Health Expert V shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/499724/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/499724/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/499724/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/152928/ra Mon, 14 May 2012 20:22:00 -0400 V Did you know that your risk of having a heart attack doubles in the ten years following your RA diagnosis?  This sobering bit of information from the American College Of Rheumatology started my  mind running. I wanted to know why we have a higher risk of heart attack.  I wanted to know what to do to keep our hearts healthy.   We all know that RA is a serious disease.  Our overactive lymphocytes release chemicals called... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/152928/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/152086/ra Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:32:00 -0400 V I am sitting in my living room looking out on the lawn at the life that is thriving just beyond my front door. The birds are in flight, filling the air with such beautiful song. They are looking for bits of straw and grass to build their nests. The branches of the maple trees are heavy with “helicopter” seeds. Inside my home, the cats are shedding, a sure harbinger of warmer weather and abundant sunshine. I am a happy person in the... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/152086/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/151308/ma Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:27:00 -0400 V I just finished celebrating my St Patty's Day birthday. I promised myself a Spring makeover this year with my birthday set as an evaluation date. My birthday has come and gone, and I have some good things to report, but I have much more to do. Isn't that the way it always is? We set goals and we make some progress, but somewhere along the line we realize that change is a process requiring a lot of time and emotional investment. The key to... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/151308/ma http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/150112/ra Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:53:00 -0500 V As I write about my hopes for a Spring Makeover, there is snow covering the ground, and the wind is howling. It is cold. I am tired of the cold, so I am turning my thoughts to the promise of Spring.   The hope of Spring is inspiring me to start a makeover program for myself. I have trouble staying on course for too long, so I am hoping for some noticeable improvements by March 17th. I will be 58 years old that day. Oh, where did all those... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/150112/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/149942/day Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:28:00 -0500 V Valentine's day is traditionally for lovers, but this year I want to spread the love. My husband will get special attention this year, as he does every year, but I think I have enough love to expand the scope of this upcoming celebration of caring for others.   A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the privilege of visiting an elderly lady in our community who had fallen and was in the hospital. This frail little woman will be in the... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/149942/day http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/149062/ra Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:56:00 -0500 V Living with RA is a challenge. We have obstacles to overcome every day. Sometimes it is hard just to get to the shower in the morning. Sometimes it is painful to brush our hair. Sometimes, we can't brush our hair, because our shoulders are too stiff and swollen to move in the right direction.   Coping with these type of road blocks to living a “normal” life can be overwhelming, unless we have emotional support from friends,... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/149062/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147919/ra Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:04:00 -0500 V Greetings, Fellow RAers! The Holidays are just around the corner, and it is time to come up with a plan. Just hoping everything will go well doesn't cut it. Trust me! I have done that many times, and I ended up worn slick, grumpy and hurting.   I do NOT want to repeat my earlier attempts at celebrating the holidays by trying to ignore my RA. That just didn't work, because no matter how hard we try to ignore RA, it is always there. Our... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147919/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147958/fog Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:54:00 -0500 V RA Daily Forecast: Mostly cloudy today with periods of intermittent dense brain fog leading to “word stumbling”, disjointed thoughts, and slow body movements. These unnerving conditions will last all day, and most likely draw stares from non-RAers who happen to cross your path.   Sometimes my RA World is foggy. I know as soon as I get up on a “bad” day that the next several hours will feel as though they are passing... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147958/fog http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147729/rh Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:39:00 -0500 V It is December and I am sitting here wondering where the rest of 2011 went. There are blue icicle lights hanging all along my front porch. My bushes have colorful “net” lights strung across their green, bushy branches. It looks like December. It is December. What happened to the rest of the year?   Last winter was brutal in the Midwest. We had much more snow than usual, and colder temperatures than usual, and..........a... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/147729/rh http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/146497/ra Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:37:00 -0500 V   I have been trying to get my RA under control for over a year now. I have been diligent about getting my blood work done, keeping my appointments, and taking all my medications on schedule. That is a good thing, and I have made some progress with my RA. The bad thing is, I have been ignoring just about everything else.   Let's start with the teeth, shall we? Seems as though I have extra dry eyes and a very dry mouth. For example, I... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/499724/146497/ra