Health Expert Lene Andersen 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/80106/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/80106/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/80106/index http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/150119/pre Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:36:37 -0500 Lene Andersen Medications for rheumatoid arthritis can be hard on your stomach. Between heartburn, acid reflux, gas, GERD and other gastrointestinal shenanigans, chances are that sooner or later your doctor will suggest you get scoped. Even if you have the sound gastrointestinal constitution of a camel, there comes a time in your life where it just makes good sense to screen for other health conditions, such as colon cancer. Colonoscopies and endoscopies... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/150119/pre http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149926/body Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:11:57 -0500 Lene Andersen No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.                                 - John Donne, 1624   When the last time anyone involved in your medical care talked to you about sex? Have you ever been asked about the impact RA... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149926/body http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149708/pap Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:21:09 -0500 Lene Andersen This is the first post in a series on preventative health care for people living with RA. Today's post is about women's healthcare, marking Cervical Health Awareness Month and the coming weeks will explore colonoscopies, endoscopies, bone density test and stress tests.   It is an unfortunate fact that many people with RA have gaps in their primary health care.   When you live with a chronic illness, you are part of a never-ending... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149708/pap http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149703/time Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:41:15 -0500 Lene Andersen Do you have a New Year's resolution to improve your health or to help someone you care about improve their health? Do you plan to involve technology in accomplishing this goal? If the answer to those questions is yes, the government wants to give you 15 minutes of fame!   The Office of the National Coordinator For Health Information Technology (ONC) has launched a project called Healthy New Year Video Challenge. If you plan to change... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149703/time http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149189/ra Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:27:00 -0500 Lene Andersen   "Imagine if the first thing you found when googling RA was the opinions of patients..."   Kelly Young is a woman with a mission. She would "like to see other patients do better, learn more and be empowered." To that end, she is a strong advocate and works hard to provide people who have RA with accurate information.   Kelly is the wife of a pastor, a homeschooling mother of five children and lives in central Florida.... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/149189/ra http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148825/year Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:19:00 -0500 Lene Andersen I love this time of year. There are 12 new months ahead of us, 365 new days - since 2012 is a leap year, 366 days - filled with sparkling potential. As we move through the year, we might find that it will include challenges and obstacles and health issues, but at this moment while we stand on the cusp, it is all bright and shiny potential for goodness. At this moment, it's a little easier to have hope for change, a belief that the future will... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148825/year http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148670/2011 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:27:00 -0500 Lene Andersen As the year draws to a close, your RA Community team gathered to reflect on the past year. It's been a year of changes, big projects and new faces.   We are part of a bigger site and as you may be aware, about a month ago Remedy Health took over HealthCentral. We see this as an exciting development, one that can expand the ways we reach our community and look forward to the journey in 2012. You may have noticed that our name has... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148670/2011 http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148384/meet Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:46:03 -0500 Lene Andersen We have an excellent team of writers on the site, all of whom live with RA. The combination of personal experience and in-depth knowledge of the facts of RA make our team the cream of the RA crop! Between us, we have almost 100 years of experience of living with RA for you to tap into.   Do you want to know when a team member publishes a new post? If you want to get an e-mail notification of new posts by us or any other community member,... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148384/meet http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148165/ain Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:44:00 -0500 Lene Andersen Ask someone with rheumatoid arthritis to tell you about their biggest frustration and chances are they'll mention the misconception that RA is like osteoarthritis (OA). To help you educate those around you, HealthCentral's RA community will be featuring a trio of posts with information and stories that can help others understand. We'd like to thank Tiffany Westrich, the CEO and cofounder of the International Autoimmune Arthritis Movement, who... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148165/ain http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148097/love Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:32:20 -0500 Lene Andersen As the Twilight movies are close to wrapping up, I find myself reflecting on my reaction to the first book. What so many found impossibly romantic, I found worrisome. To me, the depiction of the relationship felt like nothing but red flags indicating an unhealthy love.   What does this have to do with RA? Sometimes, a chronic illness can have significant impact on what's happening in the rest of our lives. One of those aspects is... http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/c/80106/148097/love