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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…

“You’re an inspiration to many.” I get it all the time. Do you want to know a secret? I never wanted to be an inspiration — not like this. The cost of being “inspirational” is going to bed every night knowing that no matter how many or how few hours…

I cannot deny it: I love bread. Toast with peanut butter has been my go-to breakfast for a long time. But as I am now learning, both of these foods can cause inflammation in my body.  So what’s a bread-loving girl to do? Look for substitutes that taste…

Recently, I was having a discussion about lupus. Because I’m a self-proclaimed joy junkie, I was asked why I say I am battling lupus instead of living with it. The word battle seems negative. I look at living with something as being accepting of the behavior that is exhibited…

Whenever I write about lupus, I refer to it as a separate entity. In my mind, my journey with lupus is a battle; it’s always been a “me versus the enemy” situation. However, the significance of mentally detaching myself from the disease didn’t occur to me until recently. I…

What is an anti-inflammatory diet? An anti-inflammatory diet is designed to reduce the inflammation in your body. Certain foods are known to contribute to inflammation, but it can also develop as a result of too much stress and too little exercise. It also leads to conditions such as arthritis, depression,…

Lupus is not a happy disease, yet I have always been a joy junkie who looks for anything positive in my challenges. In my prior life, I was always physically active. Given what my body now endures with lupus, I have difficulty moving at my former hurricane pace.

Many things about my relationship with my partner, Jordan, are unique. As two 20-somethings, each living with our own chronic illness, our experiences are a world away from those of our peers. In most “normal” relationships that involve chronic illness, there is a caregiver and a care receiver. In…

I used to be a neat, organized person. Being diagnosed with lupus, however, turned my world upside down. I was bombarded with new words, new medications, and new doctors. Suddenly, I had to have a dozen different tests for things I had never heard of before. And somehow, the…