What cause's flare ups ?

Hello. Can anyone tell me what cause's their flare ups please. I know that when I'm tired I'm in so much more pain & so stiff as well.
Thanks.

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520

    I have psoriatic and osteoarthritis. Only one of them flares (the psoriatic) the osteo is merely aggravated by the following causes.

    1. The weather. There is no doubt that my OA worsens in the cold and damp which can occur in all four seasons of our climate. I can literally feel it in my joints when the barometric pressure is falling and the only thing I can do is take things a little more easy and rest more often until the weather improves.

    2. My stupidity. I keep thinking that I have learned to stop when I think I can do more, to reduce the risk of payback from stressed joints but I haven't. Earlier this week I decided to paint a patio set, the weather was warm, I got carried away. Two days of fun is now being rewarded with some miserable days. Serves me right.

    3. Diet. If I overindulge in pickles, chutneys, vinegar and fruit my OA pain is aggravated. That's all easy to avoid.

    4. One of the notable things about my OA inflammation is that it is localised to the stressed joints and goes within a few hours of rest (and maybe voltarol).

    5. I am tired all the time. My OA does not make me extra tired, I go to sleep tired, wake up tired, my body is having to work harder and harder to achieve less and less. That's just arthritis combined with ageing.

    6. My psoriatic arthritis flared in the first week of January, it was not aggravated by weather, stupidity or diet, my body was attacking itself, my disease was active despite the meds. I finally got out of bed in the first week of March. DD

    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Jennifer
    Jennifer Member Posts: 7
    Thank you dreamdaisy, so very helpful. I'm in pain all of the time as like most some days are better than others & I'm trying my hardest to keep fit & healthy but think I might be overdoing it. I'm glad you said about the weather to as I find that effects me alot as well. I'm 56 & my OA has come on really bad in the last few years. My mind is telling me I'm ok I can do this but my body doesn't agree. I get so tired as like you I have to work harder only to achieve less. Outside on the ground last week weeding/cleaning my gravel, oh my did I suffer.
    Thanks again 😊
  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,740

    I’ve had rheumatism literally for as long as I can remember. I just thought everyone’s leg joints hurt when it was cold and / or humid, it wasn’t until I was 12 that I realised that wasn’t the case. Easy to resolve, I just never let my feet get cold. (It’s just a shame socks and sandals are deemed “not a good look” 😅)

    My OA in my hip over the last 15 years or so would just result in a bit of soreness at the end of a long hard day’s fell walking. (Oh happy days...). This had lead to a mild but painless limp in the last few years, and some random pains down my leg my physio thought was soft tissue/nerve damage.

    what really got my hip going was a slight tumble in early March where I landed on my backside, slightly more on my dodgy hip side. No pain at the time, but it’s been a rapid downhill slide since then and I’m now walking with a stick, on handfuls of pills, and in constant pain. The Xrays showed no signs of traumatic injury, but did show up a ruined hip joint. So maybe the fall did me a favour precipitating the further investigations. On the pretext of keeping active and taking my mind off the pain, I do go for occasional gentle walks and doing some light gardening, but I really pay for it the next day. Resting for a few hours makes little difference, the pain is constant, and only gradually subsides over the next few days.

    Being tired is a natural state of being for me, having suffered from ME (on the mild end of the scale) for 3 years but surprisingly that has lifted since my fall - my hunch is that the anti-inflammatories have something to do with it. So perversely I now have more energy and stamina, it’s just the pain that nails me to the floor.

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520

    You're welcome, Jennifer, and thank you for the acknowledgement. I began arthritis when I was 37 but it never really shocked me until the OA was diagnosed. I thought had ticked that box - arthritis, check - but sadly no.

    Ageng catches everyone by surprise, especially the healthy. 'I can't run a marathon any more, I'm only 92.' DD

    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,740

    I know what you mean DD, my mum’s 91 and sooo frustrated that her body won’t let her have the life she has always lived. I love her spirit though