If you’re like me, juggling work, family, and trying to squeeze in a social life, sleep often feels like a luxury. But here’s the thing — consistently skimping on sleep could be messing with more than just your energy levels. Let’s talk about a topic that’s not often linked to sleep deprivation but absolutely should…
So here’s something weird: I never thought I’d be reading up on the Epstein-Barr virus again after college biology. And yet, here I am, a few years older, sitting with an aching back that just wouldn’t quit—and what do I stumble across? A rabbit hole of medical chatter suggesting that back pain might be linked…
When I first started connecting the dots between my migraine episodes and the autoimmune symptoms I’d been struggling with for years, it felt like everything finally started making sense. You know those headaches that aren’t just headaches—they steal your entire day? For the longest time, doctors treated them like isolated incidents. But it turns out,…
Last year, after dealing with months of unexplained fatigue and unpredictable migraines, I started wondering if something deeper was going on with my body. It wasn’t just the pain — it was the brain fog, the stiff joints, and the way even a small cold would knock me down for days. Eventually, I stumbled across…
Managing more than one autoimmune disease—especially when one of them is rheumatoid arthritis (RA)—can feel overwhelming. Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body. When you have RA and other autoimmune conditions at the same time, it can affect many parts of your body and make daily life more challenging. But…
If you’ve ever sat across from a patient and heard them whisper, “Can RA go into remission?” with a mix of hope and fear in their eyes—you’re not alone. I’ve been in that exact spot more times than I can count. As a rheumatology nurse practitioner, I’ve walked alongside many people living with rheumatoid arthritis,…
When people hear “rheumatoid arthritis,” they often picture joint pain, swelling, and maybe some stiffness in the mornings. But let me tell you, after years of working closely with patients as a Rheumatology nurse practitioner, I’ve seen firsthand that the hidden symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are where things get tricky. These symptoms can fly under…
As a rheumatology nurse practitioner, I’ve had countless conversations with patients about what really makes rheumatoid arthritis flare—and what actually helps calm it down. Let’s be real: managing rheumatoid arthritis and balancing inflammation triggers is a bit like walking a tightrope. You try to stay steady, but the smallest gust (say, a stressful week or…
Can rheumatoid arthritis cause swollen lymph nodes? This is a question I hear more often than you might think—usually from patients who are already overwhelmed by joint pain, fatigue, and the laundry list of RA symptoms they’re trying to manage. It’s a fair question, and honestly, not one that’s talked about nearly enough. As a…