pain

[annaslyric]

hi everyone i hope things are not too bad, ive noticed a lot of pain since the cold weather came and want to sleep all the time, is this normal in rheumatoid arthritus ?

thanks and merry xmas x

[BubbleMonkey]

Yup. RA and a lot of pain related issues usually worsen with the cold. Not to mention cold weather tends to mean more germs about so more chance of getting a cold that sets things of a bit.

Where RA is autoimmune, when you are set off you'll tend to feel tired and generally not great like you might with the flu. In fact right now for me that's probably actually worse than the pain.

My suggestion is to make a nest of loads of warm things and invest in warm clothes for if you do need to venture outside. I have a big snugly blanket which I constantly have on my lap at home and a lot of people on here seem to use hot water bottles and the like.

Oh and make sure you're still eating and drinking right (when I'm feeling run down I tend to forget and make myself feel even worse).

[annaslyric in reply to BubbleMonkey]

thank you i think just having other people that understand helps a lot, i am a single mum but now diagnosed with this i dread the winter, i feel as though i am a character in game of thrones living in winterfell in the cold, lol x

[Gnarli]

Indeed. It's that time of year. Dark, cold, rotten weather, loads of germs. Its wears everybody out. Now add in RA pain and fatigue and you have the perfect recipe for feeling rubbish. Try to eat well, stay warm, exercise gently when possible and remember that the shortest day is 22 December after which the days get longer. Happy Christmas

J