So.... this morning I got up as usual, low level stiffness/pain till all the tablets kick in, and started about my day. By 5pm my left shoulder, elbow and knee feel like someone blew a balloon up inside the joints. The joints on my right side are just low level stiff. I never had such a sudden flare before and before now have always had pretty symmetrical pain? Is this something anyone else has experienced before? Should I be worried it’s something other than an RA flare?
All advice and anecdotes welcome.
TIA 💕
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Laura_dilcock
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Oh you poor thing. Yes I’ve had sudden flares like this which have completely floored me for a day or two. Have you done something physically challenging or had something stressful happen that may have triggered it? My advice would be to rest up for a day or two, dose up on anti inflammatories and see if it settles down. If it doesn’t get on to your GP or better still, Rheumatology nurse to see if they can help. Take it easy. Xx
Thanks. Was just concerned at the speed of it, totally immobile this morning 😩 I worked bar at a charity event at the weekend but felt fine after, perhaps its a delayed reaction to that then? Definitely ringing rheumy nurse today x
Yeah , does sound like that may have triggered something. Definitely call the rheumy team for an appointment but take it easy in the meantime and dose up on anti inflammatories and rest to settle things down. Take care and I hope it calms down.
Hi have had sudden flare ups to, just recently, went to my rheumatolgy clinic and got an all over steroid injection, within 48 hrs the flare up had subsided and felt fantastic, even my psoriasis had cleared up, and it has last till now so would maybe consider it hope this is helpful
I had a few of those injections at the beginning while sorting medications out and they’re great. Thanks for the reminder, will definitely ask if it’s an option ( am already taking prednisone) 😊
Yes, sudden flare ups are no surprise. They attack at any random times, last from a few hours to a few days. When I get quite a few this tells me I am in need of an infusion of Ritux. So far I have managed to go a year before having one instead of every 6 months. Always share your worries and concerns with the rheumy team. Give yourself peace of mind. Have a good day and take care xxxx
Thanks for your reply 😊 definitely going to contact rheumy nurse today x
I had something similar happen to me yesterday. I got up reasonably ok, not that that is ever good, but then suddenly things got worse and the pain everywhere, especially my back felt more than I could bear to the extent that I vomited with it. I just had to get back in bed and sleep the morning away.
The only good thing about it was that I had an appointment to see a GP in the afternoon about getting more pain control and he was able to see me at my worst. He is putting me down for a referral to a pain management specialist as urgent and said I should hear in about a week. He thinks I need morphine pain patches but GPs are not allowed to prescribe them. It just shows that a lot depends on the GP that you see because I saw another one in the practice a few weeks back and she told me that pain patches were only for people who can't swallow and that there was nothing else that they could do for me.
This morning I am not so bad but still in a lot of pain from my back and have just taken some oral morphine that the doctor has given me to tide me over until I see the specialist.
Oh no, sounds horrible for you 😘 hope you get what you need. Have seen my GP now and they won’t do anything until flare has lasted 48 hours 😩 so to bed I go till Friday when they can offer me a steroid shot if there’s no improvement. Until then cocodamol is my new best friend 😂
Hi Laura, I hope you flare soon ends. I once had one that lasted for about three months. During that time we had a holiday in Florida which we had booked earlier in that year. It was such a shame as it was meant to be a holiday of a lifetime and I was in so much pain all the time we were there. I have always been told that we shouldn't go to bed when we have a flare but should keep mobile. I think we just have to do what feels right for us at the time.
Oh no, talk about bad timing. My mother-in-law gets married on Saturday so having to totally re-think outfit/shoe choices and I thought that was unlucky. I’m hoping this flare disappears as quickly as it appeared 🤞 I know the best thing is to keep moving but it’s so exhausting being in pain/walking funny etc. It’s just taken it out of me (I don’t cope very well with pain lol, you’d think it’s something you’d just get used to but apparently not 🙈).
Really appreciate everyone’s replies. Not that you’d wish this on anyone but it’s nice to have people that understand 😊
I’m having the exact same thing happen to me right now and can’t get any reply from my rheumatology nurse 😖 I’m wondering whether a GP can give the steroid injection or does it have to be the rheumatology peeps?
My right knee and hip have literally gone from being perfectly fine to OMG I can barely walk today out of the blue!
I’ve got some co-codomol at home - is that better than ibuprofen for a flare? I’m on MTX and sulphasalazine.
Oh no, it’s awful isn’t it. I take naproxen which is an anti inflammatory anyway so just added the cocodamol in for pain relief, helps getting comfortable and so I can move around a bit to avoid totally stiffening up. My GP said he would contact rheumy but administer it himself once he had permission so I’d definitely give your GP a try. Hope you’re feeling better soon x
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