Has anybody experienced a severe flare up of RA following trauma? Such as a car accident?

AmyB14

:)

Anna

Hi @AmyB14 ,

Welcome to the online community!

You asked if anyone has experienced a flare-up of RA following a trauma such as a car accident, and I imagine that many of us with RA would answer 'yes'! It seems that stress, injury and infection can all trigger flares. Here's a link to the NRAS webpage which talks about flares and possible triggers. It also suggests ways of dealing with flares when they come:

https://www.nras.org.uk/managing-flares

I hope you enjoy browsing through the forums - why don't you tell us more about yourself - I'm sure many of our members will be pleased to have an online chat with you.

Best wishes, Anna

AmyB14

Hi Anna,
Thanks for that information, it is really helpful. I’ve read some information on RA and causes of flare ups but it seems medical professionals haven’t yet been able to clarify if this is the case.
I was diagnosed with RA at the age of 18 and was taking methotrexate weekly. I planned to dance on cruise ships but was unable to do this due to the pain I was experiencing. I was a very active person attending the gym daily, boxing and swimming. At the time the side effects of the medication was a lot worse than the pain I was experiencing. In June 19 i was involved in a car accident where I experienced trauma and anxiety and was in pain from the injuries sustained. Towards the end of September, beginning of October I was unable to climb the stairs, pick up a kettle and even get dressed independently. I was then referred back to rheumatology and have been on hydroxychloroquine since feb 20. I am taking regular naproxen, paracetamol, Amitriptyline and the chloroquine everyday and haven’t yet noticed any change in inflammation or pain. I have an appointment this week to start methotrexate again. Hopefully this will have some positive effect.

Anna

Hi Amy,

You're right - medical professionals don't seem to be able to categorically confirm causes of flare-ups but it seems most people with RA (including me) have experienced flare-ups after injury and stress. I was browsing online and it seems American medics seem more sure about the link.

It must be so frustrating waiting for your medications to settle down your RA - it certainly seems like trial and error sometimes! I've been on hydroxychloroquine for 10 years and although it took a couple of months to start working, it seems to have calmed down my RA. Evidently it takes up to 12 weeks before having any effect, but you seem to have given it that long, and more.

I wish you success with the methotrexate so that you'll get back to your active lifestyle once again.

Anna

AmyB14

Hi Anna
Thank you for your messages. I should of joined this forum a while back because although I have amazing family and friends I still always felt as though I was alone and that despite their best efforts they didn’t fully understand the complications of untreated RA and the impact it has on my lifestyle. Just having messages from yourself makes me realise that I’m not alone and it’s such an eye opener reading your experience. I’m glad your RA is under control. I positive that mine will be soon enough.
Hopefully the medics can be of more help in pint pointing the cause of the flare up

Amy

Lilymary

I have OA rather than RA but this was only diagnosed, after a few years of occasionally finding myself limping and some random pains down my leg, after I had just a bit of a tumble and landed on my backside, which didn’t hurt at the time. Within a few days my hip was getting increasingly painful and less mobile. Eventually an X-ray showed severe OA and I was put straight on masses of painkillers and on the list for a new hip. It’s amazing that it hadn’t been very painful before, looking at how bad it is. The xrays didn’t show any trauma (eg breaks, fractures etc) but the pain got so bad so quickly my consultant sent me for a second X-ray two weeks later (which found no change).

It seems clear that my tumble set off a chain reaction of inflammation that became self perpetuating, and for several months it was agony. Thanks to lockdown and adjusting how I work, I’ve been able to “rest” it to the point that I’ve been able to reduce my meds a bit, but it has left me much less mobile, and I’ve gone from being able to do a 3 mile walk to just about managing a trip round the supermarket, but it leaves me exhausted and my hip complains for a few days after. (I used to do huge trekking holidays not so long ago), and tbh I can no longer reach my foot to put my boots on anyway, it’s just too painful to bend down that far.

it seems highly probable that your accident will have affected your body in ways that xrays and obvious injuries won’t reflect. Be kind to yourself and let it heal. Meanwhile I hope the methotrexate works,