discussions about: How to decide whether or not to have children while living with a chronic illness Tips for comfortable sex with chronic pain Frequently Asked Questions about pregnancy with rheumatoid arthritis, including how to find out which medications are safe Cheryl and Mariah’s experiences with childbirth and C-sections How frequent is the postpartum flare-up and how...

Speaker bios in order of appearance: Kristen Brogan: Kristen has been living with rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's since 2018. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has a PhD in Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, which she uses to inform behavioral chronic illness coaching that she provides for others living with chronic illness. In her free time, she enjoys writing, yoga, meditation, an...

Topics covered in this episode include: Stigmas around disability within South Asian communities. Sukhjeen’s personal story with rheumatoid arthritis and how that led her to form the nonprofit Chronically Brown Exploration of medication shaming. Lack of representation of people of color’s voices in online chronic illness communities. Discussion about how South Asian practices (like yoga, herbal re...

Topics include: Joel shares what it was like to grow up with juvenile idiopathic arthritis Joel explores the vulnerability of doctor patient interactions and the concern chronic illness patients often have of being perceived as hypochondriacs. Joel and Cheryl discuss the imperfections of our current health systems, and the fact that “No Established Cause doesn’t mean No Problem.” A group Pain Mana...

Episode at a glance: Renee’s diagnosis journey after a decade of mystery symptoms How rheumatoid arthritis has affected Renee’s parenting and homeschooling Renee’s Christian faith helps her cope with challenging times Cheryl and Renee share their different treatment choices (western medicine and natural only approaches) and how important it is to respect each other despite different choices How Re...

Specific topics include: Julie’s experience with multiple knee surgeries  Avascular Necrosis leads to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Julie is bedriddenfor 6 months How a trip to Disney World led to Julie’s epiphany that she should share her story and start a blog How Julie put her Information Technology (IT) degree to use while tracking her symptoms and discovering her unique inflammation trig...

Episode at a glance: Eileen shares her rocky road to an RA diagnosis when he son was two years old How Eileen's blog led her to patient advocacy and research  How symptom tracking helped Eileen reduce pain and improve fatigue How exercise helps Eileen reduce pain and improve fatigue What it's like to be a single mom with RA Reflections on  mental health while living with chronic illness Speaker bi...

In this episode, Cheryl & Jamie discuss: Jamie’s challenging diagnosis journey The difference between her pre-psoriatic arthritis pregnancy and parenting experience and her experience being pregnant with psoriatic arthritis, including a discussion of medications The difficulties of being a young person with rheumatic disease The challenges of family planning with rheumatic disease: whether to have...

In this episode Cheryl explains how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been key for her to build a life she loves despite chronic illnesses. She also shares how she’s found a balance between ways to minimize pain and ways to live a good life despite pain. Additionally she urges listeners to ask, “Can I live a good life despite rheumatoid arthritis?” rather than “Can I live a normal life w...

James and Cheryl discuss in detail how they manage fluctuating symptoms and pain from chronic rheumatic diseases. James also explains how his patient journey led him to create his innovative 3-D symptom tracker app, Chronic Insights. Speaker bios: James Allen is 39, and has lived with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) for 22 years. He likes to think of arthritis as a clumsy housemate who moved in withou...

Speaker biographies:  Dr. Micah Yu is double board-certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine. He obtained his MD from Chicago Medical School and holds a Masters in Healthcare Administration and Biomedical sciences. He completed his internal medicine residency and rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda University in Southern California. He has been accepted with a full scholarship to the...

Dr. Kara Wada is an Assistant Clinical Professor and Associate Fellowship Program Director of Allergy/Immunology at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency and Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at the Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  After having...

Christa Fairbrother is a skilled and experienced water aerobics and aqua yoga instructor who also lives with multiple chronic illnesses. For Christa, living with arthritis and teaching yoga are integrated.  She credits her lack of pain to aqua yoga practice.  Being passionate about aqua yoga, she wants to see aqua yoga in more communities worldwide. Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who has...

Christy Williams is a certified health coach, wife, mother of two and endurance athlete/triathlete. She has been living with an autoimmune disease called Sero-negative spondylarthopathy (blood negative inflammatory arthritis) since the age of 24. She is now 48 and has been in remission for 15 years due to a combination of Remicade (a biologic disease modifier) and an active healthy lifestyle.  Che...

Episode at a Glance: 0:48: Episode intro 2:50: One -  We want you to learn what the disease is and isn’t. 9:55: Two - The fatigue can be just as bad as the pain. 15:48: Three - It doesn’t just affect the body - it also affects the mind and emotions. 20:20**: Four** - It affects EACH person differently. 22:50: Five - Daily symptoms are often unpredictable. 25:45**: Six -** We want credit for how ha...

In December 2020, Arthritis Life hosted an “Arthritis Storytelling Hour” where thirteen patients shared vivid tales from their lives. Listen and learn about how difficult the diagnosis process is for some, how people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis learned to advocate for themselves, how to navigate work life with your condition, what it’s like to be a “spoonie mom,” the impor...

Photo credit for Lene’s photo: David Govoni.  Speaker bios: Lene (pronounced Lena) is an award-winning writer and rheumatoid arthritis advocate living in Toronto, Canada. Born and raised in Denmark, Lene has had autoimmune arthritis since childhood and has used a power wheelchair since her teens. She has a Masters Degree in Social Work and writes books about living well with RA and other types of...

Jen dives deep into how and why she co-founded Savvy-Co-op, whose mission is to empower patients to co-create new solutions alongside health innovators. This includes a discussion of her PhD studies in human factors.  Jen walks us through what it’s like for a patient to get their voice heard and provide feedback to healthcare companies and health innovators through Savvy, all while being monetaril...

Stefanie is the Rheumatoid Arthritis Coach. She’s a mother, teacher, volunteer, Family Nurse Practitioner, and also has rheumatoid arthritis. She was diagnosed about six years ago after the birth of her  first child. As a medical professional with over ten years of experience at that time, she was completely lost and felt like her world was shattered. The day she was diagnosed she cried for 10 min...

Jason Webb is a 42 year old father of 3 daughters who has lived with inflammatory arthritis for 38 years. He’s also an artist, chef-educator (27 years), stock trading coach, and mentor to other single fathers.  Jason is a creative with a flair for wit and humor. He understands that  what works for him might not work for you, but he's there to help you through, so don’t be shy to reach out. He is c...