Causing Flares?

I am confused; when I WAY overdo I suffer what feels and looks like a flare. But can overdoing indeed cause a flare? I have had some difficulty accepting this disease though I have found the more I am able to accept it the more energy I have to life my life as it is now. Our youngest son is in college and I have disability insurance so I really have less to worry about than a lot of my friends on this site. But I find sometimes I just want to do what I want to do and pay for it later. But it has been dawning on me lately (as I lie here recovering from my latest adventure:-) that maybe I am actually injuring my joints even though what I did was not jarring or difficult on my joints. I did not run a marathon or ski Mt. Everest, I went shopping at my own pace for 5-6 hours and enjoyed it thoroughly. I exercise gently in a warm pool 2-3 X a week and sometimes that is too much and I have to sit still for a few days instead. I know we are suppose to keep active but I am at a loss as to what is too much. Does anyone have any ideas?

Maybe I should sign this,

Clueless in Vermont!

I think in terms of listen to your body ...I have inflicted lots of damage by listening to others (medical!!) so if you need to rest then do that ...I horse ride to help keep my muscles going even though I have been advised against it although I do swim, which is medical advice...do what works for you and good luck in health and stay positive my friend ( I find this helps lol)

What is reasonable for you may be different at different times. On some days, shopping for 5-6 hours may be perfectly reasonable, while other days this might be too much for you. In terms of keeping active, gentle is always good. When I'm really shot, I'll limit myself to a slow walk, and other days I can push it more. Today, my walk started out ridiculously slow, and I wound up picking it up as I got a bit more energized. Not fast, but faster.

There are other days where I can gleefully go for a pretty decent hike. It really depends.

I guess that is part of what is confusing me. I have shopped i the past for even longer with not so much as a twinge. It is different on different days it's like trying to hit a moving target. I did not hurt while I was doing it but I am paying for it today: I can barely move. I look foreword to tomorrow, perhaps it will be all gone!

My understanding has always been that a flare is more than just a few days. In that sense, overdoing may just make for a few rough days afterward. What if you had planned out a day like this with a built in rest or nap afterwards? Do you think this might be helpful? I know that I never go back to back with super busy days, to protect my need for rest.

I think that is a great idea, Stoney. I try not to schedule really busy days back to back but maybe I have to have more frequent, smaller errand days. Or buy myself lunch (with a glass of wine) so I sit a spell.....

I have been wondering the same thing Michael! The flares in my hands come when I use them a lot. But hey, we need out hands. My legs do not let me me walk long distances but I do use a stationary bike 2-3 times a week for 15 minutes at a time. After these days, I am more tired than usual but I do not wat to loose what I have. Swimming is out of the quesition mainly beause of my plaque psorasis. I do not want to answer questions.

I am going on the motto "use it or loose it" at whatever pace is acceptible for me.

That's a great attitude. My problem lately is in my hands. I can work through all of the tendon issues in my ankles, and when I came up lame a few times in the spring I rested until the worst was over. I know enough to rest my hands and not knit or anything when they are bothering me. But now I have developed osteo-arthritis in both wrists and thumbs (one hand worse than the other), and resting just isn't doing the job. I've trained myself that at least some movement is necessary for the PsA, but for this, it's just different.

I have non-plaque forming psoriasis so it is less noticeable. But I am so lucky. I joined a gym about 45 minutes from my house (close in rural terms!) and the smaller very warm pool is empty at certain times of the day. I was in it for 45 minutes today and it has been the only time I have been pain free in the last 24 hours. Such a treat. I dance and do yoga and just plain float. This painful, heavy body was totally weightless, such bliss. I hitched a ride with my husband who was going to the dump and I did not want to drive myself due to pain. I forgot how bumpy his truck is on our roads! Maybe not my best idea!

I know when I overdo things and that is different to a flare for me. Overdoing it is when my joints are aggravated from doing too much in a day like too much walking and my hips hurt and feet swell and hurt more. I recover back to how I was in a day or two and that is if I rest and take it easy.

A flare for me is so much worse than overdoing it. I know for sure that I am in a flare. The pain is so bad that it makes it very difficult for me to stand, sit or lie down. I can't sleep because the pain keeps waking me and I can't get comfortable to get back to sleep..

My blood test will also show a high CRP reading.

I try and pace myself and avoid overdoing things and taking lots of breaks in between. I know that is not always possible. When it is not possible I try to do it when I know I can take it easy afterwards. I am careful not to make appointments two days in a row and leaving me a day in between to recover.

I try and find things that I can do when I am sitting down. I catch up on sorting out paper work, I make small gifts, I watch DVD's and each time I get up I take a look around the room to see what I can pick up and carry with me, then I put some things into a baskets or a box ready to go up to the other end of the house for when I have to go there. I seem to have to do things bit by bit and thats my way of coping.