Arthritic gaming
I looked up “video game arthritis” recently (or something similar). I’m not completely sure what I was looking for. Advice for how to keep gaming when it makes it hard to use your hands? Other people going through the same thing, so I don’t feel like the only one? Motivation to work through it? Gaming can be a hobby, a competition, a social space, and even a livelihood. What about when your body makes it hard to keep going? Unfortunately, when you run a search like that, all you get are articles warning that gamers are in for arthritic futures. I don’t care about that. I have arthritis now. If…
What I think about when packing
This is a shorter article, just to jog your memory if you think you might be forgetting to pack something for your upcoming trip. It’s especially for forgetful people, like my partner, who would forget his insulin pump if it weren’t attached to him. Perhaps this is something he can reference in the future… XD I’m including questions I ask myself to make sure I’m not forgetting something important, as well as a sample packing list (just with the things important to medical conditions). This could also even be useful for shorter day trips. (The amount of times I’ve been stuck without a pain reliever when I needed it is…
Kinesiology tape for arthritis
Kinesiology tape (also kinesio tape or KT) was first was first suggested to me a few years ago by a friend who thought it might help my recalcitrant shoulder. The box of KT Tape she handed me claimed it could fix everything. Bad knee? Injured ankle? Sore shoulder? Back? Neck? Hands? Kinesiology tape can help! Of course, the asterisk warns you that only some of these uses have been found effective in studies. Which ones? Who knows. I used it on my shoulder for awhile because I was out of other options. I’d experienced physical therapy, braces, medicines, x-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds – nothing helped and doctors couldn’t tell me why.…
Interstitial cystitis and food
I put off covering this because it seems like it’s the first thing mentioned with interstitial cystitis. So not much of a special tip, right? Except, when my doctor first told me I probably have IC, and I asked what I can do for the pain, diet didn’t come up at all. Luckily, I had already figured out that some foods – like anything spicy – were a problem. That’s when I started looking more into how different foods effect bladder symptoms. So here’s the breakdown of diet and interstitial cystitis. Food? Really? It sounds strange, since what you eat isn’t in your urine, right? Even though doctors don’t know exactly why…
A problem with medical stereotypes
I recently saw a question on The Mighty asking people to share what others think their condition looks like versus what it actually looks like for them. It seems intended to be an empowering question about breaking out of stereotypes, but I think of something more dangerous when I think about this question: stereotypes about conditions that are used in a professional medical setting. Sometimes, these stereotypes are backed up by scientific evidence, but sometimes, these stereotypes are perpetuated even though they may not be true. Either way, they can be harmful for people trying to find diagnosis and treatment. For example, I have spondylitis, a type of arthritis where…
Air travel with diabetes
Flying with any medical condition can be a daunting task, so in addition to sharing my own experience flying with biologics, I’m also going to share my partner’s experience traveling with insulin and an insulin pump. Insulin pumps and TSA screening The biggest question for someone using an insulin pump is how security screening will work. According to the manufacturers of most insulin pumps, insulin pumps are okay to go through the metal detector, but they aren’t approved to go through x-ray or full body scanners. My partner has a Medtronic pump, and this is the guideline we followed. In most cases, this is because the manufacturer hasn’t tested the…
Standing with chronic pain
Standing has been a problem for me for a long time. It’s a lot easier now that my symptoms are under control, but it will still get to me after standing still for more than about an hour. For me, it’s a particular aching pain in my lower back that comes from keeping it in one position for too long, and it can also affect my knees and even my shoulder. This can make doing dishes, going to concerts, waiting in lines, and many other things a challenge, but there are some things that have helped me. Eliminate standing when possible Doing dishes is already a chore most people try…
Biologics: Autoinjector or syringe?
When I started Humira, my doctor automatically put it in as an autoinjector prescription. That was a mistake. The first time I did the injection, it was okay. No big deal. Sure, it hurt, and it took awhile to get myself to press the button, but I could deal with it. The second time, though, it took a little longer, and definitely felt more painful. The third time took a little longer to do, and the fourth time… Well, I couldn’t do it. Each shot was like injecting burning venom into my body. It was so painful, I just couldn’t bring myself to press the button. It led to a breakdown… or…
Air travel with Humira or Enbrel
I’ll be visiting Arizona next week during the time when I’ll need to take Humira, so, of course, one of the first things I’ll have to think about when packing is how I’m transporting it. This will be the second time I’m taking Humira or Enbrel on a plane, so it doesn’t feel like that big of a deal (no bigger than the whole TSA fiasco normally is). The first time, though, I was very confused about what I would have to do bring my Humira through the airport (or my sister her Enbrel). This post contains everything you might want to know about flying with Humira or Enbrel. To find the key…
Pants for interstitial cystitis or hip pain
Finding pants I can wear when my IC is bad—the project that started this blog. I was at work recently when I had a bit of a crisis. I had basically been living in basketball shorts and leggings (and sweatpants when no one could see me). Now, I have no problem wearing these things sometimes. Sometimes I’m feeling those kinds of looks. But as someone who used to almost exclusively wear jeans, it was really getting to me. And especially for more professional situations, the workout look wasn’t sustainable. The number of pants I owned that I was able to wear was already cut down a couple of years ago…
