I was a workaholic; I don’t have a hard time admitting that. Part of me was proud of my work ethic — after all, I was dubbed “Hurricane” because I worked circles around everyone else. Now I have lupus, and fatigue is a big part of battling this…
When you have lupus, every single day brings on more stress. There are endless doctor visits and blood tests. You have to deal with brain fog. You have to remember to take your medicine at the right time. Plus, everyday tasks like getting out of bed and taking…
Living abroad was something I always wanted to do. When you move abroad, it seems people are a bit fascinated with you, and when you move abroad with health challenges, that heightens the fascination. Getting lupus made me witness firsthand what healthcare was like in the United States, and I…
I think that every time I’ve shared an article lately, I’ve talked about symptoms of lupus related to mental health. While I don’t particularly care for the pain, the fatigue, or the physical afflictions of lupus, the things that have caught my attention lately are more psychological. Several months ago,…
Half the time, when I tell someone that I have lupus, I’m not sure that they believe me. And when I say that I work 40 to 50 hours a week and study part-time, I can understand how my health status sounds even less credible. But living with lupus is…
Readers who are familiar with William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” will know that belladonna is a poison. So what does that have to do with potatoes? Everything — and nothing. Both white potatoes and belladonna are from the Solanaceae family, commonly known as nightshades. Red potatoes are also in…
Many of us are frequently told, “You don’t look sick.” We can find that comment a little off-putting. While we recognize that it’s someone’s way of saying that we look “good” or “well,” that’s not how we feel about it. Not looking sick allows us to remain camouflaged among…
I’m wary of taking advice from anyone, because people rarely understand what lupus is or how it affects my body. They merely know of someone who has the disease. Most people don’t appreciate that it’s a diverse illness with no simple solutions or easy fixes. What works for one person…
Following your lupus diagnosis, visits to doctor’s offices begin to multiply. Sometimes I’ll have consultations with three different doctors in the same week. If they order tests, it means even more appointments. Having spent all of this time in medical clinics, I have learned that if I come…
Many of us grew up with nicknames. Later, working in the real estate industry, it was common for people to adopt nicknames that helped promote their businesses. Because I never stopped working, one day my broker called me a “Hurricane in Heels,” and from that day forward, in the office…