RA Sisters

My name is Meredith Boutte.   I'm 34, a stay at home mom of a smart 8-year-old boy and have had a wonderful boyfriend for two years. I was first diagnosed about 6 years ago.   During that time, I was a full-time student working towards becoming a nurse.   I was doing a great job in school. When I first got sick, it took about a year to be diagnosed.   There were a lot of doctor visits and a whole lot of throwing fits just so that doctors would listen to me. At one point, I told the doctor that if they did not admit me I was going to hurt myself. It's sad that I had to go through such drastic extremes to get someone to listen to me, but it worked. Soon after the hospital stay I was referred to a rheumatologist.   That changed my life forever.   At that time the diagnosis was such a relief because I was finally going to get help. I didn’t feel crazy anymore, yet the news put me into a state of depression. The only thing I knew about RA was what I ...

Like most that suffer from chronic diseases, I feel like people typically do not understand what it is like to walk (or not to walk) in our shoes. While I do not want to constantly focus on my ailments, I think it is important to spread awareness. It is crucial that we educate and provide basic knowledge for the general public. I chose this picture for this post because it hit home for me personally. I have lots of friends with Rheumatoid Disease that do indeed have severe arthritis. While I look at them and see strength, hope, and courage,  you can also see the pain and suffering through their disfigurements. My sister and I have many health issues, but one can not visibly see any deformities as of yet. While I am grateful that all my extremities are characterized as normal so far, this can make it hard for others to realize what type of struggles we go through on a day to day basis. I wanted to post some symptoms here that go hand in hand with Rheumatoid Disease. These wer...

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AND OILS Many of you have read my very first post  RA...Say what?!?!   In this post I explain why I decided to start my very own Blog and share my diagnoses to help raise awareness for RA, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. Over the past 5 years, I have learned and continue to learn on this journey. I enjoy sharing my story in hopes that it may help someone else feel better emotionally, spiritually, and even physically! In January of 2016, I changed my lifestyle for the better. I started to clean my diet of processed foods and products. I made a huge change and was able to get off medications that I never thought I would be able to stop taking. I started using essential oils, supplements, and foods to help any ailments instead of going straight to the medicine cabinet. I have been using Young Living Oils and products now for 2 years, and can't imagine life without them. I am no expert and have so much more to learn, but I feel obligated to share what ha...