Living

One of my most painful days with lupus wasn’t a day when my joints were swollen or when my fatigue was overwhelming. It wasn’t even when I was bedridden with...

Have you heard of choosing your hard? It’s usually framed in a way where either direction is hard (such as marriage or divorce) and you have to pick one. Well...

My husband and I recently purchased a car so now I’ve been planning several road trips for the future. But, living with lupus presents unique challenges and we just can’t...

My heart skipped a beat. I took a deep breath and then the anxiety hit. I muttered to myself, “What’s wrong with me? Is my lupus messing with my heart...

Lately at every party (I guess because I’m married and 34 and childless) people ask, "so when are you going to have kids?". I have a long winded explanation in...

In my life with lupus, my brain is keeping a constant tally of energy and how to "budget" my energy throughout the day. When the miniseries Maid began streaming on...

Winter is here and that means dry skin, stiff and painful joints, and flare-ups caused by the shift in temperatures. One of the most important things that we can do...

One year ago, I began to struggle with pain and instability in my wrists. I had struggled with the pain of lupus arthritis in my hands since the very beginning...

Complications from lupus can result in neurological problems, that some may not understand if they are not familiar with how lupus. It can lead to headaches, nerve issues, seizures, and...

Living with lupus is a constant challenge, but it's one I've learned to navigate with a combination of careful planning and practical tools. Over the years, I've put together a...

Anyone who has ever taken steroids knows about their side effects all too well. Irritability, weird food cravings, and heartburn are just a few. However, the side effect that many...

I’ve been living with a condition that has challenged my kidneys for so many years. I was diagnosed with lupus nephritis in 1995 and went through rigorous treatments just to...

The holiday season can be a mix of joy, chaos, and peopling… lots of peopling! We often talk about preparing for the holiday season or finding ways to relax when...

I don't know where I would be since my lupus diagnosis, without my husband. We met a few months before I got my diagnosis, so we had a brief period...

I heard someone say that the love of family and friends is the glue that holds your heart together. Sometimes living with lupus goes beyond just the medical journey. It's...

Have you ever heard a lupus patient ask to keep a room as dark as possible? Most likely they are allergic to the sun, or their body is running too...

A while back, I shared as part of my lupus journey how I've also gone through a journey with my weight and body image. My weight is something I have...

It was a Thursday night and I was experiencing the ravages of an ear infection that seemed to go from 0 to 100 in approximately 2 hours. I’ve never had...

Getting a lupus diagnosis was hard enough at the age of 27, and looking back my doctors never prepared me if other diagnoses could follow. I don’t know if they...

Most lupus patients talk about the fatigue, joint pain, and social isolation that comes with a chronic illness. But a topic you hear about less from chronically ill people is...