Shape Magazine’s February issue has a tiny article, a paragraph really, about a University of Minnesota study linking gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis (February 2010, page 81).  The study found that people with gum disease are three times as likely to develop RA.

While Shape may not seem like the most reputable source for medical information, the study was also reported at WebMD with a little more of the details.  You can check out that article by clicking here.

Neither the Shape or the WebMD piece give any indication that RA or inflammation is reversible, but none-the-less.  Brushing often, flossing daily and rinsing are always a good idea.

And who knows?  Maybe curing gum disease and preventing future dental problems can lower inflammation in the body.  What’s the worst thing that can happen? Cleaner teeth.

Chronics have to reevaluate who they are in the context of their disease.  It goes back to my first post here, about illness narratives.  Unlike having a cold, the illness story for a chronic becomes part of the life time picture, part of how you view yourself.  Maybe not all the time, but you do have to acknowledge the illness in order to treat it.

The trouble is, if you believe in the Law of Attraction, actively thinking about your disease may be holding you back from your back.

Summarizing the Law of Attraction pretty simply, Maharishi says, “Whatever we put our attention on will grow stronger in our life.”

So how do you balance taking care of yourself and the law of the attraction?

Focus on the positive.  Taking care of yourself is a positive thing.  Attracting health is a positive thing.  When your mind starts to wander towards the negatives, the things you don’t like about your condition, your treatment, try to come back to something positive, like attracting health or perspective.

Image from PaperMonster Stencil Graffiti Artist blog.  Apparently the image is also available as a shirt.

As a self-described morning person, coming to terms with the fact that there are things I just can’t do in the mornings has irked me since my Chronic diagnosis.

Listen here body: I like to do yoga in the morning.  I like to start my day off with physical activity.  I really do… But it turns out you don’t appreciate that much.

Oh yes, it’s frustrating to get up early to start your day and not really be able to get started for about an hour.  It means making an adjustment to how you structure your work, life and play.

With that said, I’ve learned a pretty straightforward lesson.  I don’t do mornings.

It’s Thanksgiving! Everyone is all gobble gobble gobble, and gluttonous happiness.

Let’s talk gratitude for a minute. Yesterday, I was thankful hobbies. When I was younger I did bead work and crocheted too. I all but gave ‘em up because of the pain in my joints. But with meds, and mostly pain free afternoons, I’ve picked up my hobbies again. I’m grateful for that.

Today is Thanksgiving and I’m grateful for the opportunity to spend my day writing and reading. Rocking sweatpants, snuggled in to a cozy couch, I’ve got a serious day of writing, reading and maybe some cooking planned. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Since we’ve arrived at last at Thanksgiving, this will be the final, formal “gratitude” post.  But this has been an important exercise for me in finding the positive.  There’s always something to be grateful for.   And I’ll be working to bring that perspective to this blog on a more regular basis.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  Move forward with gratitude.

I have health insurance and I’m grateful for that.  Right now, I’m grateful that health insurance providers, among others, cannot discriminate based on genetics.  What the LA Times called the “most sweeping federal anti-discrimination law in nearly 20 years,” went into effect this past Saturday.  Knowledge of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act could probably have stopped me from putting up with a very inappropriate situation.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a genetic condition. As a consequence of it, I have a lot of doctors’ appointments…  When I first started work at this shiny, new exciting firm, I let my manager know that I had a couple doc visits coming up.  She flipped, escalated it to the HR, who implied that I was faking it and required that I document everything (this is the situation outlined in our privacy policy).   Of course, this situation was probably a violation of my rights under previous regulations and legislation, but I am grateful that I am very clearly protected now.