Author: Annie

My nursing career ended when I was diagnosed with lupus. Armed with a few almanacs and a thesaurus, I stuffed myself at the banquet table; began another career as a freelance writer, and advocate for people with chronic illnesses. This blog showcases my healthcare knowledge and combines it with my writing background. anowlin@mac.com
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Autoimmunity and insurance

Annie

Today, approximately 6 millions of people with TRICARE East Insurance will have insurance coverage for AVISE testing. What? Yes, members of TRICARE East will have access to all of the laboratory testing if their physicians want them to have blood tests to determine the presence or absence of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. They have also become known for the development of bloodwork to rule “in” a diagnosis of Fibroymalgia. What does this mean? The sooner you have a diagnosis for those strange symptoms of, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis or ulcerative colitis, the sooner effective, life-altering … Continue reading Autoimmunity and insurance

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Annie

Is It Fibromyalgia? How Can I know? Anyone with fibromyalgia knows ever-too-well that there’s no simple blood test, CT, MRI or x-ray to tell you if fibromyalgia is the cause of your pain. What they can tell you is that it is often called fibromyalgia syndrome, ‘fibrositis’ or ‘psychsomatic rheumatism’, and ‘neurasthenia ‘ The term fibromyalgia was originally coined as a syndrome when there were unexplained aches and pains, numbness and tingling, fatigue, headaches and any other bothersome symptoms which had no explainable cause. The symptom many find the hardest to deal with is often called ‘fibro-fog’ characterized by a … Continue reading

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Just a little love

Annie

When we stop and slow down the pace of our busy lives (as we have been forced to do with the sheltering in place that has been required of us recently with COVID-19-and just with ANY stressful situation), we have become closer to family, and realize the wonders of each blade of grass-at least I have tried to notice these things. This video shows the power of pure love, the power of slowing down for the little things in life, the power of laughter and a completely stress-free moment. It has been shown that blood drawn after laughing shows less … Continue reading Just a little love

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The challenges of COVID-19

Annie

Long ago we learned that COVID was quite the contagious virus and we learned its symptoms making us experts in viral epidemiology, (what a mouthful!) social distancing, contact-tracing and handwashing! Our country asked, we gave. We sheltered in place. Now, it’s time to get back to our old ‘norm,’ as this ‘new norm’ takes too much ‘getting used to.’ But, then there are others of us who are hesitant to dip their toes in the waters. After all, if we don’t get this reentry thing right, there will be a resurgence of cases and we’ll be set back some months, … Continue reading The challenges of COVID-19

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The Joy (?) of COVID-19

Annie

Surely you’re joking! Leaving death and carnage in its wake, coronavirus has shown us financial hardships beyond those most of us have ever known, or shed light on how a once-thriving economy can now sputter by on fumes. However, wherever we go, America’s first responders have been the real heroes. A second hero, less sung, are those who offer stress relief or entertainment-at their expense-because they can. These might be from our entertainers giving global musical concerts from their home music studios to raise awareness of a global issue that needs attention or just to provide entertainment. Another might be … Continue reading The Joy (?) of COVID-19