Flare or relapse?

[granny-b]

Hi. I have seen reference to 'flares' and know they don't mean the trousers I wore in the 1970s..

Could someone explain the difference between a flare and a relapse please.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Semantics probably!

In my book a flare is a return of symptoms while you are still taking pred to manage the symptoms when, for some reason, the dose is too low to do that. The dose of pred you take should be enough to suppress the inflammation and hence the pain and stiffness. It has no effect on the underlying disease process, that chugs away in the background. The pred dose may become two low for one of two reasons: either you reduce the dose too far and it ceases to be adequate to deal with the amount of inflammation being created or the activity of the disease increases while you are at a stable dose and the inflammation also increases.

A relapse happens after you get off pred (which equates to no disease activity) and at some later point the autoimmune part of PMR wakes up and becomes active again causing symptoms.

[granny-b in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for that PMRpro. Very clear. Yes I am having a PMR flare. I prefer the trousers.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to granny-b]

So would we all I suspect

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

If only we still had the figure to go with them! Ahh those were the days!

[markbenjamin57 in reply to DorsetLady]

Speak for yourself DL, they don't call me 'snake hips' for nothing ;-D

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to markbenjamin57]

Ahh well, you haven't had 2 kids!

[JMM17 in reply to granny-b]

So sorry to hear this granny-b. 🙁 Hope you feel better very soon. Time to rest up methinks. 😴

[markbenjamin57 in reply to granny-b]

Still got mine from 1974 - and the Kipper tie

[markbenjamin57 in reply to PMRpro]

Well explained as always PMRpro - thanks

[granny-b in reply to markbenjamin57]

I still have quite a collection from those days. Sadly not the figure to match. Can I blame that on the steroids?? 😉

[markbenjamin57 in reply to granny-b]

Maybe not, granny-b!

The main thing is: enjoy what you have now, and not what you have lost or came before. Yes, blame the b****y steroids!

MB

[granny-b in reply to markbenjamin57]

Hi and thanks. I blame everything on the condition or the medication never on getting older..

I haven't got in those clothes since the original time they were put away. However they give me a lot of pleasure as vintage fashion and friends a lot of fun referring to my 'hoard'.

I would like to think I enjoy most days as they come, things could be so much worse. Cliché but humour is the best medicine.

[Mary1938 in reply to PMRpro]

I fell and broke my wrist o Friday realy painfull realy expectied a flare but nothen yet

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mary1938]

Hope it stays that way! Despite the pain, try to enjoy the enforced rest - you have a really good and visible excuse!