Interesting perspectives from everyone.

I experience a variety of symptoms on a daily basis but they are for the most part manageable - moderate fatigue, joint pain, brain fog. I consider it to be a flare when it is dramatically impacting my daily life. Extreme fatigue, complete lack of motivation, very low concentration, or other physical factors such as anemia, liver issues, etc.

My flares can last from a week to months. I consider a flare to be when my concentration is at its lowest, my fatigue is much greater and my meds don't really provide much relief. I was in a flare from November to March and then I've been in another one since May. This one I hope is coming to an end since I'm on vacation. I've learned to recognize my flares because I start screwing up horribly at work and have no energy or desire to do better. All I want to do is take a nap. I hope that helps.

Before I knew what I had, I experienced 'baby flares.' I would have fatigue, buzzing in my arms with a leading tremor in my right hand, later included both hands. Mild brain fog. Imbalance on my right side and dizziness. My early symptoms were very MS like. But, the flares were short and the remissions long. In remission I went back to being totally normal, as I then knew it. Then I entered the first of what would become my long and very bad flare pattern. Joint pain in hands and hips. Intense brain fog. Intense fatigue. Shooting pains in my legs. Falling down or loosing my balance easily. Steriods pulled me out of this first really bad flare. But I went right back into another one which included photosensitivity which was and still is super sensitive. There were other rashes as well. I started plaquenil. It eventually stabilized me so I can live my life with moderate symptoms and limited activity. But there has been no complete remission. My average energy per day is about 3 to 4 good hours. But I have bad days when I have no energy. I wear a mask when outside and a hat under florescent lights. The aches in my hands waxes and wanes. Sometimes I can barely use my right hand. The pain in my hips has gotten a lot better by walking. Brain fog hits briefly now, not for months at a time. So I am not in remission but I am not in what I would call a flare. I think of this as managing mode, a phase between a flare and true remission. Stress good or bad, poor sleep, catching a bug, or simply doing slightly too much can move me closer to flare mode.

I have two degrees of "flares" the first and the ones I have most often is when I'm extra tired more achy and I have a harder time concentrating and socializing with people. Usually about 3 or 4 in the afternoon I'm done for the day and need to rest. Those happen often, after a stressful time or I attend an event or even getting excited and planning for something can bring that on. Then I have the "hit a wall flares" those I don't have as often but they last longer, I just had one that was 4 weeks long, all I can do is rest. Nothing else is going to get me out of it. My last on my rheumatologist said my plaquenil had stopped working and started me on methotrexate. I just started it today. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

When I have a flare I have muscle and joint pain,mouth and nose ulcers,malar rash,SEVERE photosensitivity (have to be in the dark) I can barely sit up,can't eat,headaches,dizziness, and the list goes on.
Remission is coming out of a flare.Like for me, being able to sit up and walk without asistance because my health is improving and the lupus is settling down and not being so active and making me sick anymore, is remission.