How often do OA flair ups happen

Jadelady73

How often do OA flair ups happen does it vary from person to person and is there way to make the! Less likely to happen

Mike1

I don't get flare ups just good days (very rare) and bad days and worse days with the creeping spread of OA which has now permeated throughout my body except my hips for some reason (as yet)!

Lilymary

Hi @Jadelady73 , I think it does vary from person to person depending on where and how bad their arthritis is, and what they’ve been doing, I knew if I was going to spend all day on my feet for work that the pain for the next few days would be awful, and prepared myself for it. But if I had a week or so when I was less active, it could tick over as an annoying grumble and tolerable levels of pain in the background. If I had a flare up, I usually knew what had caused it, and upped my meds for a while till it settled down (I tried to avoid taking the full dose on slower days when I was in less pain to minimise the side effects, and only took the full dose when it got really bad). You’ll work out eventually what triggers your flares so you can plan to avoid it or manage it better.

crinkly

I have OA in most joints, which has been accompanied by gradually decreasing mobility over the past 30+ years. ln the early years I had frequent flares when my joints were extra painful, swollen and warm while my face appeared flushed and I often felt really ill.

Over time I recognised that these flares almost always followed a period of being especially physically active, typically in a way that I'd previously been OK so didn't expect to cause trouble. I slowly learned to stop and take frequent rest periods, managing to stay in full time work for about ten years after diagnosis - although I did have to change from teaching PE to a classroom subject.

Thankfully, such flares are now quite rare but I am long retired and can arrange my days to make allowance for the OA.

It certainly takes time and determination to learn to listen to your own body sufficiently well to accept its shortcomings and learn to live with them in positive and fulfilling ways. With limited NHS support available for OA patients only you can work out your own best ways of doing this so try to be patient with yourself in the process and allow yourself to take a break when you need it. Hopefully then your flares will reduce.

DaveVW

Well, I was always the guy who said, "Oh no problem, I can carry that!" A choice I'm not able to make now. As Mike1 mentioned, I have constant pain, each and every day, each and every minute. So "flair ups" aren't a thing, as such. That's why it's so important to get pain medication that works, and to take it as prescribed, which in my case means taking the pills even if I happen to feel okay at the time. I know I'll regret it if I don't.

The weirdest thing for was falling over. I was outside, and I fell, which stretched one leg and truly made it feel like it had been set on fire. I lay there for a bit thinking, "well, what now? I'm going to be stuck here forever!" After around five minutes I thought I'd better try to get up, and for some reason... there was very little pain, almost as though that stretching action had actually helped! Weird. But this is a weird problem to have!