My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia Nonfiction November is my favorite time of year. Anyone following me on Instagram knows I’m a prolific reader and Bookstagrammer. This year, I decided to participate in a reading challenge with The OC Book Girl on IG by posting a nonfiction read per day in November. It’s no secret that nonfiction is one of my favorite genres. All you have to do is look at my World of Books section to know that I’ve been posting my top 10 non fiction reads for years now. Jaymi was one of the first Bookstagrammers I met on Instagram when I sta ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia There are many ways chronic pain changes you, but today I’ve decided to focus on eight basic facts about life with pain. Today’s post is my second post this month for Pain Awareness Month. Everyone has experienced some sort of pain at some point in their lives. Most of us are familiar with acute pain which is a person’s protective response to an injury. This type of pain typically resolves itself during the healing process. However, 1 in 5 people around the world experience pain that lasts for three months or more.Source Whe ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia September is Pain Awareness Month and I’ve decided to write about Foot Reflexology for Chronic Pain. I’ve been participating in the US Pain Foundation’s awareness campaign for Pain Awareness Month since 2015 and try to publish a couple of articles each year that address life with chronic pain or coping tools for chronic pain. (Disclosure: This article is not sponsored by the US Pain Foundation.) Foot Reflexology for chronic pain is a massive coping tool in my flare kit and I’m excited to tell you about my experiences with it ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia MSW: Hi Julia! My series on art therapy for pain management is always expanding and I’m so happy you could join us today for Pain Awareness Month! It’s nice to have a fellow songstress on MSW, not to mention a fellow Taiwan expat and a multi-talented artist such as yourself for today’s interview. Let’s start with a short introduction. JE: Originally from California, I have been living in Taiwan for 12 years now.  I discovered Taiwan “accidentally” on my way to volunteer in Nepal and moving here changed my life.  I a ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia How to Beat the Heat: Or At Least How To Try & Get Along With It Tips for Heat Sensitivity with Fibromyalgia and Arthritis: Today’s topic is about heat sensitivity with fibromyalgia and arthritis, or really any kind of chronic illness if you think about it. As I live in subtropical Taiwan and we are still experiencing 40C weather with 90% humidity even in mid August, I feel my post is still timely even though I meant to post it in July during the dog days of summer. I’m usually home in Canada during the hottest months of ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia I’ve been in the process of finding a new rheumatologist in Taiwan. This is a dreaded process for most patients like me. Having your specialist retire on you is always a shock because your disease is lifelong and you want a good partner that is going to help you on your healthcare journey. Unfortunately, I’ve had two rheumatologists retire on me and I’ve also had two rheumatologists who didn’t meet my standards of care. It’s frightening being a complex patient and having to approach a new doctor with your extensive medical hi ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia Where do I start? I’ll start with another disabling arthritis flare that started on March 8, 2022. It’s now July 8, 2022. This year might be the Year of the Tiger, which is my sign, but it has not been kind to me. Today marks month four of being fully disabled by AxSpa and Psoriatic Arthritis. I have not been able to leave home aside from hospital appointments. Another Disabling Arthritis Flare – My 4th Time Out of Remission This time last year my health started declining quickly. By the end of September I was feeling awful ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia SAA Global Spondyloarthritis Summit Event Recap – 12 Things I Learned at the SAA Spondy Summit in 2022 Hi friends! AxSpa Awareness Month ended today and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting me throughout this month with messages, shares, comments, and more. It’s time to repay you, my readers, with the most up to date information from the SAA Global Spondyloarthritis Summit Event Recap which I attended virtually on May 6 and May 7, 2022. First, a huge thanks to the SAA for providing me with this ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia You can do everything right with AS. You can take care of your body and still lose stability and mobility in the blink of an eye. Ankylosing Spondylitis flares and the warning signs are always subtle until it’s obvious. My flare-ups sneak up on me and then suddenly become so painful and disabling, it’s shocking how quickly a flare can take me down. Symptoms of AxSpA & Ankylosing Spondylitis Flares can include: intense autoimmune fatigue back stiffness and back pain joint pain (in my case, my major joints are always affec ..read more

My Several Worlds - Advocating for Chronic Illness Awareness in Asia Why Unsolicited Health Advice From Online Pain Specialists is THE MOST UNWANTED Advice Of All We’ve all been through it. Every patient knows what it’s like to have some online yahoo offer up some magical cure for your incurable disease. We all know how frustrating, invalidating, and angry it makes us feel. But what happens when we receive unsolicited health advice from online pain specialists? Let me tell you, this type of advice is the MOST UNWANTED ADVICE of all. I’m sure many patients will agree. The following is an opinio ..read more