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Update From the Front Lines on the War on RA
Frontline, War on RA, October 19, 2016 — The war rages all around. The outcome is uncertain, but things seem to be at a stalemate. It is true that progress has been made over the last two years of daily battle; but from this reporter’s standpoint, forward progress seems to be halted at the moment. As I write this dispatch my hip hurts badly, my fingers are swollen, my back is inflamed as ankylosing spondylitis takes its toll, and the left elbow is once again hurting as the old nodule returns. This, despite two lidocaine patches, weekly...
read moreAdvice column RABlog week 2016
Today I chose the Wildcard #1 of the 2016 RABlog week which is: Advice column – What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten, or advice you can give about how to live well with chronic disease and pain The best advice I have ever gotten about RA did not come from any medical professional or person involved in my treatment. In fact it was not even an adult. The best advice came from my grandson Ben. His advice is so good, I think it might need to be placed in a frame and hung on my wall. It is universal in nature and so clear that it cuts...
read moreGreat Blogs I have read this week
Day 5 of RABlog week 2016 and the prompt is: Great Blogs I have read this week – RABlog week is, at its heart, a way for bloggers to connect. Tell others about the great blogs you have read over the week. Perhaps you have found a gem from a blogger you did not know before, or maybe one of your friends shared special insight. Give a high five in print to another blogger or two who participated in 2016 RABlog week. There are so many great blogs, I cannot just pick out one or two. And because I cannot do the assignment, I thought I would take...
read moreThe pain with pain meds – Day 4 of RABlog week
This is day 4 of #RABlog week. Today’s post is: The pain of pain meds – Pain medication prescriptions are difficult to obtain and scary to use. What horror stories do you have because of new laws? Maybe you have been treated badly at the pharmacy or by family members? Tell your story today. My difficulty with these medications is not mine. I use pain medication sparingly, and my doctor is kind in providing pain medication according to my need. I have a good relationship with my local pharmacist, and I work hard to know the pharmacist and...
read moreBiologics can be scary Day 3 of RABlog
This is day 3 of RABlog week, and todays prompt is: Biologics can be scary – What did you think the first time you Googled your biologic medication? What advice would you give a person just diagnosed when it comes to biologic medications? Give your readers the scoop on biologics. I have used a total of seven biologic medications in my 16 years with RA. My first one was effective for more than five years, and the shortest less than 90 days. They are powerful medications that have given me and countless others new life. They are also very...
read moreActive versus reactive patients
This is day 2 of RABlog week, and todays prompt is: Active versus reactive patients – We usually start as naïve and trusting patients, then at some point we realize we must take an active part in our own medical decisions. Tell the story of your move to active patient or why you are not there as yet. Transition I became active when I took an interest in my health. I have not always been very interested in my health. Frankly, I had other stuff on my mind. Things like education, working, husband and raising two sons were far more...
read moreStarting stories RABlog week 2016
This week many of us in the RA community will be blogging about the same prompt each day for five days. Today’s prompt is starting stories. The full prompt is: Starting stories – tell us about your diagnosis, what were you thinking, feeling or when did you first know something was wrong? Or maybe you were having a break from a biologic medication, and you decided to give it another try? My starting story is also an ending story, so it is best to start at the end. Ending Things just were not right. So I did, what I do when I wake up...
read moreHistory, Hope and Gratefulness
On June 4, 2016, I rode my bicycle as a member of Team Lilly at the 25th annual Tour De Cure at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As I rode my bike around the wet course, I was inspired to reflect on my past, present and hope for the future. At times it felt like I wasn’t alone on the track. Instead, I felt like I was pedaling with the loved ones who have been by my side throughout my journey with diabetes. I’m part of history. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is steeped in the history of tremendous feats of speed, but the history I felt during...
read moreLosing Options
Are you feeling like those of us with a chronic condition(s) are losing our health care options or that our choices are being limited? We seem to be increasingly under attack by insurance, regulation, and other people’s good idea to save money with little regard to how these decisions impact our health. I could rattle off dozens of examples. But here are a few: Medtronic agreement with United Health Care to limit insulin pump choice, Using increasingly more Step Therapy before approval of appropriate biologic medications National...
read moreKathy Putzier
Kathy Putzier was a dear friend of mine, and she died last week. I have tried many times to write a fitting tribute to express a history of our friendship and how much she meant to me. I cannot do it. Kathy was one of those people who was present when the Diabetes Online Community (DOC) was in its infancy. In many emails, she often applauded and criticized the current state of the DOC. Sometimes correctly, and at other times I felt she was off base. But that is what friends do; they talk. They are open to criticism and praise. Kathy...
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