Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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Flare up

juni
juni

i am new to this, just diagnosed in February and got on with steroid followed by hydroxychloroqine right away. I had pain on all of my small joints (my hands,wrists, elbow, ankle , toes and knees) for good 6-7months proper to diagnose.


i had to stop taking hydroxychloroquine about three weeks ago due to side effects and only rely on 5mg of steroid daily for my pain. It was working ok for me until few days ago. Suddenly I felt same pain that felt before steroid.. I was very scared and upset.


why do I have this pain while I am taking steroid. I been taking 5mg steroid for few months and it was working fine for me. Is this mean that I have to take higher dosage?


Flare up can happen even you are taking your RA medicine? :(


TIA

doodlebug25
doodlebug25
Sorry you are in pain. Yes, you can flare while on RA medications. A lot of people have flares on RA meds for some reason or another - it sure would be nice if diagnosis and then treatment would mean the end of pain and disability. I would discuss with your rheum as your medication regimen may need to be adjusted.
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
5mg is a low dose of prednisone, and you stopped your other med without replacing it. You need to let your doc know you are flaring and discuss medication options.

Prednisone is not the primary treatment for rA. It is a stop-gap measure while waiting to find a suitable treatment that you will tolerate well and will work. It takes a while.

Welcome to this group and best of luck.
katie
katie
The uncertainty of this disease has been one of the biggest challenges, for me. I understand your frustration.

Communicating with your doctor is key. Keep track of your daily symptoms. I keep a notebook for that purpose. I jot a few things down in the morning and evening, and I photograph the strange lump on my finger weekly for comparison purposes, and I write down the days I take weekly meds. It's been helpful at appointments for two reasons: I'm sure about details, but (I believe) it also lets my doctor know that I'm doing my best to hold up my end of things, so that I can communicate clearly.

You are in the early stages of this journey and you may need to have meds changed. I had a few changes before my current protocol, which seems to have made a big difference. Hang in there.