When I get a flare, it hits my right hand, both knees, shoulders, and feet, toes. Mine burns, and swells, and the pain is a 5 to 8. My body feels like I have the flu, I can't think or walk. I call the rhuemy when it gets to that point. Mine can last a day to months. I still get it in my right hand, but since orencia, I haven't had a bad flare in years. Sheww
But I do have stiffness and some pain, I take etodalac, everyday. It really helps.

Lab work shows my inflammation. But truthfully, my swelled joints pretty much say flare. My right wrist puffs up bad in a flare. I keep a watch on my wrist all the time, it puffs when I eat salt, have stress, sugar. It's like a bubble, always up or down.

Lin

I've never liked the term "flare" as it in no way seems severe enough of a term. I remember my first couple visits to the doc - a PA always comes in first - when I called them "attacks". After a couple times she paused and asked exactly what I meant by "attack" - I said when a joint gets swollen and hurts so bad I can't use it for a few days.

Sorry - but "flare" just does not rightly explain the excruciating pain and total immobility of a joint.

I agree with that Coaltrain. The term "flare" is used in so many ways I'm never quite sure what is meant by it.

Very good question RCross. Not to sound negative, but I pretty much have felt like crap every day for a long, long time - so for me, a "flare" is when I go from the average "I'm in pain and feeling like crap" to "I'm in so much pain I want to crawl into my bed and sob" (and usually do).

The pain is best described as deep, throbbing, radiating and relentless.

An "attack" - like coaltrain said, is an apt term...

Pain hits hands/fingers/hips, and lately my feet are coming along for the ride (it's like the TOPS of my feet - very odd).

RASally thanks so much for the links - love the knowledge you share!

As someone who is very new to all of this, I have a level of pain that I consider baseline. When I rise above that, increase # of joints, and sustain it, that is what I note as a "flare." I think my baseline is set too high though, since I have been out of control for 8 months. I am resetting what is acceptable since the prednisone is working, and now naproxen and ultram REMOVE the pain for once. :-D

Hi my friend, you ask a good question. I have not had a flare for a long time (knock on wood). When I had flares they would disable me. I would not be able to do my regular activity and the pain would take over my whole body from my eyeballs straight down to my nose, head throughout my body and toes. I stop before it gets to that point, but many times I cannot break the pain cycle and I have to stop all activity and stay in bed.
If the pain is not any better by two days and the cycle has not broken I put a call in to the Rheumatologist's office at that time. Sometimes my medication has to be changed around, sometimes I need to come in to be evaluated or to have lab work done. When I am in a bad flare the pain level can go to a 20 over 10 or more. on the pain scale in spite of taking pain medication.

Oo, yeah Christine, good point. When the pain meds stop working. When Vicodin/Lortab fail to help even a little...