Choosing a new rheumatologist was relatively easy, but getting a referral, finding an office that would accept my referral, and then actually getting in to see the doctor was quite difficult. I started trying to find a new rheumatologist after only three appointments with the one who diagnosed me with lupus. In fact, I almost walked out of my third appointment with him after waiting 2.5 hours to be seen – the only reason I didn’t walk out is because I […]
Walking Along the Rose Route in Hildesheim, Germany.
We were able to stop in Hildesheim for just a few hours on our way to Hamburg, Germany in August 2016, although the lovely city certainly deserved more of our time. I had developed a deep wanderlust for German cities that were full of half-timbered houses and so Hildesheim had quickly risen to the top of my must-see list. Walking along the rose route in Hildesheim was a bit inadvertent, however. I had planned a walking tour for our visit and it just […]
The Second Trimester of Being Pregnant with Lupus.
It turned out to be true for me that the second trimester was the sweet spot of pregnancy. A lot of my first trimester symptoms faded or disappeared entirely and I didn’t experience many new or intense pregnancy woes until the second trimester was nearing its end. Being pregnant with lupus meant that it wasn’t completely smooth sailing, of course. I had more doctor’s appointments, medications, and potential complications compared to the average pregnant woman, and I’ll share them all here along […]
Hiking Humpback Rocks in Virginia.
I discovered Humpback Rocks because it happened to be within walking distance from the luxury yurt we chose for our anniversary trip. I saw a few striking photos of it while browsing through the listing for the yurt and figured it would be the perfect local adventure to tackle during our vacation this past December. Humpback Rocks is a massive rock formation with an elevation of 3,080 feet. It’s near the peak of Humpback Mountain and its name reflects the bulge […]
The Importance of Recognizing and Treating Sleep Apnea.
This post on sleep apnea is sponsored by Aeroflow in collaboration with Chronic Illness Bloggers. As always, all opinions remain my own and were not influenced by the sponsor. Nearly five years ago I was sitting next to my soon-to-be husband, attempting to take on the role of gracious caregiver, as he fell asleep after his wisdom teeth removal surgery. I felt awkward and even a little bit creepy watching him sleep with a half-eaten bowl of jello in my […]
The ABC’s of Lupus. (Or, 26 Things About Lupus.)
A few months ago I stumbled across a post called “Fibromyalgia A to Z” and it struck me as a great way to quickly share lots of information about a chronic illness. There are many symptoms and aspects of my illness that don’t necessarily find their way into my blog posts about lupus and this was certainly one of the more creative ways to share 26 of them with you. I hope you learn something new about lupus from this […]
Our Anniyurtsary – Staying at a Luxury Yurt in Afton, Virginia.
In December we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary in a luxury yurt in Afton, Virginia. Little did we know when we booked this “anniyurtsary” last August that it would also be serving as our babymoon! We found out we were expecting in late September and also realized that time and financial limitations would prevent us from taking a dedicated babymoon (something I’ve always wanted to do). Fortunately, this luxury yurt was so fantastic that it helped me forget my disappointment about […]
My Lupus Pregnancy: The First Trimester.
I’m so excited to share the news of my lupus pregnancy! I have to admit that I really didn’t expect the word ‘pregnancy’ to enter into my personal vocabulary in 2017. It has been a whirlwind of prenatal education, doctors’ appointments, and brand new experiences over the past few months. In this post, I’m going to share my first trimester lupus pregnancy journey with you partially because it’s a great way for me to document it but also because having lupus […]
2017 Yearly Digest.
At the beginning of 2017 Mr. Meena and I had been back in the USA, after living in Germany, for less than 100 days. We were living in an apartment of our own choosing for the first time and generally feeling very conflicted about the direction of our lives. I guess repatriation tends to do that to you. Now, 12 months later, we are settling into our first house, preparing to have a baby (!!), and feeling much more certain about […]
A Day in the Life with Lupus.
Have you ever wondered what life with lupus might be like? As one of the 1.5 million people in the U.S. and about five million people worldwide with lupus, I want to share a day in my life with you. In case you aren’t familiar with lupus, I’ll give you a brief introduction. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that makes your body self-destruct. Normal, healthy people have an immune system that works properly and kicks into gear when there is […]