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Amazing Summer Makeup Products | Kate the (Almost) Great
in Lifestyle &middot May 22, 2020

Amazing Summer Makeup Products

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in Lifestyle &middot May 22, 2020

Amazing Summer Makeup Products

Amazing Summer Makeup Products | Kate the (Almost) Great

We're heading right into summer! This summer will look a little different than normal, especially for those of us with suppressed immune systems. One way that I can feel ... Read the Post...

What Blogging Platform Should I Use? | Kate the (Almost) Great
in Writing & Blogging &middot May 15, 2020

What Blogging Platform Should I Use?

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in Writing & Blogging &middot May 15, 2020

What Blogging Platform Should I Use?

What Blogging Platform Should I Use? | Kate the (Almost) Great

If you're thinking about starting a blog, one of the first things you have to decide when you actually start is, "What blogging platform should I use?". There are a lot of ... Read the Post...

Text reads: Buy my ebook for chronic health bloggers, worth $140, but buy for $10! There is also an image of the ebook cover. The ebook is named "Take Your Blog (And Income!) To The Next Level: Resources for Chronic Health Bloggers".
How Does Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Work?
in Health &middot May 8, 2020

How Does Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Work?

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in Health &middot May 8, 2020

How Does Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Work?

How Does Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Work?

I don't know about you, but my POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) symptoms have started getting worse as we get closer to summer. It is incredibly frustrating, ... Read the Post...

Getting Blog Traffic: How I Grew My April Blog Traffic
in Writing & Blogging &middot May 5, 2020

Getting Blog Traffic in 2020: How I Grew My Blog in April

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in Writing & Blogging &middot May 5, 2020

Getting Blog Traffic in 2020: How I Grew My Blog in April

Getting Blog Traffic: How I Grew My April Blog Traffic

Happy May! If you felt the COVID-affecting-blog-traffic blues in March, I hope that this traffic report inspires you. When it comes to getting blog traffic in 2020, the ... Read the Post...

Advice Books To Read (That Aren't Cheesy!) | Kate the (Almost) Great
in Lifestyle &middot April 28, 2020

Advice Books To Read (That Aren’t Cheesy!)

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in Lifestyle &middot April 28, 2020

Advice Books To Read (That Aren’t Cheesy!)

Advice Books To Read (That Aren't Cheesy!) | Kate the (Almost) Great

If you're someone like me who likes to learn from reading, advice books for a variety of topics are ideal. And in these times when everything is confusing and up in the air, ... Read the Post...

Describing Pain Levels to a Doctor
in Health &middot April 17, 2020

Describing Pain Levels to a Doctor

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in Health &middot April 17, 2020

Describing Pain Levels to a Doctor

Describing Pain Levels to a Doctor

A key part of living with chronic pain is describing pain to a doctors which can be surprisingly difficult. I still find it hard, and I've been doing it since 2001! With that ... Read the Post...

How Coronavirus Affects Blog Stats | Kate the (Almost) Great, Lifestyle Blogger
in Writing & Blogging &middot April 14, 2020

How Coronavirus Has Affected Blog Traffic Stats

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in Writing & Blogging &middot April 14, 2020

How Coronavirus Has Affected Blog Traffic Stats

How Coronavirus Affects Blog Stats | Kate the (Almost) Great, Lifestyle Blogger

I know that I'm not alone in feeling like March lasted forever and ever. It was the first month when COVID-19 really affected life in the US, which definitely was part of why. ... Read the Post...

2020 Recent Reads: January-March | Kate the (Almost) Great, New England blogger
in Lifestyle &middot April 7, 2020

2020 Recent Reads: January-March

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in Lifestyle &middot April 7, 2020

2020 Recent Reads: January-March

2020 Recent Reads: January-March | Kate the (Almost) Great, New England blogger

I have to admit, it's kind of nice to have some sort of normalcy on the blog when everything outside isn't normal. And something that is normal is writing a Recent Reads post. ... Read the Post...

How To Manage Your Medical Information as a Chronic Illness Patient
in Health &middot March 27, 2020

How To Manage Your Medical Information As a Chronic Illness Patient

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in Health &middot March 27, 2020

How To Manage Your Medical Information As a Chronic Illness Patient

How To Manage Your Medical Information as a Chronic Illness Patient

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own. I do not accept partnerships that I do not believe in! Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great. A ... Read the Post...

Easter 2020: Crafts, Food, & More | Kate the (Almost) Great
in Lifestyle &middot March 17, 2020

50 Crafts, Recipes, & More That You Need for Easter

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in Lifestyle &middot March 17, 2020

50 Crafts, Recipes, & More That You Need for Easter

Easter 2020: Crafts, Food, & More | Kate the (Almost) Great

With Easter 2022 just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about food, decor, and baskets. Oh, and do you have kids who are stuck at home with you during the ... Read the Post...

Getting Smart with Generating Blog Traffic: February Blog Traffic Report | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Blog
in Writing & Blogging &middot March 13, 2020

Getting Smart with Generating Blog Traffic: February Blog Traffic Report

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in Writing & Blogging &middot March 13, 2020

Getting Smart with Generating Blog Traffic: February Blog Traffic Report

Getting Smart with Generating Blog Traffic: February Blog Traffic Report | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Blog

Happy March! If it's the beginning of the month, then it's time to talk the blog traffic from last month. (Okay, I acknowledge that it might not be the beginning of the month, ... Read the Post...

POTS Exercise Protocol Diary: Month 5 | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Blog
in Health &middot March 10, 2020

POTS Exercise Protocol Diary: Month 5

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in Health &middot March 10, 2020

POTS Exercise Protocol Diary: Month 5

POTS Exercise Protocol Diary: Month 5 | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Blog

So happy to say that I finished month 5 of this POTS exercise protocol! I'm officially at the point where it might start working. I won't get a definitive picture of if it's ... Read the Post...

17 Modern Classic Novels | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Lifestyle Blog
in Lifestyle &middot March 3, 2020

17 Modern Classic Novels

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in Lifestyle &middot March 3, 2020

17 Modern Classic Novels

17 Modern Classic Novels | Kate the (Almost) Great, Boston Lifestyle Blog

As someone who majored in English literature in undergrad and then got an MA in it, I've read my fair share of classic books. What makes a book a classic? According to a 2011 ... Read the Post...

How To Get Your Blog Noticed: What You Should & Shouldn't Do
in Writing & Blogging &middot February 25, 2020

The Dos and Dont’s of How To Get Your Blog Noticed

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in Writing & Blogging &middot February 25, 2020

The Dos and Dont’s of How To Get Your Blog Noticed

How To Get Your Blog Noticed: What You Should & Shouldn't Do

So you have a blog. Awesome! You've written some great posts. Even better! But the only people reading your blog are your friends and family. How do you change that? In this ... Read the Post...

How Chronic Illness Affects Relationships | Kate the (Almost) Great
in Health &middot February 18, 2020

How Chronic Illness Affects Relationships

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in Health &middot February 18, 2020

How Chronic Illness Affects Relationships

How Chronic Illness Affects Relationships | Kate the (Almost) Great

Personally, I think that one of the hardest things about being chronically ill is the ways in which it affects areas of your life that really shouldn't be affected by illness. ... Read the Post...

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Reminder: you can be proud of your disability comm Reminder: you can be proud of your disability community while wishing your body cooperated more⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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 ID: Screenshot of a thread post. The background is dark teal, and it's written by katethealmostgreat. ⁣The text reads what's above the first black box.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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#DisabilityPride #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #Disabled #Disability
I don’t know the exact date of my RA diagnosis, bu I don’t know the exact date of my RA diagnosis, but this is from right around then in July 2010. ⁣
⁣
When I was diagnosed, I had been having symptoms for 9 years. ⁣
- 9 years of foot pain (partially from tarsal coalition)⁣
- Arthritic damage in said food⁣
- Carpal tunnel off and on for several years⁣
- And more⁣
⁣
I was finally diagnosed because I woke up one morning and was unable to open my jaw more than 8 mm. It turned out that I had horrible arthritic damage to my TMJs, which got me off the waiting list at MGH rheumatology. I left that appointment with an autoimmune arthritis diagnosis. ⁣
⁣
The fact that July is not only my diagnosis anniversary but also Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month has always seemed right. I may not have been diagnosed with JA, but given the amount of arthritis I had along with my many years of symptoms, it's generally accepted that I had it. ⁣
⁣
This year marks 16 years since diagnosis and this fall marks 25 years since my symptoms started. It's pretty weird that so much time has already passed!⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: Kate at 19 at Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. ⁣
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#RheumatoidArthritis #AutoimmuneDisease #Arthritis #JuvenileArthritis #JRA
Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is di Dos and don'ts for when someone in your life is diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis! What are some that you would add?⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⬛⁣⁣⁣
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ID: "So someone you know was diagnosed with Autoimmune Arthritis". Under the Do column (indicated with a green checkmark) is:⁣
"As how they feel about it⁣
Offer specific ways to help⁣
Treat them normally⁣
Ask follow-up questions⁣
Wear a mask around them when sick."⁣
Under the don't don't column (indicated with an x in a red circle) is:⁣
"Say “At least it’s not xyz!”⁣
Say that and not follow through⁣
Assume nothing about their lives has changed⁣
Conflate autoimmune arthritis with osteoarthritis⁣
Pass your cold to an immunosuppressed person".⁣
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#AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #PsoriaticArthritis #AnkylosingSpondylitis #JuvenileArthritis
Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly Scenes of a summer week Weekj 26 of 2026 Weekly 

Scenes of a summer week in Maine! So glad I work from home, which means I can work from my real home (Maine, if that wasn’t clear)

1️⃣ Lots of Harley time
2️⃣ Working from home means saving my PTO for fun things!
3️⃣ Lots of duck families (📸 my dad)
4️⃣ What a lot of my days look like - Harley and my current project (needlepoint). And, yes, I’m still in a cast.
5️⃣ Learned how to play Mahjong, which my parents love
6️⃣ Lake views on the 4th

⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛⁣⁣⁣

IDs:
1️⃣ Harley the golden retriever on a deck as seen through some plants
2️⃣ Kate takes a selfie
3️⃣ A duck with little ducklings following on a lake
4️⃣ Harley coming up to Kate. Her legs are out on an ottoman, 1 foot in a walking cast, and an in-progress needlepoint project
5️⃣ Looking down at a Mahjong table with the game set up
6️⃣ A kayak on the shore of a lake 

#MaineTheWay #MaineSummer #Needlepoint #MaineLife
Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re wi Living with chronic pain is really hard. You’re winning every day you’re still here.⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
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ID: The background image is a lake at sunset. Text reads what's above the first square and also "katethealmostgreat".⁣
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#ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foo I've been spending a fair amount of time at my foot surgeon's office this year, and boy has it been messing with my head. ⁣
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I spent a lot of time from 2001-2010 dealing with my left foot. Long story short, it took until this foot surgeon saw me in 2010 after fixing this foot for me to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. But I spent those 9 years going from doctor to doctor, having surgery after surgery, trying to figure out what was causing my pain and to fix it. ⁣
⁣
Was it the tarsal coalition? Did I have another chronic health issue? Etc. ⁣
⁣
I spent from age 10 to 19 unsure what exactly was wrong with me and in huge amounts of pain. We thought we figured it out, and then something else happened. ⁣
⁣
We know exactly what is wrong with this foot this time around: in 2024, I got 3 stress fractures, and no one put me in a boot. They almost fully healed before breaking in 2025, and then the same thing happened in 2026. ⁣
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This is a different part of the foot than I used to deal with, but any problems with my feet and especially my left foot messes with me. While this doctor eventually fixed the problems and even got me diagnosed with RA, every time I go back to his office, I have to fight not to become 17 again. ⁣
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PTSD is a bitch.⁣
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(PS - if you want to know why I'm going back to this guy when it messes with me, it's because I don't trust anyone else to fix my foot.)⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
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ID: Kate takes a selfie in a doctor's office. ⁣
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#PTSDAwareness #ChronicallyIll #TarsalCoalition #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis
Week 25 of #2026Weekly Happy to be in Maine for Week 25 of #2026Weekly 

Happy to be in Maine for a few weeks! I didn’t get up to a lot, so another week of very few pictures

1️⃣ IVIG 
2️⃣ Lots of beautiful birds have been coming to my mom’s bird feeder!

⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⬛⁣⁣⁣

IDs: 
1️⃣ Looking at Kate’s lap. Tubes are coming out from under her shirt and there’s a Kindle
2️⃣ Birds arriving at a bird feeder as seen through a window

#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #ChronicPain #IVIG
What do you have to do every day for your chronic What do you have to do every day for your chronic illnesses? ⁣
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For context, I have rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, POTS, heart disease, osteoporosis, and more. ⁣
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⬛⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 10+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣.⁣
⁣
⁣⁣⬛⁣⁣
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ID: ⁣
Things I Do Every Day for My Chronic Illnesses⁣
Take pills at least 4 times a day⁣
Don’t eat gluten, dairy, corn, soy, or eggs⁣
Sleep 7+ hours a night⁣
Consume 80-100 grams of protein, 120 mg of calcium, 5-10 grams of sodium⁣
Wear a mask whenever I leave the house⁣
Do pilates 4+ days a week⁣
Work from home⁣
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#ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #Fibromyalgia
Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but Filmed this back in April (hence the sweater) but it applies to whenever I have appointments! 

Video: Kate talks to the camera while holding a purse. She holds up individual items mentioned in the video before putting them in the bag. There are captions. 

#ChronicallyIll #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoporosis #ChronicPain
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