That’s the barometer pressure - nothing to do with hot or cold. So high pressure tends to be good and low pressure our bodiies don’t like as much. Even being indoors you can be affected by barometer pressure.
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@darinfan I meant to say.
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@amielynn38 that was one stressful time. So glad your Dad was OK in the end. But hardly surprising once your adrenalin could take a break - you flared.
@Grandma_J, I never but never kneel anymore nor sit in anything resembling a bleacher. Both are murderous activities.
Yep, low pressure systems and 28 hours in a plane in a 36 hour period (also cause of the low pressure I think), both will do it for me, as will chronic stress or sleep deprivation lasting more than a night or two.
Thank you.
In my limited experience, I agree with all of the above causes of flares…sometimes. Sometimes the barometric pressure has a huge effect and then no effect at all. Physical stress can make me feel better or worse. For some of us, it seems that the inconsistency is the one thing we can count on. Because I get away with shovelling snow or sitting on an uncomfortable bleacher sometimes, I try it again and might regret it. Life is one big experiment…an adventure, right?
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I recently moved and while I knew I couldn’t pick up and carry the heavy stuff, I did carry boxes and other items. Shortly after the move began, my right heel began to hurt like crazy and got very stiff. I felt really bad that everyone else was having to work harder while I was limping around. I managed to make it to the end of the day but I noticed my finger joints and my right Achilles heel were very painful. The next day, I was totally blown away at the exhaustion, stiffness, and pain. It took me an entire week of resting and napping to begin to feel better! I’ve always been in great shape, but a few hours of carrying boxes and walking totally wiped me out for a week! I am going to see a Rhumie next week because I have not been diagnosed, just dealing with this crap till then.
Exhaustion, fatigue, call it what you will but ‘natural’ tiredness it ain’t, are very much part of PsA. Before starting treatment I was barely able to stay awake, it was very severe, like some kind of sleeping sickness.
The fatigue lessened with treatment. Sometimes I have proper energy, I love that! I still complain bitterly about fatigue but it is nothing like the zombie experience prior to meds taking effect.
It is crap isn’t it? Things are very likely to improve for you though. Really lay it on the line about the fatigue when you see your rheumy, lay it all on the line.
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Hang in there. I’ve had a similar journey since diagnosed last February with the extreme heel pain, fatigue stiffness etc. I could usually work through most pain issues in my life but the PSA just seemed to keep winning. My only regret looking back is that I was on Prednisone on my first visit, which really was helping so my Rheumatologist didn’t diagnose me when at my worst. If you can, go to your appointment as you are without meds. Also, let the rheumatologist figure you out and come to their own conclusions…they tend to be a bit touchy when a patient comes to them with the right diagnosis without their input. Just a few suggestions. Hope it goes well, be patient…this is a long marathon not usually any quick fixes, be thankful for incremental improvement.
I’m am planning to do that; I have built a good history so she can make the right decision. Thx!
That’s good advice, I’m just gonna explain the symptoms, show the pics, and wait for the DX. Thx!
When I moved about four years ago, I swear it nearly killed me. And, oddly, it was my feet that were worst - and I don’t normally struggle much with them.
Foot pain is a real strange one for me. When walking, the knee pain is most restrictive but when at rest, my feet just yell. They just ache and ache with the points of pain randomly moving from heel to toes. And then the cramping as a reaction to the pain. Monday I felt horrid and just wanted to crawl in a hole but it hurts down there too so I might as well stay above ground. Then by Tuesday afternoon I had spring in my step, 1/4 of the usual pain and felt energetic until about 11. BOOM! The pain hits like a brick and got little sleep. Today has been all day foot pain. But you can read all about this and more in the book that I think @seenie is writing called, “PsA for Dummies”. 
If you haven’t but are able to, get your name on a short notice cancellation list…I have gotten in for all sorts of things much earlier by doing so.
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Hahaha you know where to find me, don’t you, Amos?
Oh, the feet … the cramps … lying in bed and just wiiiishing that the lower half of my body could just fall off. Or hope that a willing anesthesiologist would appear as if by magic to give me an epidural so that I could go to sleep. That wandering pain is crazy, isn’t it?
LOL that’s a good idea, “PsA for Dummies!”. We could put one together from all the posts here and plough the profits back into Ben’s Friends.
As for the cancellation list idea is always a good one, and it often works. Highly recommended.
I’m so sorry about your feet, but thanks for the smile at the end of my day!
Seenie (on my ModSupport log-in)
PS My feet are less painful now they’ve been for many years. The top-drawer foot surgeon who told me that I had too much joint damage for him to operate on, also said that if I was really lucky, the damaged joints would auto-fuse, which would diminish my pain. I’m hoping that’s what’s happening. Fingers crossed (owee ow owwweee shouldn’t have done that).
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Have you read the masochists’ version? It’s called ‘Dummies for PsA!!’
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I’ll check for it on Amazon…but that version sounds a bit more inflammatory!
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I just read the first entry, and the mention of chocolate, then realized that I had bought 3 chocolate bars! See ya!
So, back to the flares etc…from what I am hearing, many of you still have pain flares of sorts even while on a biologic? What’s with that since the biologics should have a constant effect? I’m obviously still learning.
Got my info bag from Humira with the auto inject practice pen…it’s so nice of them to send a placebo! It’s not working yet.
My take on your question is that the aim of biologics is to control the disease, I doubt anyone would say that they cure it.
My pain levels are so different these days, so very different, just a whole different kettle of fish from the pre-bio days and considerably easier to live with.
I think that it is encouraging to consider that whatever is being used today to control the disease isn’t the end. We could see all sorts of “new and improved” biologics in the next 5-10 years.
Between Covid and PsA, I wonder if i’m becoming very narrow in my conversations, the PsA yells for attention and media goes on and on about Covid. But it is hard to ignore either of them. I’m very ready for the Humira journey and quite hopeful that I might be able to move PsA into the back ground as the pain reduces to a whisper instead of constantly yelling at me. As the nsaids work less and less, I don’t know if I can even identify a flare…the pain is almost constant lately, some joints it comes and goes and others it just is always there. @sybil do you ever go back to prednisone as inflammation relief while on biologics?
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