Hand joint pain/stiffness - flare or not?

[elohcin]

Hello all!

I have SLE Lupus and two weeks ago I started experiencing moderate pain/stiffness in my finger joints with blisters on my fingers so it seemed to me that I was coming down with another flare-up. Unfortunately, although I've been due for a rheumatologist (NHS) earlier this month, there is a delay in the appointments so I couldn't get one scheduled until November. My GP contacted them to get me an expedited appointment but the earliest I could get was mid-October. I've also been in contact with a specialist nurse and they said I could choose to get a prednisolone depot injection but I got one just 2 months ago and I am reluctant to get another one so soon, especially without consultation with a rheumatologist. I am new to England/NHS and I was pretty upset about this lack of support especially in times of a flare.

Luckily enough, my joint pain is actually getting better even though I haven't changed anything and hopefully it goes away completely?... Now I feel kind of silly and I'm questioning whether or not I actually had a 'flare-up' as I didn't even have any other symptoms besides fatigue (in the past I have had malar rash and also kidney involvement and joint pain has usually led to a full-blow flare). I don't even know what's going on inside my body though as my GP can't order the blood tests, only my rheumatologist can, apparently. Does stress and change of weather (it is now colder in England) do this? Any one have experience of this?

Thanks xxx

[Bebe76]

It is not unusual for lupus symptoms to come and go with varying degrees of intensity. Stress and change in weather, weather extremes, can trigger lupus symptoms to flare up. Often I find I cannot put a finger on what have caused my flare ups.

[elohcin in reply to Bebe76]

Thanks bebe76