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...

2,179 Members
16,355 Posts
0 Online
Muscles & Bones
/ Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Is it a flare?

Kimberley97
Kimberley97
Can you have pain & stiffness without red swelling. Feels like a flare my hips fingers shoulders, but no visible swelling. My rheumy says my RA is quiet because of this but it doesn't feel quiet to me.
Christine26
Christine26
Hi Kimberley, That is a good question. I have had flares with pain and stiffness and being unable to move without the redness and swelling. I have had my Rheumatologist examine me during a flare because I have called the office in a great deal of pain and have had to go into the office. Flares can occur even without all the bells and whistles if you ask me.I haven't had one in a while. When one occurs, I just stop, take my pain meds and rest until the storm is over.
tootsiesmom
tootsiesmom
Kimberley,
I swell on occassion, but very rarely, and of course never when I have an appointment. I've been doing this for almost 2 years now. I don't know that my joints have ever really gotten red.
My Doc really has a problem with the fact that i don't swell. But swelling or not, I still have some doozies of flares sometimes.
Kim
deleted_user
deleted_user
Right now I have three joints in my hands (knuckles) that are red and hurt but not swollen. I look like I've kicked some butt, lol. The swelling doesn't seem to be there all the time for me so I think, to answer your question, YES it is a flare!
deleted_user
deleted_user
i used to swell dramatically with a flair, I looked like popeye. Now , at least so far , I dont swell so much, just pain, my joints do enlarge but I used to get really bad muscle pain and swelling also, so bad I could hardly move. I also take meds for high cholesterol and think that could have had something to do with the muscle thing. I just dont take them now when I feel a flair coming on.
ILoveHuskies
ILoveHuskies
I'm the opposite. I get the redness after the flare is starting to go away. It's like the fever is coming out of the joint. I just get pain & stiffness the joint does feel hot but no redness. Then when the flare starts calming down the redness comes.
deleted_user
deleted_user
i don't get much swelling - usually just a little bit in my hands, and since my hands are really tiny, the swelling is hardly ever noticeable to anyone who doesn't notice me, because when they're swollen they look normal size, except to me. but when i'm in a flare, i get tons of pain and feel like i can't move. the redness and swelling are much less prominent than the pain and stiffness.