Living

Three years after I was diagnosed with lupus, I was scrolling through emails on my phone during my lunch break when a picture caught my eye. Beneath the logo of...

Have you ever wondered if you planted a seed how well it would grow? I have often looked at gardens in awe and wished I could create something so bountiful...

The average cost of living with lupus in America is $22,000 and $50,000. The cost of lupus is based on several studies. Yes, there is a cost associated with lupus...

I hope I am not alone when I say that an ovarian cyst can be very painful. Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs or pockets in an ovary or on its...

Learn to identify your flare-ups. What are the signs? When can you tell that there is change within your body? Lupus is a complicated disease that leaves many individuals confused...

I stare up at the IV bag of clear liquid snaking into my arm: "1000mg methylprednisolone," the nurse at my rheumatologist explains. This is the last of 3 emergency infusions...

Coping with loneliness is depressing, especially for me. I have been feeling lonely for some time now. When I am sick, I lose a lot of friends. Then I will...

Before I was diagnosed with lupus, I was never a fan of exercise. In gym class in high school, I was usually the last one out of the locker room...

My chest hurts. I can barely breathe. I feel like I am having a heart attack. How many have had this conversation with themselves? It is one of the scariest...

Preparing to take a vacation overseas can be a hectic situation. Let me share a few tips that I have learned while flying and traveling during COVID times. When you...

For many people living with lupus, fatigue is the most common symptom experienced. Whether it’s a persistent lack of energy, a sense of physical and mental lethargy, or all-over exhaustion...

Have you ever felt like some doctors are not listening to you? Sometimes I feel like they have already judged me before coming through the office doors. Every time it...

Have you ever heard of Hidradenitis suppurativa? It is a chronic skin disease that causes painful, boil-like lumps that form under the skin and often secrete pus and blood. Boils...

Let’s be honest ...moving is just awful no matter who you are, where you are moving, or how many times you have moved. But living with a chronic illness adds...

I first asked my doctor to prescribe me a handicapped parking pass a little over 8 years ago. Perhaps “ask” is not the right word. My brain was inflamed at...

Why should a doctor feel that they have the right to force a specific treatment onto an individual? If that person does not want to do it, then I believe...

Oftentimes people are fast to talk about their support for other health issues. Health issues are important and talked about consistently. Think about it, you see commercials for specific health...

Have you ever experienced panic because you took a list of flare symptoms to your doctor and they didn't respond with any kind of treatment plan? I feel a unique...

When I first became sick at 21 years old, I was an active person balancing a job and my first year of graduate school. I would often study until late...

Body positivity can not only influence a woman to love herself, but it can also change the outlook on how she loves herself. Body positivity will influence a woman to...