Rheumatoid Arthritis Expert Lene Andersen shares Rheumatoid Arthritis management news and commentary at MyRACentral.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.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/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106 http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106 http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/95522/ra Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:01:09 -0500 Lene Andersen The holiday season is almost upon us and whether that means you'll brave the crowds on Black Friday to hunt the sales or have started percolating your own wish list of subtle hints for clueless loved ones, the scent of shopping is in the air. We look for a change in wardrobe or that special item we can't justify at a regular time (or price), but sometimes, rheumatoid arthritis can get in the way of wearing stylish shoes and putting on a tight... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/95522/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/93460/care Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:27 -0500 Lene Andersen I get by with a little help from my friends. - The Beatles   What does it do to a relationship if you can't storm off in a huff after a fight with your significant other because you may need to help them go to the bathroom first? And what does it do to a relationship if you feel you can't get angry at your partner because you'll need to pee in an hour and can't get your pants off without help?   This is the part we don't talk about... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/93460/care http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/91501/soup Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:56:36 -0400 Lene Andersen There I was at the computer, staring at my monitor, seeing a vast expanse of white space that needed to be filled with this post. This post about spoons. I stared at it on and off for six hours and nothing came to me -- well, nothing other than the overwhelming urge for a nap. Eventually, though, it occurred to me that trying to write about spoons when I was completely out of them was perhaps flirting with idiotic, so I turned off the computer... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/91501/soup http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/91343/faith Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:11:12 -0400 Lene Andersen We don't talk too much about faith and spirituality around here. What you believe and what gets you through is very personal and although many of us touch on it occasionally in SharePosts, it tends to be in the background. Not just because of the privacy thing, but probably also because generally, there is no faster way to ruin a good conversation than to bring up religion and politics.   But now we're going there.   We here at... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/91343/faith http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/89752/great Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:47:37 -0400 Lene Andersen Be kind to yourself, we say. Work within your limits, we say. Accommodate your illness. Don't push yourself too hard. Sometimes, it sounds as if now that you have rheumatoid arthritis, it comes first no matter what. If managing pain means doing less, does that mean you have to give up on your dreams?   I've been thinking a lot about dreams lately. That is, when I wasn't up to my ears in work putting together my first exhibit of... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/89752/great http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/87921/word Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:59:08 -0400 Lene Andersen "Are you in remission?"   I cannot answer. My throat is closed, the words caught somewhere deep within. I can't even answer the question in writing, instead starting the sentence and then deleting, starting another one, phrased slightly differently and delete that, too, before I even get to the part about the R-word. Just writing it in that first sentence of this post makes me feel all antsy and uncomfortable. Those nine letters... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/87921/word http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/86024/teens Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:58:18 -0400 Lene Andersen When I was a teenager, I wanted nothing to do with doctors, hospitals and physical therapists. I was done with blood tests, trying medications that weren't working and soaking my hands in paraffin wax until it accumulated and became a gross glutinous glove that made my skin smell disgusting.   Rheumatoid arthritis had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember and all I wanted was to be normal, to fit in, and do what everybody... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/86024/teens http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/84090/life Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:33:00 -0400 Lene Andersen I got hijacked last week. Not by pirates with cutlasses, eye patches, bad teeth and a shoulder-perched parrot squawking obscenities. Instead, my week was hijacked by something much more bureaucratic: an agency deciding I needed to devote days to doing enough paperwork that I suspect they'll need to build an extension to their offices to store it all.   We like to believe we have free will. We like to believe our lives are our own. But the... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/84090/life http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/82319/guide Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:54:00 -0400 Lene Andersen Rheumatoid arthritis is a pain in the... well, it can pretty much be a pain anywhere and everywhere. Whether you're dealing with the intense pain of a flare or the cranky muttering in the background when your RA is mostly controlled, you'll probably need to find a way to manage pain. Unlike the "minor arthritis pain" of commercials that magically disappears when you take Drug X, real RA pain needs more - it needs a... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/82319/guide http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/80458/neww Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:52:11 -0400 Lene Andersen Centocor Corp's at it again.   A year ago, the makers of Remicade created the GeneRAtions program. Based on two large studies of people living with RA and rheumatologists, it provided valuable information about rheumatoid arthritis (you can read my interview with Joy Fawcett, Olympic gold-medal winner and spokesperson for GeneRAtions here). They haven't rested on their laurels.   Today is the launch of NewWayRA, an online talk... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/80458/neww