Posted on December 18, 2009 by amandajohn
So, it’s exactly one week until Christmas and I have only bought 1 Christmas gift. And everywhere around me is getting snow while I’m getting copious amounts of rain mixed with snow and sleet. Which I fear may freeze tonight. Why am I so scared? Is it because I live in a really old neighborhood [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: chronic illness, Dumb, Flares, Flu, Fun Times, Pain, Weather | 6 Comments »
Posted on December 4, 2009 by amandajohn
I will admit it: I am addicted.
It calms me, it soothes me, it relaxes the muscles of my back and neck which bother me, it stimulates an immune response which helps me manage my RA. I crave time where I am forced to do nothing but chill. And this takes the cake.
I’ve been to [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Diet, Massage Therapy, Meds, Pain, Spoilage, Things I'm Thankful For | 6 Comments »
Posted on November 29, 2009 by amandajohn
So I’ve been doing a gratitude challenge that several of my friends have sent me…and it’s actually been pretty enlightening. It’s a month long series of exercises where you write, think and reflect about positives in your life. I’ve also challenged myself to say two positives about every negative thought I’ve had. Some of them [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Family, Flares, Friends, Fun Times, Insurance, Meds, Moving, Pain, RA Reflections, Things I'm Thankful For, Work | 10 Comments »
Posted on November 15, 2009 by amandajohn
So, every year from Thanksgiving on, I focus on how much fun I’ve had that year, how sad I am to leave that year, and a very specific list of things I want to accomplish in the upcoming year.
This time last year, I had just predicted (accurately I might add) my company was going to [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: chronic illness, Friends, Moving, Pain, RA Reflections, Stress, Things I'm Thankful For | 6 Comments »
Posted on November 14, 2009 by amandajohn
So yes, everytime I have any weird sort of symptom, I immediately look for a way to blame it on my RA.
A week and a half ago, I woke up and my armpits were itching. Not just a little bit but almost unbearably. I had just restarted methotrexate so I looked on WebMD and a [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: chronic illness, Dumb, Meds, Molly | 6 Comments »
Posted on November 5, 2009 by amandajohn
Normally, I get a huge kick out of reading the search terms that bring people to my blog. Some of them are absolutely hilarious and strangely inappropriate. But today, I wish I had contact info for the one I just saw.
“Does RA ever get better?”
Yes, my friend, it does.
It is such a shock to [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Family, Flares, Friends, Fun Times, invisible illness, Pain, RA Reflections, Stress, Things I'm Thankful For, Trying to be normal | 6 Comments »
Posted on October 31, 2009 by amandajohn
I laugh that I can keep up with the world by simply looking at my friends’ Facebook status updates. A few recent favorites include “Jeff intercepted a memo reminding Delhomme that he plays for the Panthers” and “Megan is beginning week 3 of (f)unemployment.”
Today, I noticed probably 8 updates about the H1N1 vaccine. They [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Dumb, Flu, Friends, H1N1, invisible illness, Meds | 8 Comments »
Posted on October 23, 2009 by amandajohn
Traveling with RA can be a pretty unpleasant experience for me. Once, I went to the beach on methotrexate and got so nauseous at dinner that I had to leave. I got sick and cried myself to sleep. Then I went to the mountains and was so stiff and uncomfortable with the cold and snow [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: chronic illness, Family, Flares, Friends, Fun Times, invisible illness, Meds, Pain, Quirks, Theories, Travel, Trying to be normal | 5 Comments »
Posted on October 18, 2009 by amandajohn
Dear Dr. (insert your name here),
First and foremost, let me tell you that I’d so much rather be shoe shopping than rheumatologist shopping. To put things in perspective, I’ve never gone shoe shopping and left with 5 vials less blood than I came with. Rheumatologist shopping…different story.
I’m really frustrated.
I think I’m a pretty good patient. [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Flares, Insurance, Meds, Pain, Rheumatologist, Stress | 7 Comments »
Posted on September 27, 2009 by amandajohn
I was stuck on a conference call the other day at work. It was supposed to be an in depth discussion of part of what I sell and ended up being the reiteration of a presentation I’ve seen twice. Yawn. So, I was doodling on a notepad and on a bored whim, did one of [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Awareness, chronic illness, Flares, Pain, Trying to be normal, Work | 3 Comments »