If you’ve ever looked at autoimmune bloodwork and thought, “Okay… but what does any of this actually mean?” 😵‍💫 You’re definitely not alone. Tests like ANA, CRP, ESR, SSA/SSB, anti-dsDNA, RF and anti-CCP can give healthcare providers important clues about inflammation, immune activity and certai

If you take Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), you’ve probably heard about the importance of having your eyes checked—but I wanted to share a little more about why. Plaquenil can rarely cause retinal toxicity, which is why specialized retinal screening is so important. Tests such as OCT and fundus

Brain fog. Fatigue. Joint pain. Sleep problems. Mood changes. Sound familiar? 😩 The tricky part is that perimenopause, menopause, and autoimmune disease can share many of the same symptoms. Hormonal changes—especially fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone—can also influence the immune sys

Hey warriors I realized a lot of new faces are here lately, so I wanted to reintroduce myself. I'm Kait creator of Autoimmune Badass - and this page is a mix of chronic illness reality, autoimmune awareness, flare day honesty, comfort, humor, healing, daily life, and reminding people they are

Super excited to be in collaboration with the Autoimmune Association! We will be spreading awareness with them and getting involved with as many events as we possibly can with them. They have a walk in September that we will be participating in and I'll be posting all that information this week

Dry mouth. Trouble swallowing. Mouth irritation. Fatigue. 😩 With Sjögren’s, even something as basic as deciding what to eat can become complicated. There’s no magical “Sjögren’s diet” — and food cannot cure Sjögren’s — but choosing softer, moisture-rich foods and building balanced meals with

Okay… THIS is fascinating. 🤯🦴 Why does rheumatoid arthritis commonly attack certain joints while others are often spared? New research from the Kennedy Institute at the University of Oxford suggests part of the answer may be established before we’re even born. Researchers compared developi

Summer is almost over, so we’re going out with TWO final Flare Kits! 🥹💜☀️ That means 2 kits = 2 chances to win! 🎉 To enter: 💜 FOLLOW @autoimmunebadass 💜 LIKE this post 💜 COMMENT your diagnosis — or simply “chronic illness” if you’d rather keep it private. 🇺🇸 U.S. residents only • 18+

What if autoimmune disease begins years before the first obvious symptoms appear? 💜 Researchers call this early period the autoimmune prodrome—a phase when changes in the immune system may already be happening before someone meets the criteria for an autoimmune diagnosis. Depending on the dis

Our LAST Summer Flare Kit giveaway is 8/27! fr If you already signed up for a Flare Kit giveaway this month, you're STILL entered! No need to sign up again. If you haven't entered yet, keep your eyes open for the official sign-up post! • And then... BRING ON FALL! I'm already hunt

This one caught my attention. 👀🧠🩸 New Stanford research published in Nature found that immune cells originating in the blood can enter the human brain as we age — challenging a long-held view of how separate the brain’s immune environment really is. Researchers are already asking an incredibl

Chronic illness may have changed what I can do with my kids, but it hasn’t changed how much I want to make memories with them. Maybe it’s not an all-day beach trip anymore. Maybe it’s not hours walking around the mall. Maybe it’s homemade pizza in ridiculous costumes, a movie on the couch, a

What if participating in research today could help change autoimmune treatment tomorrow? 💜🧬 Clinical trials are studying new treatments for autoimmune diseases, and researchers need real patients to make that progress possible. Studies may be available for conditions including lupus/SLE, scle

THIS gives me hope. 💜 For years, those of us living with Sjögren’s have relied on medications that weren’t actually developed specifically for our disease. Now we have targeted Sjögren’s treatments moving through late-stage research. 🙌 💜 Ianalumab has completed two Phase 3 trials and recei

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Check out Autoimmune Badass Shop on Etsy. Every purchase helps us to continue to give free flats kits to our Autoimmune and Chronic Illness community.💜