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Stress after Event

My husband had a major surgery, I had a major flare the day before he was having the surgery. During his hospital stay in was on 8 day prednisone taper, but was sovtired, each day I could only get to see him by 2:00 or one day, 4:30. On day 7 of his hospital stay, I couldn't get myself together to go and stayed home. I blamed it on the prednisone effecting me, with the extreme tiredness. I'm on Remicade and Methotrexate. Since my diagnosis in 1992, i was on Enbrel in 1998 whem it first appeared on the market. Up until July this year, I was doing pretty well switching to Remicade last November. It seems the stress of tent camping this year for 2 weeks and then a beach vacation the week before the surgery; the extra stress of activity and not discussing the surgery weighed on my mind. So, here I am in another flare, on Prednisone taper for the 2nd time. I hadn't had this happen for 30 years since being on the DMD biological drugs. I would sum it up saying the STRESS put me over the edge. Hoping I can recover and get back to being more functional; i.e. less hand swelling and pain. Maybe it's time to try another biological drug. Not sure how long to stay with Remicade till my doctor decides it's not working. We are going to increase the dose next time.

  1. Hi I'm sorry you're having a rough time lately. I know stress, and even stress from traveling/vacations, has sometimes caused flares for me too. It's as if our bodies are telling us to slow down, but easier said than done when your mind is way ahead and what we need to do. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences. I've linked some articles below about these topics written by others in the community with RA, that can hopefully be of some help to you. Please feel free to reach out with anything else, or just to vent. -Effie, team member


    https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/overcoming-stress
    https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/holidays-chronic-illness
    https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/minimize-stress
    https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living-with-ra/managing-emotional-problems-and-stress
    https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/no-7-enjoy-your-life

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