Spondyloarthritis Awareness Month 2021This May, we are going to raise more awareness around axial spondyloarthritis. We will do this while emphasizing the unity, knowledge sharing, and humility that makes this community strong. Living...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Four Ways to Destress in Stressful TimesSince the beginning of the pandemic it seems like increased stress levels have become the new normal. Stress can be a risk factor for many different conditions in general, but...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
My Experience with the COVID-19 VaccineI will be the first to admit that when the Covid vaccine first became available, I was weary of it. As a matter of fact, I was adamant that I...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
5 Tips for Starting a Self-Injection BiologicMy husband, Keegan, has perfected the art of the biologic. I remember the first time he took it. He was so psyched up to do it that I ended up...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
How My Daily Life Has Changed I would consider myself a hard-working person. I started babysitting when I was 15. I had my first part time job at 16. All through college I worked evenings and...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
3 Tips For Mental Health After DiagnosisI knew — in some intuitive way — that I had ankylosing spondylitis (AS), or something similar about a decade before I got my diagnosis. I knew it when my...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Strengthening the Core Without Causing a Flare: Part OneEditor's note: Be sure to speak with your doctor before trying a new exercise program. Building a strong core can be difficult for those of us with inflammatory back pain...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
How Doctors Dismiss Overweight PatientsIf you go to the doctor for a health issue or concern, or because you are in pain, you would expect a thorough examination to get to the root cause...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Amplifying Black Voices: How Healthcare Providers Can Better Serve the CommunityFor our Amplifying Black Voices series, we are exploring how bias in healthcare affects the quality of life for Black people living with autoimmune conditions. Science shows that biases and...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Fatigue-Busting Tips for Ankylosing SpondylitisWhen I'm in the throes of an ankylosing spondylitis (AS) flare-up, the fatigue is through the roof. We're talking about getting up to get a cup of water and immediately...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Rethinking Arthritis FatigueMy sister Danica* has a next-level guest room. If she ever decided to quit working in [redacted] Danica would conquer the hospitality business. An alchemist, she makes every room in...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Rest and Back PainGetting a good night's rest is something many of us in this community struggle with. I too have had and still have my problems with that. Due to the lower...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
The Question that Keeps Me Up at NightThere's a question that keeps me up at night. Could my husband, Keegan, be suffering from more than just AS? What if his fatigue is chronic fatigue syndrome? What if...Reactions0reactionsComments5 comments
Coming Back Home to MyselfI am making more space for things that are good for me. I am temporarily separating myself from the ideology of productivity so that I can redefine what it means...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
I Miss Having a ChoiceEvery morning I wake up immediately feeling the fire behind my eyes and think to myself, “Time to do the same thing as yesterday…” The only motivation for getting out...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
7 Items That Help with my AxSpAWith a chronic illness that is largely out of my control, I rely on certain items to give me a sense of control and to be as comfortable as possible...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
My One Year PainiversaryAs my one-year painiversary is coming up, I thought writing an article about this topic was important. My last pain-free day was the 13th of April 2020. I did not...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
The Therapeutic Effects of Sharing Your AxSpA StoryWhen I was first diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of axial spondyloarthritis, I wasn’t sure how to talk about my experience. Honestly, I didn’t want to think about what...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
My Symptoms May Be Invisible, But I am NotA lot of my symptoms are very much invisible. When I was first diagnosed, I felt like I was invisible. Within the past year and a half, I’ve made it...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Q and A About My Disease, Ankylosing SpondylitisA: Haha, it's pronounced: AN-KUH-LOH-SING SPON-DILL-EYE-TIS. It's a degenerative inflammatory disease that is mediated by the immune system and primarily affects my spine, which means the disease is inflammatory in...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments