Tenacious ME

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Tenacious ME

Tackling disabling autoimmune disease with obstinance and humor!

04/09/2026

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures tell a story, a comeback story. The story of mobility hard won. Of how focusing on the things within my control got me back to doing the things I love.
Rheumatoid arthritis set some terms I was unwilling to accept. For years I was forced to observe more than participate. To sit it out. To spend more time at rest than achieving my own goals.
Prioritizing my health, being consistent in my routines, and advocating for my health needs shifted that. I've gone from being so debilitated by rheumatoid arthritis that I needed a walker and frequent stops to go shopping, to walking without assistance on the rocky beach over the last decade.
I still need frequent stops. Some days that walk would be too risky, that is life with dynamic disability. But the days that I can be on the beach, priceless Worth every frustrating medical negotiation it has taken me to get here. Worth the soda I gave up drinking and the sugar I no longer need in my morning coffee.
You are worth it too! What is one thing you took control of that shifted your life for the better? I love a good comeback story!!

04/07/2026

First infusion with rituximab. Little nervous. New meds are like that.
Grateful for the amazing competent staff at my infusion center. I know they have my back and will handle anything that we run into today. Fingers crossed for no infusion reaction.
Looking forward to getting some control again. It's been 2 months of jumping through the hoops with insurance to get here. Two months of trying not to worry about the damage my body was doing while my symptoms were not under control. What worries you most about managing rheumatoid arthritis?

03/24/2026

What do you do when new symptoms pop up? Deciding when to book the appointment can be a hard call. Life with chronic illness comes with so many medical appointments, nobody rally wants to squeeze in an extra appointment if it isn't going to lead anywhere. Some issues heal themselves with rest, care and time. Others get worse when ignored, sometimes causing permanent damage. Since I'm not a doctor, it might be hard for me to know which symptoms spell trouble.
🫶Over the years I've come up with a series of questions I ask myself when deciding if I need to book an appointment with a medical professional or wait for it to pass.
🥀Is it New? New symptoms may mean new issues or medication reactions.
💚Is it abnormal? Anything unexpected for your diagnosis should be shared.
💜Is it treatable? Suffering with symptoms you could get help with is silly!
💙Is it interfering with your life? Book the appointment, the things you want and need to do should not be a constant struggle, ask for help!
🌸The first step to getting the care you need is being honest about what you need help with.

03/21/2026

Self care looks like taking a deep breath.

I'm not just saying that, one of the ways I care for me, is focused breathing. I take time out when I feel stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious and take a few breaths. I also use breathing for times of high pain. The kind of breath I use depends on what it is I am trying to do.

Tame anxiety/de-stress with box breathing.
Lamaze breathing for pain.
Deep breathing for relaxation.
Each one tells my body something, each offers support and feedback to my system. They are tools I use so often and automatically that I forget how much they help me. Have you used breathing to help you feel better?

03/17/2026

3 signs of my very Irish heritage-

The freckles. You could play dot to dot on my entire person.

The sense of humor. Everything is funny, even the serious stuff. (Especially the serious stuff.) If you can't laugh at yourself, who will?

The shenanigans. I'm down for them, at all times. It's related to the sense of humor. I am very mischievous and enjoy pranks and all varieties of foolishness. Life is too short to be serious and so am I, see above.

💚☘Happy St Patrick's ☘💚

What's your favorite St Patty's Day tradition?

03/16/2026

What scares you?

03/15/2026

"Why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass"

The fact is, humans rarely try what they don't believe is possible. So, hear me out,...what if you believed?

03/14/2026

Are you broken but still breathing?

The truth is, life broke me, the endless struggle to keep up. Trying to appear normal.

Faking it never ended in making it, just exhaustion and frustrated tears.

Trying to do it all is overwhelming, trying to do it all while dragging autoimmune disease along
for the ride, is unreasonable, insane in fact.

It took me so long to figure out that I wasn’t failing to measure up. I was just using the wrong
measuring stick. If I was going to find value in this broken life, I’d have to find a new way to
measure my worth.

I had to let go of caring about what everyone else thought. I tucked the people pleaser away
and said no more often. I stopped trying to keep up and started focusing on taking care. On
creating a life I could be proud of.

Because here I was, broken but still breathing.

03/13/2026

Why eating well is
important when you
have an Autoimmune Disease.

Healthy bodies require
healthy fuel to be that way.

A well rounded diet
provides the raw
materials for your body
to run as well as it can.

For energy.
To build healthy cells.
To help cells work right.
To regulate things like
blood pressure and inflammation.

Because autoimmune
diseases attack healthy
tissues, patients need extra
nutrients to fuel rebuilding.

All that extra work being done by your
body, uses energy. Everything your body
does uses cellular energy. The more it
has to do, the more energy it needs.

Nutrients are a bit like a light switch,
they are used to turn immune functions
on and off. They are used up in the
process. Without the right nutrients,
your body doesn’t have an off switch for
things like inflammation.

Supporting your autoimmune body
with healthy food gives it a fighting chance!

03/11/2026

Write it Wednesday....
I am grateful for....

YOU!!!

Address

287 Godfrey Blvd
Bangor, ME
04401

Website

https://tenaciousme.org/

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