Health Expert Lisa Emrich 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/72218/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/72218/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/72218/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/153121/ra Sat, 19 May 2012 16:23:00 -0400 Lisa Emrich Rheumatoid arthritis can make activities more difficult to accomplish.  It can cause severe fatigue and pain.  RA can also complicate how you manage to divvy up your time  each day, much less find time to exercise or stay physically active. In a recent study, researchers in the Netherlands asked the question - “Are people with rheumatoid arthritis who undertake activity pacing at risk of being too physically... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/153121/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/152552/dep Tue, 01 May 2012 00:53:00 -0400 Lisa Emrich A new study published in Arthritis Care & Research suggests that one third of US adults living with doctor-diagnosed arthritis (including rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, fibromyalgia, or some other form of arthritis) aged 45 or older report having anxiety, depression, or both.  The study comprised a phone survey of 1,793 individuals living with arthritis from the Arthritis Condition and Health Effects Survey (ACHES) which is the most... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/152552/dep http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/152412/ra Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:51:00 -0400 Lisa Emrich Think you can’t donate your tissue since you have rheumatoid arthritis?  Think again.  Researchers want your tissue and blood samples in order to conduct a variety of research projects. The Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics & Human Genetics, as part of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York, is examining patterns in the human genome to find specific genetic risks for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/152412/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151757/ra Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:47:00 -0400 Lisa Emrich Welcome to April, National Poetry Month.  Since 1996, the Academy of American Poets has celebrated the legacy and achievement of American poets, introduced Americans to the joys of reading poetry, and made poetry an important part of school curriculum.     On HealthCentral, we will celebrate the talents of our own RA community and create a place to share our thoughts, our words, our poems throughout the month of April. ... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151757/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151566/ra Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:17:00 -0400 Lisa Emrich Former Vice President Dick Cheney is recovering from a heart transplant he received on Saturday, March 24, 2012.  According to a report in the New York Times, Cheney had been on the transplant list for 20 months.  His surgery took place at the very same hospital in which I received my past two rounds of Rituxan infusions.  I wish the very best to Cheney and the family of the heart donor. For two centuries, blood, bone, organ, and... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151566/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151250/ms Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:43:16 -0400 Lisa Emrich March is a month full of anniversaries, celebrations, and awareness galore.  Some worth celebrating, some worth acknowledging, and some worth forgetting. Twelve years ago on the second Tuesday of March, I woke up with my eyesight fading.  I was losing field of vision and colors were becoming dull and faded.  Starting with my own eye doctor, I visited three doctors, each with a slightly different specialty involving the eyes, in... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/151250/ms http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/150652/nrar Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:52:00 -0500 Lisa Emrich I have a confession to make.  I have a new obsession.  That obsession has nothing to do rheumatoid arthritis, nothing to do with disease, nothing to do with doctors, hospitals, or illness in general.  It has everything to do with planning for a wedding. That’s right, I’m planning a wedding.  My wedding.  The same one mentioned in my post Love: With and Without Disease when I promised to tell you more about... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/150652/nrar http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/150231/love Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:19:20 -0500 Lisa Emrich When I met Rob over 6 years ago, I did not ‘have’ MS nor RA.  I was just a regular, seemingly heathy, person who was ready to meet someone.  Although my medical records did have hints of what was to come, I carried no significant diagnoses. We were set up on a blind date through a local dating service.  Rob’s life and interests were described to me as were mine to him.  When we met and compared notes, we... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/150231/love http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/149730/tra Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:49:43 -0500 Lisa Emrich We didn’t realize just how ill my mother was.  As my mother walked into the emergency department, her shockingly low hemoglobin (Hb) level was 3.5 g/dL.  Normal hemoglobin levels for a woman range from 12.0 to 16.0 g/dL.  The nurse confided that she had never seen such low hemoglobin in a person who was conscious much less alert and ambulatory (however weak).  The doctor said that such a low Hb level could cause a heart... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/149730/tra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/149120/life Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:03:00 -0500 Lisa Emrich What did you do special for New Year’s?  Do you have any special traditions?  Or do you still need to make a New Year’s Resolution or two? For years, my father and I had a routine we shared during the holidays when I would travel home from college.  We would go downtown into Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma Blood Institute to donate blood.  That became part of our New Year’s celebration.  Since 1970,... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/72218/149120/life