Flare Up - What things trigger them
Daydreams406
Posts: 249 Member
I am so new to RA, and I read people talk about flare ups etc, and I was wondering what sort of things can bring on a flare up?
What brings on your flare ups? What are your flare ups like?
What brings on your flare ups? What are your flare ups like?
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Replies
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I have no idea what really triggers mine, but I usually have the loss of movement in one or several knuckles of my hand and sometimes my wrist. I also have problems with my feet sweeling at the knuckles. Usually drinking a ton of water helps with lots more advil than normal.
I'd love to hear what people think is causing theirs so I can see if mine is like that also. I think I might start tracking them in the food notes section so I can see if it's food related too.
Let me know what you find out!0 -
well so far, I have only got the answers of stress and weather.
I am not looking forward to the change in weather then.
Stress I have in spades unfortunately, and I am working on relieving that.
Started taking cymbalta today to try to help with that.0 -
I've only been diagnosed since May but for me a flare is increased pain and stiffness. Mine is triggered by stress, alcohol...but not now as I've given it up, overdoing things and TOTM0
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Ok so I have noticed my biggest trigger is stress and if I have physically overdone it for the day. I have noticed that weather seems to make a difference even though many people don't think RA is affected by weather my body tells me differently. I have 3 kids whom all play sports so I can definitely feel it when I have been sitting in the cold for a long time at a football game. Anyway I take alot of Ibuprofen and try to rest as much as is possible (which isn't that much).0
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Stress, stress and more stress makes mine flare. Your diet can also make your RA flare. I'm having a flare up now and I'm going to try to change my diet and see if that helps. I found this list of food that can cause you to flare and I'm going to try eliminating those foods and see if it helps. I'm on plaquenil right now and really don't want my medicine changed. Here is the list and I hope that helps!
Avoid Major Arthritis Triggers
1. Dairy products*
2. Corn
3. Meats**
4. Wheat, oats, rye
5. Eggs
6. Citrus fruits
7. Potatoes
8. Tomatoes
9. Nuts
10. Coffee
*All dairy products should be avoided: skim or whole cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
**All meats should be avoided: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.0 -
My RA never fully developed, so the flare ups were very random. My first flare ups were in my right knee and left ankle. Then it would shift to my left knee, then my right ankle, then my left shoulder, then my right elbow, and so on. Then, still unaware of what the problem was (I was working out heavily and thought I was injuring myself over and over again, which led to me not going to the gym for 2 months), I attempted to reupholster a wingback chair. The process of ripping out all the staples cause a major flare-up in both of my hands, to where I could barely bend my fingers, and had no grip strength at all for days at a time.
So for the fingers, I do believe that overuse of my hands and gripping made the flare up worse if not actually caused it. Other than that, I know I got more and worse flare ups when it was cold outside, and less to none once it warmed up. (My only reason to like warm weather).0 -
Stress, stress and more stress makes mine flare. Your diet can also make your RA flare. I'm having a flare up now and I'm going to try to change my diet and see if that helps. I found this list of food that can cause you to flare and I'm going to try eliminating those foods and see if it helps. I'm on plaquenil right now and really don't want my medicine changed. Here is the list and I hope that helps!
Avoid Major Arthritis Triggers
1. Dairy products*
2. Corn
3. Meats**
4. Wheat, oats, rye
5. Eggs
6. Citrus fruits
7. Potatoes
8. Tomatoes
9. Nuts
10. Coffee
*All dairy products should be avoided: skim or whole cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
**All meats should be avoided: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.
Just wanted to note that this list doesn't work for everyone. I'm on plaquenil, too, and because we caught it in time and have been lucky, I haven't had a flare up since May, and I still eat all these things, in moderation of course. I'm glad too, I don't want to give up meat or dairy!0 -
thanks for the replies everyone.0
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Serious amounts of stress trigger mine. And gluten shuts me down too. Medication keeps me pretty well under control.0
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That's great that your RA is under control. Mine was too, until the past month or two and it started flaring. I was eating pretty healthy, but because my grandkids are in so many different sports, I've been eating on the run. Fast foods like hotdogs, hamburgers and things like that have been our dinner. I think the stress of running the 3 of them to all their practices, games and not eating better has to be a factor for me. Hopefully I can get it back under control.0
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I just had a flare that involved my knee (stairs were not my friend) and my wrist. I was fine that morning, ate a ton of red vine licorice (has gluten) and then couldn't do stairs that night. No exercise involved at all...mostly sitting in front of my computer with my feet on the top (shhhh don't tell IT).
So, I'm thinking I don't particularily like Gluten or lots of sugar.0 -
I'm having flare ups right now, and it's been quite painful. I think it's a combination of the weather finally starting to cool down (50s to 60s), and stress at work. I stand between 8 to 10 hours a day at my job, so that definitely has not helped in any way, I sit down when I can, but it's not that often. The primary areas I have RA in are my feet/ankles and hands/wrists, and then I have trouble spots, that are like random pop-ups, almost like musical joints, which one will hurt today kind of thing.
Lately it's been my right shoulder, upper arm, sometimes I get it behind my right knee, or my left knee. My feet unfortunately have it the worst, on my days off of work, I try not to stand or be on my feet for long periods of time.0 -
Stress, cold weather, and over doing it. I play sports and coach also, so some days I slow down.0
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Standing for long periods of time, which is a necessary part of my teaching job, unfortunately. Stress, cold or stormy weather, eating wheat, and I'm also starting to suspect sugar as a possible flare trigger.0
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Cold and rainy weather trigger mine......but I have been doing better since I started exercising and keeping my joints active. Also I would like to note that my faces flushes a few days before my flare up so I kinda know its coming, has anyone else had this happen to them?0
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Cold rainy weather sucks.Cold and rainy weather trigger mine......but I have been doing better since I started exercising and keeping my joints active. Also I would like to note that my faces flushes a few days before my flare up so I kinda know its coming, has anyone else had this happen to them?
I'm going to pay more attention to the flush face.0 -
Update:
Went gluten free around thanksgiving and now I'm feeling A TON better! Not that I don't still hurt a bit but its better. Not taking my remicade right now either. Just 2mg of Prednisone and doing well. Much better than a high dose of Remicade every 6 weeks and the prednisone!
Seems that alcohol isn't my friend either so I don't drink much of that. I had some milky way by accident and that lead to a large flare. I really don't want to give up Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes).0 -
For me, the main trigger of a flare is TOTM. I will never give up foods just to ease my RA. I love food to much!! I've lived with it for 16 years and counting anyways.0
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I'm sure a lot of other things listed trigger mine too but I really notice that acidic foods/drinks do. Like oranges, grapefruits, pop.0
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Definitely the cold, damp weather here in England hasn't helped my RA flares. I also find over doing it will send me right into a flare. I've also just realized that drinking is sending me into a flare, so I'm going to attempt to cut out the red wine that I love so dearly.
I'm trying to keep active...and I walk as much and as often as I can. I know losing weight will help my joints...so slow and steady.0 -
They usualy start strong in the morning when I wake up and slowly go away in the afternoon. Then it starts all over again the next day.0
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I really don't have mine fine tuned enough to tell how different foods affect it yet. I know for sure that exercising on my feet (dancing, jogging, walking, etc) for more than 30 minutes makes me really sore, and it takes a few days to get my joints back to 'normal' again so I have to stick with really low impact. Also, missing a dose of any meds is a surefire way for me to get a flare.0
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Stress, hormone fluctuations and weather. I really haven't noticed one food over another. Flares seems to take the whole body into a flu like state with pain in the hands, knees and hips.
Hot showers seem to health.0
