when a flare is developing in me, i'll have a week or two of feeling like i'm coming down with something.......occasionally if i sleep a lot, like i do when i'm getting sick, i can get through it without flaring terribly........but more often, its the harbinger of a serious flare.

i had to get to a point of feeling well in between flares to recognize it. but my current rheumy (and other doctors) have me to that point.

as you said, nothing really relieves it, except for whatever relieves the flare. this last time, i tried a pred taper and that worked. i had been going into a flare:

for about a week, my ribs were more of a problem than normal, my chiro had more to do for me than normal, then i started feeling "achy fluey" as my GI tract started complaining, then came the mouth sores and the "irritated eyes" and on the day before my SI joint joined in, i truly felt like i do when i'm sick, and just sat in my recliner and babied myself all day. i wonder if i had forced myself to go take a walk that day, if that would have changed its course?

but when the SI joint kicked in, i started the pred. and just like magic, all the symptoms dramatically changed. the achy fluey feeling was gone in less than a day. everything else was all better within 2-3 days.


sue

Spondyloarthropathy, HLAB27 negative
Humira (still methylprednisone for flares, just not as often. Aleve if needed, rarely.)
LDN/zanaflex/flector patches over SI/ice
vits C, D. probiotics. hyaluronic acid. CoQ, Mg, Ca, K.
chiro
walk, bike
no dairy (casein sensitivity), limited eggs, limited yeast (bread)