Health Expert Leslie Rott 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/568286/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/568286/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/568286/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160624/workout-ra Wed, 15 May 2013 19:22:00 -0400 Leslie Rott I hope that you will watch the video that displays some examples of what I do for exercise.  But I also figured that I would outline my exercise routine in writing.*   I learned a long time ago, before I got sick, that I am not a runner.  So over the years, especially since I got sick, I have had to come up with something that works for me exercise wise.  Other considerations for me include not exercising outside when it is... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160624/workout-ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160444/illnesses Wed, 01 May 2013 14:38:00 -0400 Leslie Rott I have one sibling.  My sister and I are almost 10 years apart.  Growing up, we weren’t all that close because our lives were so different.  When she was five and I was 14, the last thing I wanted was my little sister hanging out with my friends and I.   But now that she’s in college and I am in graduate school, we are a lot closer.  While we still are at different stages of our lives, we understand each... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160444/illnesses http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160443/ra-starts-gut Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:36:00 -0400 Leslie Rott When I was in college, I developed stomach problems, which were identified as irritable bowel syndrome (also known as spastic colon, but not to be confused with inflammatory bowel disease (Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease).  If I ate a lot of roughage, Chinese food, or drank black coffee, within no more than a half an hour, I would find myself needing to find a bathroom right away.  While it hindered my social life, it also... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/160443/ra-starts-gut http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159937/rheumatoid Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:51:00 -0400 Leslie Rott   Our fearless community leader here at HealthCentral, Lene Andersen, has written a book called, “Your Life With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Tools For Managing Treatment, Side Effects, and Pain.”    The book, while more how-to than memoir, is a culmination of over 40 years of experience living with RA.  Lene began having symptoms of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 4, and she speaks from first-hand... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159937/rheumatoid http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159667/battling-bulge Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:58:00 -0400 Leslie Rott We all know that weight management can be a difficult thing, even more so when you are living with a disease that often makes it difficult to partake in any measure of physical activity.    It also doesn’t help that while we are told that weight management can be a key to avoiding further damage to our joints, we are put on medications (read Prednisone) that cause us to gain weight.   Right now, I am about 10 pounds more... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159667/battling-bulge http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159666/tarcolimus Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:57:00 -0400 Leslie Rott In my last few posts, I alluded to the fact that I would be starting Rituxan at the beginning of this month.    Since those posts, and despite the fact that the infusions had already been scheduled, I decided to go in a different direction.   While the prospect of needing treatment every six months to a year after the two initial doses was a huge draw for me, the risk of PML – Progressive Multifocal Encephalopathy, a rare... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159666/tarcolimus http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159162/ra-treatments Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:09:00 -0500 Leslie Rott The last several of my rheumatologist appointments have mainly been to discuss what’s next for me in terms of a treatment regimen.    At my second to last appointment, I was a bit disturbed because my rheum kept referring to medications or treatments as products.  We have this product that does this.  We have this product that does that.   I guess I am a consumer and medications are products, but I prefer to think... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159162/ra-treatments http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159160/ra Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:21:00 -0500 Leslie Rott We’ve all heard stories of someone in line buying something for someone else, or someone going to pay a grocery or lunch bill, only to find out that it has already been paid by someone mysteriously.   These are what are known as random acts of kindness.  They happen everyday, and sometimes go unnoticed.    We all know that having RA is tough, but random and not-so-random acts of kindness can make it seem a little bit... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/159160/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/158647/rh Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:50:00 -0500 Leslie Rott It’s a new year, which means making resolutions for a new and better year.  One thing I am contemplating trying this year is a juice fast.   The idea of a juice fast is not only to promote weight loss, but also to detoxify the body.  Further there are those who believe that, if juice fasting cannot cure disease, it can at least improve overall health.    This idea came about because I recently watched the... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/158647/rh http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/158646/ra Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:47:00 -0500 Leslie Rott In my graduate student life, mentoring is a big deal – not only students mentoring other students, but also faculty mentoring students.  There is a lot of emphasis placed on this in graduate school, as academics want to breed other academics, and feel that they are instrumental in creating the next generation of scholars.   I think less about mentoring in my illness life, but the more that I think about it, mentoring does play a... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/568286/158646/ra