Howdy Everyone,
I just read some replies to Gracie's question about what a flare feels like. They sound very bad!
I was wondering how often that occurs, and what do you feel like when you are not flarring. When you are not in a flare, are you without pain, and can you function normally? Any input would help! Also, is it possible to have RA without having flares. Thus far, I have never had a flare, or a swollen joint...only pain that moves around. It seems to affect the tendons more than anything. Thank in advance for your responses.
Thomas
You can go without flares forever, a long time or be in kind of a constant state of flares. It depends on a lot of factors. Stress seems to be a very common factor for triggering flares and overdoing it. Tapering down on prednisone can cause a flare and going up (never do this without the doctor's direction) can help stop them.
I'm on a whole bunch of medicines and still have flares all the time. Some people are on very little medication and have almost none.
It is common for the RA to affect tendons and kind of connective tissue.
It seems for me that the actually joint pain is not as bad as the tendons and muscles. The joints hurt, they ache, but it is that sharp shooting burning thing that the tendons do in response to the inflammation that really get me. That is more difficult to get relief from that the actual joint pain. I never take vicodin, but I did when I was in a really bad flare and I may as well have taken Pez candy instead.
The pain sucks, but I can usually fight it or deal with it. The stiffness goes either way....sometimes I can shake it and other times it is like having rubber cement in my joints. The fatigue....is the worst. When it is in full swing there is no fighting it, I have to give in to it. I have to sleep. In a full flare, for me, the fatigue is what usually finally gets the best of me and it is the hardest thing for other people to understand. It almost makes me feel defiant. I kind of get this attitude like "I am going to lay down now and if you dont like it you can kiss my ass!"
I would say that the fatigue makes me somewhat unpleasant and grumpy. But thats just me.
Oh, physical therapy has provided me with some relief for the tendons. Heat and ice used intermittently. I prefer heat. The TENS unit does help with this considerably.
Also, the exercises they have me do for the tendonitis on my shoulder are slowly helping. Learning what positions to avoid while I heal helps to. Hopefully changing my workstation will stop the repetitve injury.
I've had the bursitis and tendonitis in my legs when my knees first gave out. Then, they used deep muscle massage. It hurt like hell while they broke up those knots. But I couldn't walk before they started and now I can.
So, there are things you can do about the tendoinits. Should of mentioned that before.
Yes you can have RA without flairs, in fact many people i have spoken with don't have flairs, they thought they did, but realized it was a bad day for pain but not actually a flair.
When i get a flair, i actually gain about 5lbs and can notice by my weight if it is a flair or not. I get horrible pain around the areas in question and the bone pain cuz my OA gets worse. It is like someone holding you super tight while jabbing you with a dagger and grinding it into the bone. Not a pretty picture, but that's how it feels. I hate having my flairs.
Regular days i hurt all the time too, but it is constant pain that isn't sharp which is nice compared to the alternative.
I found out a ton of my pain is OA from damage, I had RA for years but no flairs so it was just one setting that didn't get worse or better for about 20 years. Then one day "boom" and here I am. :)
[QUOTE=shanbr]It is like someone holding you super tight while jabbing you with a dagger and grinding it into the bone. Not a pretty picture, but that's how it feels. I hate having my flairs.
Regular days i hurt all the time too, but it[/QUOTE]
Wonderful description and that would be all bones at once, all muscles included. My body feels like it is on fire.
Paleo:
Have you been diagnosed yet? After I found this site and read how others feel, I realized I had finally found people who feel like me! I don't have any swelling either, but I can't do something new (like type more than usual, walk more than usual, stand more than usual, etc.) without paying for it with tendon pain the next day. My hands ache constantly. I haven't been diagnosed yet, it's not something you just walk into the rheumatologist and he/she says, oh yeah, you got RA. Especially if you're weird like me and don't present clear bloodwork (like most people who have RA). I'm getting more tests next month though.