Does anyone else feel that rainy weather makes them more achey and in more pain? I don’t know if it is coincidence but every joint in my body seems to crack and ache and my hips, hands and back are even more stiff and burning. It’s been raining where I live for the past 2 days and I’m miserable!
Yep I'm most certainly affected by the rainy weather... If a big weather change is coming like a seasonal change or sudden mid-season changes in weather, I first get this flu-like feeling days or maybe a week ago, which doesn't actually make much sense scientifically. I get crankier and begin sleeping more and the burning kind of pain in my SI joints and feet becomes more and more noticeable. But, my real "superpower" is that I can actually predict the rain by 5-30 minutes because right before the rain there is a sudden change in barometric pressure - now that's science talking!- and I feel like I've been stabbed in the buttocks. It's a sudden pain that worsens in a matter of minutes up to the point where I feel like lying on the floor and crying and it feels like lightnings are streaking between my SI joints and I sort of get this sudden weakness in my legs and sit down with a crumbling-like motion if I was standing. Oh, and to add more fun, this happens during take-off and landing when I fly too :D
But... what I gather is that some people are more sensitive to weather changes than others. Some are over-sensitive like me which is just eeeeextra fun, some are just affected by seasonal changes and have major flare-ups around that time. I think everyone is more or less affected by the seasonal changes though... And we were all so much worse during the winter. There seems to be less traffic here on the forum since we began seeing a little sunshine :)
YES! I can tell when a storm is coming. I ache more and my hands swell. I have a spot on my upper cheek (where the nerve endings hit between the roots of my teeth and sinus) that aches like a severe toothache. I feel like I have the flu but without the rest of the symptoms. When the rain abates the pain dissipates. I live in Seattle and after 20 years of living here, I finally said we have to have a place to go during the rainiest season. We just bought a little place in Boise, Idaho. It may get colder there in winter but it is sunny and drier many more days out of the year. One thing that helps combat this weather-related pain is increasing my Vit. D during the rain. Also...buy a Happy Light. (Costco often carries them.) It sounds silly, but if weather affects you, light therapy might decrease your symptoms. Best of luck...the good thing is, even here in Seattle, the rain does eventually stop so there is hope.
Low pressure causes rain and pain. I can smell the rain coming, even inside! Turn the rain around and meditate. Your key is the sound of tha rain. Focus on the sound and slowly turn off the pain! It takes some practice and patience. Another is laughing! Seriously, the Endorphins kick in and no more pain!
Thank you so much everyone. I’ve been having a rough couple of days with pain and discomfort and have been impatiently waiting for approval to start enbrel. After waiting for a month and having the PA at my doctor tell me multiple times that he submitted it and all I could do was wait, I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with my insurance, 4 phone numbers later I find out he NEVER sent it. I broke down in tears out of frustration, called my doctors office and spoke to someone who is going to take care of it herself since he messed up so bad and is on vacation. Him not submitting it also made my doctor think I wasn’t choosing treatment so he didn’t feel comfortable filling out my disability insurance forms and I had to leave my job a month ago. Needless to say this weather and my stress are killing me! Thank god for this group!
Hi, Erikaszb! You’re going through a helluva time now, from the sounds of it. Not only does weather affect how I feel, but stress … yikes, a stressful time makes it even worse. I once asked my rheumatologist why weather does that, and she said “We don’t know, but we do know that it does.”
I hope that this mess gets sorted out soon, and that you can start treatment before long. And then it’s fingers crossed that it works!
Hey, maybe we just have very, very misunderstood superpowers or something! Maybe we are actually like the X-Men but the normal people are trying to make us believe that we are sick and since we can't realize our full potential we are feeling bad both physically and mentally :P (OK, I know that is a reaaaally long shot, but wouldn't it be nicer than just having a weird autoimmune painful brain foggy "makes you feel older than you are" arthritis?! Think about it, we could be SPECIAL! :D)
And sorry about the hard time you've been having Erikazb! Hope things get better soon!
I like the way you think ladylazarus! Amidst the crazy year I’ve had i have come to realize I need to stay positive because life is too short. I try to focus on all of the good things in my life when my pain is bad. It could always be worse! I have an amazing husband who has been there with me every step of the way and who I laugh with every day. And thanks to you guys for being a supportive place to get my frustrations out 
You are so lucky to have a supportive husband Erikazb! I'm so glad for you... It's easy to share your pain and frustration with people who went through what you are now going through, but having an actual someone next to you is so important! So yay :)
Also, this forum helped me through the worst year of my life, so I'm glad you are finding a similar support here! :)
I agree. What would we do without each other? I just read through this thread and, Erikazb, you are right in trying to stay positive--life is too short and, from one who can't figure out how she went from 30s to 60s in such a flash, don't forget to stop and smell the *roses*, *coffee*, *baby's cheeks* or even *rain* along the way! That's not easy to do, but I think the more you try to enjoy the little things in life, the more relaxed you become and either the pain lessens or you can tolerate it better. And, I'm with you guys, rain and weather changes do seem to cause increased pain. The cold winter was really hard on me, too!.
Lol, ladylazarus, we definitely are special--from what I have observed since being in this support group, most of us seem to have very busy brains! Some have a more worrying brain (like me) but so many seem brilliant, and always coming up with interesting responses! ;-)
I hope your Enbrel order has been processed, Erikazb. Enbrel has done amazing things for me. Had the 1-year follow-up with my dermatologist yesterday and gave her a big hug. I not only was able to show her the few little spots of psoriasis that remain on my legs (which is about a 90% improvement) but I showed her my "skinny" hands (the knuckles and little bones/tendons? on top of my hands are visible now--they were so puffy last spring). I told her how Enbrel started working within days of my first injection, especially how it "woke me up" from the extreme fatigue I had! I hope it works that well for you!
Good luck and keep us posted!
In a word, Yes! So sorry you're feeling miserable. About the only thing that helps me is a visit to the Y's hot tub.