I wasn’t always an anxious person. Since my sarcoidosis diagnosis, however, I feel I exist in a perpetual state of anxiety. In the beginning, I am certain the anxiety was a result of the pain and fatigue. I was struggling to get answers and a formal diagnosis.

I received a phone call about a week ago from one of my cousins, who is like a little brother to me. We’ve always been very close, and before my cousin’s father passed away from cancer, he asked me to “look after” my cousin, which I’ve been doing…

Summer is coming Summer and my sarcoidosis don’t mix well. So when Philadelphia’s temperature soared past 80 degrees May 2, I became an amateur meteorologist. If you wanted to know the weather forecast for the next hour, day, week, or 10 days out, I was your person. The House…

Sarcoidosis: No rest for the weary Taking my nephew along on errands when he was a kid meant a race against time. I tried to finish before he uttered “home,” which was toddler speak for “leave now or be embarrassed by a temper tantrum.” That’s what daily life with chronic…

While there no therapies approved for sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (SAPH), pulmonary hypertension-specific therapies may help ease right heart dysfunction in a select group of patients, according to results of a large cohort study. The study, “Clinical Features and Outcomes of Patients with Sarcoidosis-associated Pulmonary Hypertension,” was published in…

My pulmonologist advised me to schedule appointments with several specialists after I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. These specialists included an eye doctor and a cardiologist, but I hadn’t made the eye appointment yet. I’ll admit that I was overwhelmed by the steady stream of doctors and tests. Eager to restore…

Dr. Rossi raised my puffy leg, which was three times its normal size, and closely examined it. “I think the inflammation is a secondary condition called erythema nodosum,” she said confidently. “Based on the cough, I would say you have sarcoidosis,” she added. My brain was having difficulty processing…

Sarcoidosis: A life of no Having sarcoidosis means I must say no to many things. That is why when Cinco de Mayo rolled around last week, I was sitting in while my friends did their part to keep Americans in the lead for tequila consumption. They tried to…

Sarcoidosis 101 Have you ever tried to explain sarcoidosis to someone? First, you have to phonetically walk them through the funny-sounding pronunciation. If you still have their attention after that, it’s usually gone by the time you hit the term “granuloma.” After being shellshocked by a sarcoidosis diagnosis,…

During April, National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month, the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) is promoting the use of cardiac imaging to non-invasively assess changes in patients’ heart tissue and overall cardiac function. Sarcoidosis is marked by an overreactive immune system and the resulting formation of small clumps of inflammatory…