• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kate the (Almost) Great

Chronic illness blog

  • Home
  • Start Here
    • About
    • As Seen On
    • Tags & Topics
    • Popular Posts
  • Blogging Resources
  • Freebie
  • Shop the Blog
    • Products for the Chronically Ill
  • Work with Me
    • Ads and Sponsoring
  • Follow
  • Holiday
    • Gift Guides

in Writing & Blogging · January 21, 2020

11 Tools To Grow Blog Traffic: 2020

Several years ago, I started focusing on one “big” thing a month to try and grow my blog traffic. I did this because doing something once isn’t going to do anything for your traffic; you need to do it multiple times over a prolonged period of time. I obviously included these things in my blog traffic reports, but I’ve enjoyed also putting all the things I tried over the course of a year in one post. Some of these things yielded immediate results, but many of them required more time, and also tweaking my methods. Making this post enables me to include the things I did, as well as the things I had to do differently after the month was over. So now that it’s January, it’s time to include a new year’s worth of lessons on how to grow blog traffic: 2020 edition.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

Previous editions by year: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

Looking to grow your blog traffic? In this post, long-time blogger Kate the (Almost) Great shares 11 tools. Grow your blog: 2020 edition!

11 Tools To Grow Blog Traffic: 2020

Tried manual pinning instead of just Tailwind – This is something that I had been hearing for a while and that I started trying in January. It actually works! As you guys know, I love Tailwind and I think that you absolutely need to invest in it if you want to take your blog far. But that doesn’t change the fact that Tailwind is a separate company from Pinterest, and Pinterest wants to encourage its users to use their site primarily. This means that they are rewarding accounts that pin manually. So how do you manage that with allllll the other things that bloggers have to do? I still do the majority of my pinning through Tailwind (I work 33 hours a week, plus having multiple medical appointments a week, plus feeling bad because I’m super chronically ill; primarily manually pinning is not an option for me. But what I try to do is spend 5-10 minutes a day manually pinning. If I’m worried about lacking the time to fill my Tailwind queue, then I’ll alternative manually and sending to Tailwind every pin (so 1 manual, 1 queuing).

How to use Tailwind for Pinterest | 9 reasons why Tailwind is worth the money

Change your Facebook group strategy – There are soooo many Facebook groups for bloggers out there! They are great for networking, as well as for asking questions. Here are the groups I’m in and that I participate in: Chronic Illness Bloggers, InfluenceHer Collective, Boss Girl Bloggers, Bloggers Supporting Bloggers, Northeast Bloggers, Members of The Blog Societies, WEGO Health Patient Leader Private Connection, and Boston Bloggers. Some of these are Facebook groups for people who are members of other blogger/influencer communities and some of them are independent groups. I joined some of these before I tried changing my group strategy and joined others as a result of it. I ended up leaving a bunch of groups that I didn’t look at or participate in, especially because they do end up clogging your home feed.

When I changed my strategy, I didn’t just change what groups I was in. I also made it a priority to actively engage. A lot of these groups have follow or engagement threads, which I already participated in. (These are when a moderator makes a post giving instructions for a certain type of social media network. For example, comment with a link to an Instagram account or post you want follows/engagement on and reciprocate. The smallest number I’ve seen required is 3 and the largest is 10.) But I also made an effort to respond to questions people asked about blogging. This isn’t just to grow social media and my blog but to also build relationships with other bloggers. But, obviously, it did help grow my social media and blog, or else it wouldn’t be on this list 😉

Create super shareable content – Unless you are one of the biggest bloggers out there (like, the ones who make clothing lines), you will need for your content to be shared for you to get blog traffic. The best way to do that is to create super shareable content. This can mean a couple of things. 1) Create content that is so compelling that people have to share it. 2) Create content that is in a typically-shared genre. 3) Create content that other people aren’t really writing about, something that people will want to share because they’re not seeing it anywhere else. 4) Some combination of the above! One example from my posts is 7 Yummy Crockpot Recipes, which falls into the category of content that is typically shared, aka food. Another is Building Self-Confidence When Chronically Ill, which falls into the category of content the other people aren’t really writing about. In fact, it was a topic requested by my Instagram followers because people weren’t seeing it.

Update your blog’s pages – If you’ve been blogging for more than a year, it’s probably time to update your blog’s pages. You’ve learned more about what type of blogger you are, what you write about, and what you want people to know about you and your blog. Blog pages I have that make a difference for me are Tags & Topics and Popular Posts, which are pretty self-explanatory. I tend to have people who follow me for one topic in particular and who don’t really care about my others, so having all of my tags and topics organized in one place really helps readers, especially because I’ve been blogging for so long (I hit 1,000 posts last month!). Additionally, having all of my popular posts in one place helps to continue generating traffic for those posts. They’re popular for a reason, and it’s great to have them organized for people to peruse and, ideally, share with others.

I also made sure to update my About page, as well as my 404. A 404 page is what you go to a page on a website that has been deleted or if you put something wrong in the URL. I have a custom 404 page due to the plugin 404 Error Page, which I have customized to include some of my more popular posts. The way it works is that I created a page and did everything I wanted to make it include popular posts. Then, using the plugin, I set that page as my 404 error page. Easy peasy way to keep people from leaving my site if they accidentally use a wrong URL!

Use Canva’s Pinterest templates – I personally love Photoshop Elements, which is where I create 97% of my blogging images. But I also really appreciate Canva’s Pinterest templates, which are just some of the templates they provide. If you are just getting into blogging and don’t want to dish out the money for Photoshop – which is understandable – or you don’t know how to make pins that will do well on Pinterest, definitely try Canva’s templates. They’re awesome! When I made new pins for older posts (something I’ll get into shortly), I use Canva.

Update the automatic emails for your newsletter – This is something you should do if you have had your newsletter for more than a year. If you’re unfamiliar with what this is about, it comes down to what happens when you have someone sign up for your newsletter. Sometimes people will delete these without reading them, but ideally they will open them. When they do, you want that email to work well for you. In my welcome email, I explain who I am, share information about the blog, and explain what they can expect from my newsletter. I also include links to popular posts. Why do I do all of this if they’re signing up for the newsletter? Because while some subscribers are long-term KTAG readers, some are also new ones who found my blog and newsletter through providing free printables.

Looking for more information? The Content Boss has a great post called 3 Things Your Welcome Email Must Do (And Probably Doesn’t!)

Super maximize your website for mobile use – While I mostly view blogs and websites on my computer, that’s not true for a lot of people. In fact, 85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good or better than its desktop website; 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout are unattractive; 47% of users expect a maximum of 2 seconds loading time for an average website; and mobile traffic as a share of total global online traffic in 2017 was 52.64% (x). Suffice it to say that it’s really important to have a mobile-friendly website. One way to figure out how mobile-friendy (or unfriendly) your website is is through using Google’s mobile-friendly test at search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. Looking on how to improve your site? Hostgator has a great post about it.

The best WordPress plugins: the plugins I use and love

grow blog traffic 2020, grow blog traffic, grow your blog 2020, grow your blog, grow your blog in 2020, how to grow a blog, how to grow your blog, how to increase blog traffic for free, boost blog traffic

Try writing posts outside of your niche – This is one that I’ve tried before, but I didn’t see much success with it in the past because I didn’t really know what I was doing. Especially because I don’t exactly have a niche. I write a lot about health stuff, but not enough to be a health blogger. I write a lot about blogging, but not enough to be a blogging blogger, if that phrasing makes sense. And I write a fair amount of general lifestyle posts (like about beauty, books, Boston, and food), but nowhere near the same frequency that I write about my other key topics. What I decided to do is to step fully out of my comfort zone – the aforementioned topics – and write about something that I wasn’t used to posting about. I did a full food post, which was a recipe and decorating instructions. I also write a guide to what to do in Ireland for first-time visitors after my trip there in September. I enjoyed writing both of them, and I would like to write my travel posts, but I think I’m okay with not doing food as frequently.

My advice is that, if you’ve been blogging at least a year and you feel that your blog traffic is stuck, to write a post that’s slightly out of your niche or comfort zone. It’s a good way to test the waters and see if your readers like it, and it’s also a good way to stretch your creative muscles.

Complete a 30-day SEO challenge – I’m not going to lie: I felt a little silly when I started doing this. I’ve been implementing SEO in my website for years; did I really need to do this? But by the end of it, I was so, so glad that I had. Once you’re used to SEO in blogging, you can fall into a rut, like with many things. I was doing essentially the same things for all blog posts, and I had forgotten some of the things that I did when I first started using SEO. I chose a 30-day challenge because it gave me an action to do every day to improve my blog, which was nice. I know a lot more about SEO than the average person, but I’m by no means an expert. I found this extremely helpful. Learn more about the 30-day SEO challenge I did here.

How to use SEO to stand out + free SEO checklist

Make new pins for old(er) posts – As I mentioned above, I’m in a Facebook group called Boss Girl Bloggers. This group is run by Ell Duclos, and she is a Pinterest wiz. She has shared multiple times in the group that she regularly makes new Pinterest images for her posts and repins them. While this is something that I do occasionally, it’s not something that I do (or did) often. So I decided to try this! To make this take as little time as possible, I decided to do it with Canva’s Pinterest templates because a) they have templates that get results b) they have a whole bunch of stock images available for use, so I wouldn’t have to personally search for and download them and c) it’s easy. Pick a template, pick an image, type a title, maybe come up with a different one just to mix things up, share to Pinterest (with the link to the post, of course). So easy!

How to use Pinterest for blog traffic

Refresh old content – This is another thing that I had tried in the past, but this time, I stepped it up a notch. I not only worked on updating an out-of-date information or adding more words, but I also added a lot more words, more (high-quality) images, added related SEO keywords, and added new blog posts that were relevant. Additionally, I found some older posts that I hadn’t optimized for SEO and then did that for them, and I made new pins for some of these posts. But for all of the posts I updated – whether or not they had new pins – I added them to my Tailwind queue again. If I felt that I had an especially incredible new pin, I would also add them to my Tailwind Tribes. (There’s a limited number of pins you can add per month and my new posts always come first.) You can learn even more from optinmonstere.

To recap, here are 11 things you can do to grow blog traffic: 2020 edition.

  1. Pin manually in addition to Tailwind
  2. Reevaluate and update your Facebook group strategy
  3. Create shareable content (and make it easy to share)
  4. Update your blog’s pages
  5. Make pins using Canva’s Pinterest templates
  6. Update your newsletter’s automatically-sent newsletters
  7. Maximize your blog for mobile use
  8. Write blog posts outside of your typical niche
  9. Supercharge your SEO knowledge with a 30-day SEO challenge
  10. Make new pins for old(er) posts
  11. Refresh your content with more information, related SEO keywords, and up-to-date content

What tools are you going to try to grow your blog traffic in 2020?

Like this post? Check out:

Why Isn’t My Blog Getting Traffic?, How I Manage Social Media for My Blog, 8 Ways To Blog Better, Tips for New Bloggers

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

Share this with your family and friends:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Related

Previous Post: « 2019 Recent Reads: October-December
Next Post: How Arthritis Affects the Body »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    April 21, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    This was so helpful, Kate! I’m trying to grow my blog while quarantining — one of the things I’m focusing on that’s helping me stay sane. Hope you’re doing well.

    Lauren
    http://laurensjourney.com

    Loading...
    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 13 Blog Strategies for 2021 | Kate the (Almost) Great, Health Blog says:
    May 17, 2021 at 11:14 am

    […] Editions: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, […]

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. How To Promote a Blog Post: 2021 | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Blog says:
    June 23, 2021 at 10:08 am

    […] Facebook – Like with Twitter, I schedule promotions of a new post on my Facebook page over the course of 24 hours to promote and then another 3 over the next 2 weeks. I schedule my posts to be in between my Twitter posts to cover as much ground as possible. On the day of the new post, I schedule these posts at 9:30, 2:30, 8, and 12 AM the next day. After that, I schedule a post 2 days later, 6 or 8 days later, and 2 weeks later. I post less often on Facebook, though, because Facebook posts have a longer shelf-life than Twitter posts do. I’m also a member of 8 Facebook groups for bloggers, and I promote my new posts in those. In 2019, I changed up my Facebook group strategy, which you can read about in this post. […]

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. The 13 Best Blog Tools for 2022 says:
    February 6, 2022 at 12:39 pm

    […] Years’ Posts: 2021, 2020, 2019, […]

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. 15 Best Blogger Tools for 2023 says:
    December 30, 2022 at 7:48 am

    […] Editions: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, […]

    Loading...
    Reply
  5. Getting Blog Traffic: How I Grew My April Blog Traffic says:
    January 12, 2024 at 4:55 pm

    […] Dos and Don’ts of How To Get Your Blog Noticed, 11 Tools To Grow Blog Traffic, Why I Switched to MailerLite from MailChimp for My Email Newsletter, The Best WordPress Plugins: […]

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Kate the (Almost) Great® is a chronic illness lifestyle blog. It is a resource for chronic illness patients and their loved ones.

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Health
Lifestyle
Writing & Blogging

Pages To Start With

  • About Kate the (Almost) Great®: Meet the Health Blogger
  • As Seen On
  • Follow
  • Health Blog Resources I Actually Use + Recommend
  • Newsletter
  • Popular Posts
  • Privacy Policy & Disclaimer Policy
  • Products for the Chronically Ill: My Recommendations
  • Shop
  • Start Here
  • Tags & Topics
  • Work with Me

Search

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This blog uses affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

Sign Up for the Newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!


Bluehost.com Web Hosting $3.95

Health Union Patient Leader Certification

Support KTAG

If you like what I do, please support me on Ko-fi.




Footer

Sign Up for FREE Instagram Challenge

Get 25 FREE Instagram prompts for chronic health creators!

You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Get your FREE Instagram challenge here 

and 

For just $5 get your copy of my ebook Take Your Blog (And Income!) to the Next Level with code "greatest".

.

Kate the (Almost) Great

Chronic health lifestyle blog

Lets Go!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Having decades-long health problems sometimes mean Having decades-long health problems sometimes means coming across something in your health history that you completely forgot about⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshot of a thread post written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #rheumatoidarthritis #arthritis #spoonielife #healthblogger #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #chronicallyill #healthblog #dysautonomia #fibro #fibromyalgia #endo #chronicallyill #disability #disabled #invisibleillness #spoonielife #healthblogger
Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talki Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talking care of myself AND who I am as a person separate from illness⁣
⁣
This is my Wonderful Things jar. Every day, I write down something wonderful or good that happened that day. ⁣
⁣
I know it looks like I'm forcing Harley to sit like this, but he was making this face before I put my arm around him. Dog snuggle time is the best!⁣
⁣
I got a Kindle this year and it has been amazing. It's so much easier on my body than lugging around books and it makes borrowing from the library a lot easier.⁣
⁣
Yes, I share this all the time, but filling my pill boxes every 3 weeks make it so I stick with all of my medications. But the self-care part of this is that I don't have to take the time to refill a box every single week.⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ A glass jar on a desk with a lot of multi-color post-its inside⁣
2️⃣ Kate has her face in a golden retriever who is slumped onto her. They're in a teal room with a red rug. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing red pants and a gray sweater.⁣
3️⃣ A Kindle on dark mode in Kate's lap⁣
4️⃣ 3 open pill cases on a yellow bedspread ⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #SelfCare #ChronicallyIll #ChronicallyAwesome #SpoonieLife #Spoonie #ChronicLife #ButYouDontLookSick #InvisibleIllness #MentalHealthMatters #RetrieversOfInstagram #Readers #Kindle #WonderfulThings #GratitudePractice
What I Bring To the Doctor _______ Video: a pa What I Bring To the Doctor 

_______ 

Video: a pan of an exam room. White text reads “What I Bring To the Doctor ” and the “1. Planner/notebook
2. List of current medications 
3. Notes on my biggest concerns and questions 
4. My kindle for wait time” 
The intro to Maroon 5’s Priceless plays. 

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #SjogrensSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
💃🏼 Week 17 of #2025Weekly 💃🏼⁣
⁣
1️⃣ She’s married!! ⁣
2️⃣ She married the best person in the world for her!!!!!⁣
3️⃣ I got dressed up! ⁣
4️⃣ The reality of doing fun things with chronic illness and pain is that then you have to recover from the fun things. It took … a while. One million percent worth it, but this is why I don’t do big events on a regular basis. ⁣
5️⃣ And then I had to be a person again for an appointment!⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ Kate stands hugging Emmie. They're both white woman. Emmie is in a wedding dress and Kate is in a red dress and wearing round tortiseshell glasses.⁣
2️⃣ Kate and Emmie stand next to Matt, Emmie's husband. He is a white man.⁣
3️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. she's in the same red dress but now also wears a jean jacket and holds a cane and mask.⁣
4️⃣ Kate takes a selfie while giving a thumbs up. She looks tired. She's now wearing a pink flowery dress. ⁣
5️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's wearing black shorts, a gray shirt, a jean jacket, a blue mask, and black aviator sunglasses. She has a bag over her shoulder and holds a cane.⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #SpoonieLife #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #DisabledAndCute
On the one hand, you should always believe what pe On the one hand, you should always believe what people tell you about their bodies.⁣
⁣
On the other hand, I’ve had so much ridiculous and unconnected health things happen that I do understand why people might not believe me.⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshots of a thread posts written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicallyIll #ChronicPain #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness
Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how systemic autoimmune arthritis can be. But something else that surprised me was how much pain can be caused by small things.⁣
⁣
In this picture, I was getting ready to have an MRI on my knee. It has been bothering me a fair amount the last 6+ months, so I'm trying to do something about that. ⁣
⁣
Unsurprisingly, some of the tissue is damaged, but it's not bad. What's probably causing it to bother me so much is a teeny tiny cyst. ⁣
⁣
Baker's cysts are a type of cyst in the knee that are generally caused by arthritis. But having a cyst in my knee means that it's causing pressure on that damaged tissue. ⁣
⁣
The body is a weird thing, and one of these weird things is developing tiny cysts that cause a lot of pain. ⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
ID: Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a hospital gown, scrub bottoms, black mask, round tortoiseshell glasses, and round tortoiseshell glasses. ⁣
🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ S 🌸 Week 16 of #2025Weekly 🌸 ⁣
⁣
1️⃣ Spring has sprung … ⁣
2️⃣ … Which means I am overheating! ⁣
3️⃣ A quick view of NYC on my travels ⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ A flowering tree on a street ⁣
2️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a blue t-shirt saying "The Future Is Accessible," a black mask, a green hat reading "Facilities Management), black shorts, a black knee sleeve, and a black knee brace. She holds a pink cane.⁣
3️⃣ A picture of the New York City skyline behind a bridge.⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #SpoonieLife #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #ChronicPain #Arthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Dysautonomia #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #InvisibleIllness
If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ... ⁣
⁣
I tell her how things would get worse before they got better. ⁣
⁣
I'd tell her to stop eating gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs immediately (although that would have been a lot harder in 2010, more than it even is now). ⁣
⁣
I'd tell her that she still needs to keep advocating for herself. ⁣
⁣
I'd tell her that having a diagnosis unfortunately doesn't mean everything automatically falls into place. ⁣
⁣
I'd tell her that she'll develop many more illnesses but her quality of life will actually get significantly better. ⁣
⁣
I'd tell her that she would eventually have to get her right foot fixed, although she does expect that.⁣
⁣
I'd tell her that using a cane is not a sign of failure, but a tool to make life better.⁣
⁣
(I did a sort of tongue-in-cheek post about this a while ago and thought I'd post a more serious one).⁣
⁣
◾ ⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣
⁣
ID: Kate poses for the camera holding a mug with the letter M on it. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing a blue sweater and round tortoiseshell glasses. A white text box reads "If I met my newly diagnosed self for coffee ...". ⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #ChronicallyIll #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #AutoimmuneArthritis #Rheum #InvisibleIllness #Arthritis #ButYouDontLookSick #ArthritisWarrior #CureArthritis
The thing that surprised me the most about autoimm The thing that surprised me the most about autoimmune arthritis is how systemic it is. ⁣
⁣
Like with most things, it's one thing to know the fact and it's something else to experience it. ⁣
⁣
Yes, my joints are affected (a lot). ⁣
⁣
But I've had enough serious infections thats I have to see an immunologist because we need to be aware of my antibodies and I sometimes need help recovering from illnesses. ⁣
⁣
And, yes, I see pulmonology because of my asthma, but we also have to keep an eye out on developing rheumatoid nodules in my lungs. (So far so good!)⁣
⁣
Not to mention that, when I developed POTS, the hospital admitted me to run every heart test to make sure that, at 26, I wasn't experiencing heart failure. ⁣
⁣
Plus, when I developed endometriosis, I also went through a number of GI tests because one theory was that I had ulcerative colitis. ⁣
⁣
Anyway, RA is so much more than "just" joints. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have to kill my immune system every 3 months like I am in this picture.⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
◾⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
ID: Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair. She is a brunette white woman wearing a Boston Red Sox shirt, blue mask, and round tortoiseshell glasses.⁣⁣
⁣
#AlmostGreatHealth #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Rheum #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #InvisibleIllness #ButYouDontLookSick #Sjogrens #SjogrensSyndrome #POTS #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #Dysautonomia
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Kate the (Almost) Great · Design by Studio Mommy

%d