flare?

[mainlyconfused]

SLE diagnosed years ago. Started feeling more ill than normal a few months ago. Fatigued, in pain and now this weekend vertigo, blurred vision,headaches. Got bloods back taken a week ago and they show no inflammation. Can I still be in a flare? Can't work out why I feel so terrible.

[Anjic]

Hi- I have all of the things you describe when I’m in a flare, and it varies in severity daily, it can go on for weeks the last time it happened was in August and I didn’t feel better until October. I think we all have much to contend with sorry your feeling rotten, hope you feel more like your normal self soon🌻

[Bebe76]

Was it the ESR or CRP test you had done? In lupus, these inflammtation markers don't always correlate with lupus flare. If you have new or worsening symptoms it may be time to see your rheumatologist. He or she can evaluate your symptoms and do more tests to determine if you are flaring and advise on the next step.

[Chanpreet_Walia LUPUS UK]

Hi Mainlyconfused,

The Lupus Encyclopedia gives an example of how a flare could be defined; “If person who has SLE is doing perfectly fine one day, then the next day develops a low-grade fever and some open sores on the roof of her mouth, she is said to be having a flare”. The encyclopedia further states that lab results can help define a ‘flare’ in addition to the person’s description of how he/she is feeling.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a test doctors most commonly use to check for inflammation. Most people who have active SLE have an elevated ESR; however, many do not. Some SLE patients who have no active disease can also have an elevated ESR for no apparent reason - ESR doesn’t always follow fluctuations in disease activity.

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of lupus, it affects around 90% of lupus patients. We published an article on our blog about 'managing fatigue' which contains helpful tips and information which you can read here: lupusuk.org.uk/managing-fat...

We published an article on our blog about ‘pain management’ which you can read here: lupusuk.org.uk/pain-managem...

According to The Lupus Encyclopaedia ‘blurred vision’ can occur as a side effect of a certain type of medication along with other factors. We published a factsheet on ‘LUPUS: The Mouth, Nose and Eyes’ which may be of help to you: lupusuk.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Headaches are common in lupus, we published a factsheet on ‘LUPUS: and the Brain’ which you can read here: lupusuk.org.uk/wp-content/u...