15 Oct 2026
Psoriatic Arthritis, Motherhood & Finding Your Voice: Julie Croner's Patient Advocacy Journey
A diagnosis can derail your life, your career, and your confidence in your own body—but it doesn't have to define your future.
Julie Croner shares her journey from childhood joint problems and years of uncertainty to a life-changing psoriatic arthritis diagnosis in her 20s. Along the way, she faced avascular necrosis, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), melanoma, chronic pain, and a period of disability that left her struggling with her independence and identity.
Julie explains how tracking her symptoms like a data analyst helped her identify personal triggers, advocate for herself with doctors, and reclaim a sense of control over her health. With the help of her mom's legendary medical binder and an online community, she went from feeling alone to building a career centered on patient advocacy.
We also get honest about the challenges of living with autoimmune disease while navigating relationships, fertility concerns, pregnancy on biologics, breastfeeding, and raising four children. Julie shares the fears she faced about passing autoimmune disease to her kids, how she navigated her youngest daughter's life-threatening medical crisis, and why flares can sometimes arrive after the storm has passed.
This conversation is a reminder that bad days don't equal a bad life—and that a diagnosis doesn't erase your worth or your ability to build a meaningful future.
In this episode, you'll discover:
How Julie's childhood symptoms and knee surgeries eventually led to a psoriatic arthritis diagnosis
Why her mom's medical binder helped connect the dots
How an online autoimmune community changed her sense of isolation
What six months of tracking food, sleep, pain, activity, and other symptoms taught her
How she used data to have more productive conversations with her doctors
What it's like to navigate fertility, pregnancy, biologics, and motherhood with autoimmune disease
How Julie turned her lived experience into a career in patient advocacy
Julie works with Health Union and the Social Health Network, helping connect patient leaders, caregivers, and healthcare communities and amplify patient stories.
Whether you're newly diagnosed, struggling with chronic illness, considering pregnancy, or learning to advocate for yourself, this episode offers practical insights, honest conversations, and hope for the road ahead.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introducing Julie's autoimmune journey
00:52 – Childhood symptoms, knee surgeries, and psoriatic arthritis
01:44 – Severe illness, chronic pain, and losing independence
02:39 – The “mom binder” that helped connect the dots
05:32 – Avascular necrosis, CRPS, melanoma, and treatment challenges
06:57 – Finding community through SpoonyChat
07:55 – Six months of symptom tracking and identifying triggers
08:50 – Using personal data to advocate with doctors
09:46 – Turning lived experience into patient advocacy
11:30 – Health Union and the Social Health Network
16:56 – Dating, relationships, and fears about being lovable
23:00 – Pregnancy, biologics, and breastfeeding
27:24 – Managing autoimmune flares while raising four children
29:02 – Her youngest daughter's medical crisis and delayed flares
34:15 – Fear of passing autoimmune disease to children
36:01 – Food, inflammation, and identifying personal triggers
39:40 – Advice for women with autoimmune disease who want a family
40:57 – Strength, faith, and accepting what you cannot control
42:43 – Why sharing your patient story matters
45:07 – Where to find Julie
Connect with Julie: Learn more about her patient advocacy work through Health Union and the Social Health Network. https://www.instagram.com/itsjustabaddaynotlife/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsjustabaddaynotlife/)
