Everyday Rheum - Still Dreaming: Pursuing Your Ambitions with Lupus

Today's Episode Ariel shares her personal experience navigating a lupus diagnosis. She emphasizes the importance of patient advocacy, recommending that others keep detailed symptom records, seek second opinions when needed, and be persistent in finding proper medical care. Ariel discusses the emotional and physical challenges of adjusting to life with lupus, including learning to budget energy, accepting help from others, and managing the grief associated with losing previous physical capabilities. She shares how her diagnosis has influenced her perspective as a future physician, emphasizing the need for compassionate, understanding care that validates patients' experiences and considers their unique circumstances and access to resources. Ariel assures young people with autoimmune diagnoses that their goals remain achievable with appropriate adjustments and support, and reminding them that they are not alone in their journey. Today's Guest Ariel Vieira is the patient care coordinator and medical assistant for Dr. Koolaee. Ariel is also a clinical anatomy instructor at the USC School of Medicine, a graduate research assistant, and a pre-med student. Today's Host Dr. Michelle Koolaee did her training for internal medicine residency at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and went on to do her fellowship at University of Pennsylvania for rheumatology, where she was named Fellow of the Year. She then became an assistant professor at the University of Southern California before working at organizations such as Healthcare Partners and Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. She currently practices at Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, and is now starting her own direct care practice. Links for Dr. Koolaee ⁠⁠https://www.drrmichellekoolaee.com/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ About Dr. Raj Dr Raj is a quadruple board certified physician and associate professor at the University of Southern California. He was a co-host on the TNT series Chasing the Cure with Ann Curry, a regular on the TV Show The Doctors for the past 7 seasons and has a weekly medical segment on ABC news Los Angeles. More from Dr. Raj ⁠⁠Dr. Raj on Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Dr. Raj on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices