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in Lifestyle &middot March 14, 2017

Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit: 2017

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in Lifestyle &middot March 14, 2017

Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit: 2017

Last week, I went down to Washington, D. C., for the Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit. This is a trip for learning how to be an advocate and then actually meeting with ... Read the Post...

Finding Your Blogging Niche
in Writing & Blogging &middot March 8, 2017

Finding Your Blogging Niche

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in Writing & Blogging &middot March 8, 2017

Finding Your Blogging Niche

Finding Your Blogging Niche

Hi, everyone! I'm having my infusion today so I'm offline for the rest of the week. Enjoy this guest post from Fliss, who blogs over at sweetcleanliving.com, focusing on ... 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".
Why I'm Focusing on One Blog Traffic Boosting Tool a Month
in Writing & Blogging &middot March 3, 2017

Why I’m Focusing on One Big Blog Traffic Boosting Tool a Month

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in Writing & Blogging &middot March 3, 2017

Why I’m Focusing on One Big Blog Traffic Boosting Tool a Month

Why I'm Focusing on One Blog Traffic Boosting Tool a Month

Another month has come and gone, which means another blog traffic report. February was ... interesting. My traffic grew overall over the course of the month, but I had a big ... Read the Post...

Currently [Vol. 6]
in Lifestyle &middot March 1, 2017

Currently [Vol. 6]

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in Lifestyle &middot March 1, 2017

Currently [Vol. 6]

Currently [Vol. 6]

You know, I started this post with the intention that it would take very little time and I would at least get another proper post up. And then my inability to do anything ... Read the Post...

5 Most Effective Study Techniques for College
in Lifestyle &middot February 27, 2017

The 5 Most Effective Ways To Study for Midterms

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in Lifestyle &middot February 27, 2017

The 5 Most Effective Ways To Study for Midterms

5 Most Effective Study Techniques for College

It's just about that time of the semester - midterms are within the next couple of weeks for most people. After 4 years of undergrad and now 1.5 years of grad school, I'd like ... Read the Post...

What's the Value of the Affordable Care Act?
in Health &middot February 21, 2017

What’s the Value of the Affordable Care Act?

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in Health &middot February 21, 2017

What’s the Value of the Affordable Care Act?

What's the Value of the Affordable Care Act?

A key aspect of American political discussion over the past couple of years has been the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. From the moment it was signed in 2010, ... Read the Post...

in Writing & Blogging &middot February 16, 2017

9 Reasons Why Tailwind Is Worth the Money

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in Writing & Blogging &middot February 16, 2017

9 Reasons Why Tailwind Is Worth the Money

If you're a blogger or creative entrepreneur, you probably already know that Pinterest is a great tool to drive traffic. Last month, Pinterest caused 48.78% of my blog's ... Read the Post...

Why You Should Be Buying ColourPop Makeup
in Lifestyle &middot February 13, 2017

Why You Should Be Buying ColourPop Makeup

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in Lifestyle &middot February 13, 2017

Why You Should Be Buying ColourPop Makeup

Why You Should Be Buying ColourPop Makeup

If you follow me on Snapchat or Instagram - or have been reading my monthly favorites - you probably know that I really love ColourPop. In fact, I showed up to lunch last ... Read the Post...

What I Learned from Website Copywriting
in Writing & Blogging &middot February 10, 2017

What I Learned from Website Copywriting

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in Writing & Blogging &middot February 10, 2017

What I Learned from Website Copywriting

What I Learned from Website Copywriting

If you're new around these parts, you may not know that I'm a fiction writer. Aureole, my first novel, came out in 2012, and I've been working on my second novel (TLM) off and ... Read the Post...

in Lifestyle &middot February 8, 2017

How To Get Involved in the Political System Even If You Never Have Before

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in Lifestyle &middot February 8, 2017

How To Get Involved in the Political System Even If You Never Have Before

With everything going on in the US and the world, more and more people have been interested in using their voice. This is a great thing! But many people have never ... Read the Post...

4 Questions To Ask Before Traveling with Chronic Health Problems
in Health &middot February 6, 2017

4 Questions To Ask Before Traveling with Chronic Health Problems

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in Health &middot February 6, 2017

4 Questions To Ask Before Traveling with Chronic Health Problems

4 Questions To Ask Before Traveling with Chronic Health Problems

Traveling in general can be overwhelming and stressful, but when you add chronic health problems to the mix, it gets even trickier. When I mention chronic health problems, I'm ... Read the Post...

in Writing & Blogging &middot February 2, 2017

How To Get Blog Traffic: My Blogging Advice To Actually Grow Your Blog

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in Writing & Blogging &middot February 2, 2017

How To Get Blog Traffic: My Blogging Advice To Actually Grow Your Blog

Oh, January. Most of my pageviews, etc., decreased, but my social media followers increased. I don't really understand why. The big difference in between January and December ... Read the Post...

in Lifestyle &middot January 31, 2017

January Favorites

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in Lifestyle &middot January 31, 2017

January Favorites

First month of the year is pretty much down! It's time to recap the month in a pretty fun way - by talking about my favorite things. This post contains affiliate ... Read the Post...

in Writing & Blogging &middot January 27, 2017

8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers

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in Writing & Blogging &middot January 27, 2017

8 Tips To Get More Twitter Followers

A question that I've gotten several time is, "How did you get so many Twitter followers?" Now, the definition of "so many" is very different depending on who you are and what ... Read the Post...

Currently [Vol. 5]
in Lifestyle &middot January 25, 2017

Currently [Vol. 5]

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in Lifestyle &middot January 25, 2017

Currently [Vol. 5]

Currently [Vol. 5]

As you've probably noticed, I don't spend a lot of time here talking about my personal life. Yes, my life is an aspect of every post, but I don't spend entire posts on my ... Read the Post...

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

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Kate the (Almost) Great

Chronic health lifestyle blog

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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. ⁣
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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. ⁣
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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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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. ⁣
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Was it the tarsal coalition? Did I have another chronic health issue? Etc. ⁣
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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. ⁣
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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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