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Like Millions of Women, I Live With Chronic Pain — and I’ve Had to Learn to Advocate for Myself
Read More: Like Millions of Women, I Live With Chronic Pain — and I’ve Had to Learn to Advocate for MyselfFor more than 15 years, I’ve struggled to get treatment for multiple types of chronic pain. This journey has taught me how it feels to have my pain dismissed or ignored by the healthcare system and the hard lesson that I must be my own advocate with my medical team. Even though I grew up…
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Obesity Is a Complex Disease With a Variety of Treatments
Read More: Obesity Is a Complex Disease With a Variety of TreatmentsMedically reviewed by Dr. Holly Lofton
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Arthritis, Atopic dermatitis, Autoimmune disease, Chronic conditions, Crohn’s, Crohn’s disease, Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, Skin, Skin health
Autoimmune Diseases 101
Read More: Autoimmune Diseases 101It’s probably not surprising that heart disease and cancer are the two most common categories of disease in the United States, but would you believe autoimmune disease comes in at number three? About 8% of Americans have an autoimmune disease, and nearly 80% of them are women. With autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part…
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Living With Lupus
Read More: Living With LupusMarisa Maese, 40, has been dealing with health problems since her mid-20s. They started with her first pregnancy, when she experienced complications from fibroids, was placed on bed rest and gave birth prematurely. “Since then, my life has never really been the same,” she said. Maese experienced a series of reproductive health issues, along with…
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Botox and Migraine: What You Need to Know
Read More: Botox and Migraine: What You Need to KnowJune is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.Medically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi B. Halker Singh You’ve heard of Botox as a cosmetic procedure — but did you know that Botox is also used as a treatment for several medical conditions, including migraine disease? We wanted to learn more about how Botox can help with this…
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Can Migraine Attacks Be Triggered?
Read More: Can Migraine Attacks Be Triggered?Medically reviewed by Dr. Rashmi B. Halker Singh June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.
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How Multiple Sclerosis Affects the Central Nervous System
Read More: How Multiple Sclerosis Affects the Central Nervous SystemMedically reviewed by Dr. Deborah Friedman This resource was created with support from Bristol Myers Squibb.
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Cardiovascular disease, Chronic conditions, Heart disease, Heart health, Nutrition, Obesity, Preventive health, Weight management
Beer and Spirits Have More Detrimental Effects on the Waistline and on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Than Red or White Wine
Read More: Beer and Spirits Have More Detrimental Effects on the Waistline and on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Than Red or White WineBy Brittany Larsen, Iowa State University The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Drinking beer and spirits is linked to elevated levels of visceral fat – the harmful type of fat that is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and other health complications –…
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Why I’m Speaking Up About Toxic Beauty Standards
Read More: Why I’m Speaking Up About Toxic Beauty StandardsI recently started re-reading some of my old journals. I like to do this from time to time because I usually find myself seeing my past in a new light that teaches me something, especially as I get older. Each night, I’d read several entries; some were a mere recounting of the day’s events while…
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Obesity Among Black Women: Fighting the Disease Through Community
Read More: Obesity Among Black Women: Fighting the Disease Through CommunityApril is National Minority Health Month. For Michele Tedder, fighting obesity has been a lifelong journey. Despite years of trying numerous diets and exercise fads, Tedder’s weight continued to rise, surpassing 300 pounds on her 5-foot-1 frame. After developing high blood pressure, joint pain and Type 2 diabetes, she decided to pursue weight loss surgery.…
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What Is Alopecia? It’s No Laughing Matter for Millions of Black American Women
Read More: What Is Alopecia? It’s No Laughing Matter for Millions of Black American WomenBy Danita Peoples, Wayne State University The Oscar slap that overshadowed the Academy Awards ceremony was sparked by a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair – with husband Will Smith objecting violently to comedian Chris Rock mocking the actress’s shaved head. Away from the recriminations over what could be perceived as a mean-spirited…
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Adolescent, Chronic conditions, Crohn’s, Crohn’s disease, Depression, Digestive disorders, Heart health, Iron deficiency anemia, Menstrual period
Is Your Teen Anemic?
Read More: Is Your Teen Anemic?Medically reviewed by Dr. Sharon D. Allison-Ottey
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Chronic conditions, Coronavirus, Covid long-haulers, COVID-19, Policy
Long Covid Leaves Newly Disabled People Facing Old Barriers — a Sociologist Explains
Read More: Long Covid Leaves Newly Disabled People Facing Old Barriers — a Sociologist ExplainsBy Laura Mauldin, University of Connecticut Up to one-third of COVID-19 survivors will acquire the condition known as long or long-haul COVID-19. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation estimates that long COVID will add as many as 22 million individuals to the U.S. population of disabled people. I am a sociologist and researcher…
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Autoimmune disease, Chronic conditions, Coronavirus, Covid long-haulers, COVID-19, Lupus, Multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid arthritis
Despite Its Disastrous Effects, Covid-19 Offers Some Gifts to Medicine — an Immunology Expert Explains What It Can Teach Us About Autoimmune Disease
Read More: Despite Its Disastrous Effects, Covid-19 Offers Some Gifts to Medicine — an Immunology Expert Explains What It Can Teach Us About Autoimmune DiseaseBy Dario Ghersi, University of Nebraska Omaha For all the misery that the pandemic has wrought, it has also opened up a vast storehouse of knowledge about medical issues beyond COVID-19. While it’s still too early to draw conclusions, evidence is emerging of links between autoimmune disorders and the virus that causes COVID-19. As a…
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Chronic conditions, Ibd, Inflammatory bowel disease, Irritable bowel syndrome, mental health, Sex & relationships
Social and Emotional Effects of Life With Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Read More: Social and Emotional Effects of Life With Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)Medically reviewed: Dr. Ayanna Lewis
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Adoption, Anxiety, Chronic conditions, Endometriosis, Family, mental health, Migraine, Real women real stories
Finding My Birth Mother Changed My Life — and the Way I Manage My Health Care
Read More: Finding My Birth Mother Changed My Life — and the Way I Manage My Health CareWhen I was a child, my stepmother told me I had another pair of parents who lived up a beanstalk. My mother had tried to plant her seeds in the soil, but a baby never grew, so my dad and mom climbed the stalk and asked my parents if they could spare a child. “Can…
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Chronic conditions, exercise, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Obesity, Real women real stories, Weight Loss, Weight management
I Fought Generational Obesity by Creating My Own Road Map to a Healthier, Happier Life
Read More: I Fought Generational Obesity by Creating My Own Road Map to a Healthier, Happier LifeAs told to Marnie Goodfriend I can’t recall a single childhood memory that wasn’t affected by obesity. As a 101-pound kindergartener, I remember my mom being upset when my school sent home one of those little school pictures with my weight underneath it, and I was the only child whose weight had three digits in…
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Esclerosis múltiple: Qué esperar desde el diagnóstico hasta el tratamiento
Read More: Esclerosis múltiple: Qué esperar desde el diagnóstico hasta el tratamientoCandice Morgan pensó que sus episodios de mareo se debían a hambre o cansancio. Esta profesional de informática de Detroit, Michigan, se hizo una prueba de embarazo, aunque sabía que no estaba embarazada. Diez días después, fue al hospital, donde los médicos le hicieron una tomografía computarizada y la mantuvieron durante la noche en observación.…
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Multiple Sclerosis: What to Expect From Diagnosis to Treatment
Read More: Multiple Sclerosis: What to Expect From Diagnosis to TreatmentEspañol Candice Morgan blamed her bouts of dizziness on hunger or being tired. The Detroit, Michigan-based IT professional took a pregnancy test, even though she knew she wasn’t pregnant. Ten days later, she went to the hospital, where doctors took a CT scan and kept her overnight for observation. The next day, doctors ordered an…
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Can You Hear Me and Other People With Disabilities?
Read More: Can You Hear Me and Other People With Disabilities?December 3 is the International Day of Persons With Disabilities. On this year’s International Day of Persons With Disabilities, I look back on a pivotal day in my childhood that transformed how I saw myself and my cerebral palsy. Saturdays were special. As a kid growing up in the suburbs of New York, Saturdays meant…
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Anxiety, Arthritis, Chronic conditions, Depression, Espanol, mental health, Sex, Sex & relationships, Stress
Más allá de lo físico: Cómo la artritis psoriásica puede afectar tu salud mental y sexual
Read More: Más allá de lo físico: Cómo la artritis psoriásica puede afectar tu salud mental y sexualTodos los días, durante todo el día, Cynthia Covert tiene que pensar sobre cuánto dolor le causará cada actividad. “¿Vale la pena? ¿Qué puedo hacer para minimizar el dolor?” son preguntas que debe hacerse a sí misma antes de realizar actividades que la mayoría de nosotros damos por sentado. Esto se debe a que vive…
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La artritis psoriásica aumenta el riesgo de sufrir otros problemas de salud
Read More: La artritis psoriásica aumenta el riesgo de sufrir otros problemas de saludAl igual que muchas estrellas de programas de televisión antes que ella, Meg Maley, concursante en el programa El Gran Hermano 2015, guardaba un secreto. Cuando los espectadores se preguntaban por qué una joven aparentemente sana tenía tan mal desempeño durante las pruebas físicas y en ocasiones se la veía tomar medicamentos, Maley no comentó…
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cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic conditions, Diabetes, Heart disease, Heart health, Obesity, sleep, Weight management
Obesity and Other Health Conditions
Read More: Obesity and Other Health ConditionsDesign: Megan Schofield Medically reviewed by Dr. Alexandra Sowa
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Anxiety, Bone joint health, Chronic conditions, Depression, mental health, Nutrition, Skin, Skin health
Clinically Speaking: Questions to Ask Your HCP About Psoriatic Arthritis
Read More: Clinically Speaking: Questions to Ask Your HCP About Psoriatic ArthritisMedically reviewed by Dr. Stuart Kaplan Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic disease of the joints, and it can be a tricky illness to navigate. But it’s extremely important to get it under control because living with chronic pain can feel devastating and cause long-term damage. Although early diagnosis matters for treatment, people don’t always…
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Anxiety, Bone joint health, Chronic conditions, Depression, mental health, Real women real stories, Skin, Skin health, Stress
Listen to Healthcare Providers, but Trust Your Body and Yourself
Read More: Listen to Healthcare Providers, but Trust Your Body and YourselfAs told to Liz Sauchelli When I was 30, I woke up one morning unable to move a single joint in my body. I’d gone to sleep the night before feeling unwell, but I didn’t think much of it. I was still recovering from the birth of my third child, and it had been a…
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Bone joint health, Chronic conditions, Nutrition, Real women real stories, Skin, Skin health, Stress
Living with Psoriasis My Entire Life, I Knew I Could Develop Psoriatic Arthritis
Read More: Living with Psoriasis My Entire Life, I Knew I Could Develop Psoriatic ArthritisAs told to Erica Rimlinger My grandmother had psoriasis, an auto-immune condition that affects the skin. Although it can be inherited, none of her children have it, none of my 10 cousins have it, and none of my three brothers and sisters have it. But I do. In fact, I’ve been living with it for…
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Psoriatic Arthritis Can Put You at Risk for Other Health Problems
Read More: Psoriatic Arthritis Can Put You at Risk for Other Health ProblemsLike many reality TV stars before her, 2015 Big Brother contestant Meg Maley was keeping a secret. When viewers wondered why a seemingly healthy young woman did so poorly during physical competitions and was sometimes seen taking pills, Maley kept silent. It wasn’t until after her season of the show ended that Maley revealed her…
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Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About Vaginismus
Read More: Fast Facts: What You Need to Know About VaginismusMedically reviewed by Dr. Robin Faye Do you ever feel like you’re “hitting a wall” when you try to insert something into your vagina? If so, you’re not put together wrong. You may just have vaginismus, a condition that causes the vaginal muscles to automatically tighten in anticipation of vaginal penetration. Vaginismus can be frustrating,…
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Thanksgiving Will Always Be Difficult For Me. Here’s How I Cope.
Read More: Thanksgiving Will Always Be Difficult For Me. Here’s How I Cope.As told to Vidya Rao The following article contains specific descriptions of an eating disorder. If you feel that you might be triggered by the content, please read with caution. For so long, I dreaded the lead up to Thanksgiving. The feeling of anxiety would begin weeks beforehand. While this food-centric holiday is joyous for…
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What You Need to Know About Diabetes
Read More: What You Need to Know About DiabetesNovember is National Diabetes Awareness Month. I was 8 years old when my Girl Scout leader told the troop that I got diabetes from eating too much cake. I remember my face heating up as my friends stared at me. I had just returned to my new “normal” after a week in the hospital, and…
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Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-to-School Challenges
Read More: Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-to-School ChallengesBy Heidi de Marco, Kaiser Health News LOS ANGELES — Christopher Manzo, a boy with curly brown hair and bright-blue-and-yellow glasses, has lived a third of his five years at home because of the pandemic. And he is more than ready for kindergarten. Hand in hand with his mother, Martha Manzo, he walks into the…
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Bone health, Chronic conditions, chronic pain, COVID-19, healthy aging, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Osteoporosis, Pain, Pandemic, Real women real stories
It Wasn’t Muscle Damage: It Was Four Fractures and Osteoporosis
Read More: It Wasn’t Muscle Damage: It Was Four Fractures and OsteoporosisAs told to Liz Sauchelli It had been two weeks since I’d slipped on the front stairs of my home and my back was still in excruciating pain. The emergency room doctor I’d seen after my fall thought I had muscle damage and had sprained my back. He prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkillers without taking an…
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Obesity Is a Disease That Can Be Managed in Many Ways
Read More: Obesity Is a Disease That Can Be Managed in Many WaysDesign: Megan Schofield Medically reviewed by Dr. Alexandra Sowa
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Clinically Speaking: Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Provider About Atopic Dermatitis
Read More: Clinically Speaking: Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Provider About Atopic DermatitisMedically reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Liotta The most common type of eczema, atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes red, itchy patches all over the body. More than 16.5 million adults and 9.6 million children in the United States are affected by AD. While AD affects both women and men, hormonal changes…
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Atopic Dermatitis Shows Up on Your Skin, but Its Effects Go Much Deeper
Read More: Atopic Dermatitis Shows Up on Your Skin, but Its Effects Go Much DeeperMedically reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Liotta When Elizabeth Falkner was in her early 30s, her career as a chef began to take off. Unfortunately, so did her atopic dermatitis (AD). Red, itchy lesions started forming on her legs and eventually spread to her hands. The stress and heat of the busy restaurant kitchen worsened her…
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Access, Affordability, caregiving, Chronic conditions, Clinical trials, Health care, Health policy, Medical research and clinical trials, Medication safety, Parenting, Real women real stories, Research, Science, Skin, Skin health
What It’s Like to Care for a Child With Severe Eczema
Read More: What It’s Like to Care for a Child With Severe EczemaWhen our daughter Tilly was 5 months old, my husband and I noticed a rash on her face and neck. She was obviously itchy and pretty cranky about it, so we took her to her pediatrician. After a long process that involved changing everything from detergents to my diet (because I was breastfeeding), as well…
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Access, Access to health care, Anxiety, Chronic conditions, Health care, Health care professionals, Health disparities, mental health, Nutrition, Obesity, Preventive health, Real women real stories
I Thought Weight-Loss Surgery Would End My Struggle With Obesity. Then I Found Out Maintaining a Healthy Body and Mind Is a Lifelong Commitment.
Read More: I Thought Weight-Loss Surgery Would End My Struggle With Obesity. Then I Found Out Maintaining a Healthy Body and Mind Is a Lifelong Commitment.As told to Jackie Froeber In 2001, I was in the checkout aisle at the grocery store when I saw a magazine cover touting Carnie Wilson’s gastric bypass surgery. By the time I was through with the article, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope that I could lose weight. I’ve…
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Access, Access to health care, Chronic conditions, Health care, Health care professionals, Health disparities, Obesity, Preventive health, Racial disparities, Real women real stories
Losing Weight Helped Heal Not Just My Body, But My Mind and Spirit, Too
Read More: Losing Weight Helped Heal Not Just My Body, But My Mind and Spirit, TooAs told to Kimberly Rex Before December 2017, I was anxious every time I had to ride on an airplane. But it’s not because I was afraid to fly. I was angry and embarrassed because I hated asking the flight attendant for a seat belt extender. I was 5 feet 1 inch tall and 323…
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Access, Access to health care, Chronic conditions, Kidney, Policy, Racial disparities, Research, Urinary tracts conditions
Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing so Is Complicated.
Read More: Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing so Is Complicated.By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony, Kaiser Health News Alphonso Harried recently came across a newspaper clipping about his grandfather receiving his 1,000th dialysis treatment. His grandfather later died — at a dialysis center — as did his uncle, both from kidney disease. “And that comes in my mind, on my weak days: ‘Are…
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Tourette Syndrome Is My Superpower
Read More: Tourette Syndrome Is My SuperpowerAs told to Liz Sauchelli Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month is May 15 to June 15 The night before taking a test in sixth grade, I wouldn’t worry about the questions, I’d worry about the silence. I’d go in the next day prepared with a small pile of cough drops on my desk, an easy explanation…
