How bad, or worse than usual, does it have to be to be considered a flare?

Hi, !

I wish I could give you a straight answer or a list to go off of, but RA flares can be unique to each individual. So, what constitutes a flare to one person may not be a flare to another. And, to muddy the waters, even having lab work done may not give you a definitive answer. You may be clearly experiencing flare symptoms, but your labwork comes back "normal" or not elevated enough to be considered a flare. So, here's a conversation from our forums on what might be a flare that I thought you might find interesting -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/forums/flare-ups. Also, one of our contributors wrote about the flare debate here (with tons of member comments at the end of the article) -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/the-great-flare-debate. And, this information may seem pretty basic, but here's some insight into how doctors may diagnose a flare -- https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/what-is-ra/ra-flare. I know these links still probably won't answer your very good question, but I hope they give you some ideas as to what you may decide in regards to your own RA symptoms. Let me say this; if you have a gut feeling that you are in a flare, well, you might be right. After all, you are the expert on your own body.

Best, Erin, Team Member.

Thank you for the info and for responding.

Raven