How often do you experience RA flare-ups?

Unfortunately, with Rheumatoid Arthritis, even after the condition has entered the chronic stage, one can still suffer from acute flare-ups which are signified by acute (more intense) inflammation and pain.

How long have you been diagnosed with RA and how often do you experience flare-ups?

Is there anything that specifically sets them off?

How do you attempt to calm the flare-up?

I know one thing that causes me to flare-up is overdoing things... for example, if I do too much one day, the next day I am in more pain and stiff. I try to control what I do, but I am still working, so to an extent I cannot control it... my job is quite physical for an RA patient.

Also, if I do not get enough sleep, I know the next day will be more challenging. 

Then there are days where I just have a "bad day" or "bad few days" or even a bad few hours and I cannot pinpoint anything exact. However, every night I experience a flare of pain because again my work is strenuous.

Hi everyone, 

How are you today? Have you seen this older discussion? 

How often do you have RA flare-ups? What kinds of symptoms do you have when you do? Do you know what triggers them? What helps to ease them?
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Feel free to share with us here!

Take care,
Courtney

I used to have them more often but I learned over the years what to stay away from and what to watch out for. In my worst flares I would be in bed for weeks. Just having a sheet over my body would feel like a concrete slab and the pain was awful. My joints would swell and turn red and hot and I would run high fevers. Triggers for me are stress, red meat, doing too much physically and if I got the flu or got sick. Relief for me comes in the form of ice. I have only taken cold showers for the past 30 years. Heat in any form, makes it worse. It has been trial and error and over the years I figured some of it out. Sometimes now, if I have a new medication that will start a flare. I have gotten very good at reading my body and knowing what is going on so I can adjust what I need too. I walk 40 minutes everyday and that has helped my R/A and my CHF. Exercise and diet makes a huge difference.

Since most of my RA symptoms tend to be affecting major organs rather then my joints, though I do have some issues there. My flares tend to be more related to my lungs, so I have learned breathing exercises, and walking is a must 30 or more a day. Though my finger joints will be stiff and sore first thing in the morning, due to no movement all night, and sometimes through out the day. I have learned to understand my body so I know when I am pushing it.

diet, weight and movement is what I use to keep from to much pain.

since I also have PMR, which in a quick explanation is like having RA in the major joint area, shoulder, hips, knees and affect connecting muscle, when it realy realy flares up, muscle relaxers and Percocet for about 5 days, sometimes a week course prednisone. But that only happens when the pain and not being able to move, forces me into the ER at my VA hospital.