Flare fear is a heightened state of anxiety that my disease symptoms will pop out of nowhere, says rheumatoid arthritis patient Eileen Davidson. Here’s how she handles the tricky balance of living her life and being imprisoned by flare fear.

“While my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was responsible for a lot of my sleep problems, at the same time, getting poor sleep was also making my arthritis worse,” says Eileen Davidson, who has RA and osteoarthritis.

Lets talk sex and rheumatoid arthritis!

“Even though the pandemic feels like it may be starting to end, my status as an immunocompromised person — a status I ‘earned’ after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2015 — isn’t,” says Eileen Davidson, a rheumatoid arthritis patient.

It wasn’t until I started getting involved in arthritis research that I was able to answer many of my questions about my illness.

When I was diagnosed with this chronic illness at age 29, I was expecting joint pain. I didn’t expect to feel like I was hit by an 18-wheeler.

Telling anyone they are too young to live with a condition is more inflammatory than it is reassuring or supportive.

The biggest similarity between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis is that they’ve both taken parts of my life that I won’t get back — a job I loved, activities I enjoyed, and simple physical freedoms.

Being more in tune with my health gave me a deeper understanding of how the winter affects me physically and mentally.