Flare-ups are a normal aspect of the life of any chronic illness patient.
There are countless diseases that include both constant symptoms and intermittent symptoms. Diseases like Inflammatory Bowel Diseases often induce daily symptoms (like intestinal cramping and pain, nausea, several bathroom breaks) that are consistent, even during times of remission. Then they have intermittent symptoms that show up during flare-ups, like blood, incontinence, increased pain, increased bowel movements, difficulty eating, sudden weight loss, etc...
The incidence of flares are spread out differently for every person. For someone with active disease and no points of remission, these 'flare' symptoms can be daily. For another, flares might only occur once or twice a year.
For the majority of patients, these flare episodes are usually severe but short-lived. Temporary. A week of excruciating, and often unbearable, pain, followed by months of recovery.
These flares may not always last long, but it often takes a patient months to return back to what they consider their normal. If a flare-up causes blood loss, sudden weight loss, nutrient loss, and widespread inflammation, it is no wonder that the body remains 'injured' for long periods afterwards.
Patients with these types of diseases - and there are many of these types - often become accustomed to these brutal flares. Not that they 'get used to' the symptoms in the sense of having the pain become easier, but in the sense that it becomes a part of normal existence.
The Lighter Side of Severe Flare-Ups is that, after we have dealt with one, we come to find out how strong we are. Severe flare-ups remind us what we can actually physically get through. They remind us of our own strength, when we so often feel incredibly weak. Other difficulties in life become less daunting, our pain tolerance increases, and we come to realize how much we can truly handle. That we are formidable. We are resilient. We are mighty. We are tough.
We are oustandingly capable.
