Tips
Every day tips and tricks for living with arthritis!
8BitDo Lite SE: Accessible Controller Review
The 8BitDo Lite SE is billed as a controller for gamers with mobility impairments. It lives up to that pretty well! As with any accessibility solution, it won’t work for everybody, but I’m always excited for there to be another controller option. And for only $35, you can’t beat the price! I’m reviewing this as someone with arthritis in my hands, and I often have a hard time gripping standard controllers, reaching the shoulder buttons, and generating enough force for buttons. I’ve had the Lite SE since it released last July, so this is a review built on hundreds of hours of use. What is the Lite SE? The Lite…
Review: (In)Accessibility in Ring Fit Adventure
I started Ring Fit Adventure with high hopes. COVID had halted most of my go-to fitness activities, and I was optimistic that Ring Fit would provide an in-home alternative. I’d been taking fitness classes through my school to keep moving, but this would give me some motivation to exercise on my own time! When I found the accessibility settings, I was excited that they’d considered it at all. My shoulder makes everything that’s overhead difficult or impossible, but there’s a “shoulder assist” option! Unfortunately, I was disappointed by how limited the “assist” was. In the end, Ring Fit’s attempt at accessibility features left me frustrated and demoralized, but they may…
Review: Using a Vertical Mouse for Arthritis
Over the summer, I worked as a camp counselor in Minecraft. Probably more arthritis-friendly than an in-person camp, right? Still, I started getting horrible flares of hand pain and stiffness from keeping my hands in unnatural positions for so long. Eventually, I knew something needed to change, and I tried out the Logitech MX Vertical Mouse. Now that we’re all using our home computers more than ever, the equipment we use is critical for our physical health. I never paid much attention to my work and gaming station before it became my primary location throughout the day. Really, I should have paid attention to it much sooner. You’ll probably be…
Acronyms of Arthritis 2: Types
Being diagnosed with arthritis can change a lot of things, but you’re not alone! Whether through organizations like the Arthritis Foundation, online forums like Reddit, or friends and family, there are so many options for finding support from others who understand what it’s like to live with arthritis. We deal with a lot of complicated medical terms, so we often shorten them to abbreviations and acronyms. In my last Acronyms of Arthritis article, I covered treatments (MTX, SSZ, DMARDs, NSAIDs). Here, I’ll be covering all the different letters you might hear people use when talking about their type of arthritis. Common arthritic conditions (alphabetical) AS Ankylosing spondylitis is the most…
Gaming gloves for arthritis: reviews
Hand arthritis can turn gaming from an enjoyable hobby into a painful chore. The pain and stiffness can also take a toll on performance in competitive games. I don’t want my arthritis to keep me from moving up the leaderboards! I’ve tried a lot of different controllers and gloves to try to make speedrunning more possible and enjoyable for me with my juvenile arthritis. I previously covered some tips and strategies for arthritic gaming, back when I was still figuring out how to competitively game with arthritis. Since graduating from undergrad, I’ve been lucky to finally have the money to try different compression glove options, so I’ll share what I’ve…
Acronyms of arthritis 1: Treatments
Being diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis—like ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis—can seem like being thrown into a world made of cryptic letters. Acronyms are everywhere. Acronyms for types of arthritis like RA, AS, SpA, JIA; acronyms for tests like RF, ESR, CRP; acronyms for treatments like NSAID, DMARD, MTX—it seems to never end! Let’s unravel some of these tricky terms, starting with common drugs you might hear about to treat arthritis. Soon you’ll be using them like a pro! OTC OTC (over-the-counter) medications don’t require a prescription from your doctor. In the US, some fairly effective first-line arthritis treatments are available OTC, such as ibuprofen (Motrin)…
You can get scholarships for arthritis!
I never thought that having arthritis would qualify me for any scholarships, but I was wrong. There are a few scholarships available in the US specifically for those with arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and some universities and organizations offer scholarships to students with disabilities in general. Arthritis scholarships The two big arthritis scholarships are the Abbvie Immunology Scholarship and the Arthritis Foundation Arthritis Champions Scholarship. Abbvie Immunology Scholarship The Abbvie Immunology Scholarship is sponsored by (clearly) Abbvie, the makers of Humira. They offer variable amounts depending on what kind of program you plan to attend: $5,000 if you’re pursuing an associate’s degree and $15,000 if you’re pursuing a bachelor’s,…
Applying for GRE accommodations
I realized rather late that I would need accommodations for the GRE. I hadn’t thought about it much, because I hadn’t needed accommodations for high school exams or during normal college exams. But 4 hours of testing with only a single 10-minute break really wasn’t going to work for my arthritis or my bladder. On bad arthritis days, my joints start to ache and even burn within a half hour of sitting down. And on bad bladder days, I have to use the bathroom every half hour. Since I didn’t have a urologist at the time that I was applying, though, I went through the process of getting extra breaks…
Weather and arthritis
The weather here in Chicago has been a roller coaster recently, which means my arthritis symptoms have been, too. When I woke up today with back pain out of nowhere (and some unseasonably cold weather), it got me wondering—what is it about weather changes that makes joint pain act up? Why does weather cause joint pain? Unfortunately, there’s not a very clear answer, although scientists have some ideas. The most prominent one is related to barometric pressure (or atmospheric pressure, the force exerted by the atmosphere on Earth, including us). As weather changes, the barometric pressure changes. When the pressure drops, joints can swell, which may increase pain for people…
Disney with arthritis
We had an extended-family vacation to Disney World last week, and accessibility was a big point in our planning with three people with arthritis and one person with a cast. It turns out, Disney makes it super easy to figure everything out through their Disability Access Service! Disney’s Disability Access Service (DAS) makes rides more accessible for those who can’t wait in the line for the full time. It allows guests to wait the length of the line, but not in the queue, so that they can have access to shade, seating, restrooms, or other necessary accommodations. In a nutshell, you go to a ride, receive a return time equivalent…
