u/NecessaryTrip8634

Just wanted to vent to someone who understands. I’m going through my second flare since being diagnosed last year. Last years flare took me 4-5 months to completely come out of. But once I did- I was riding high. It was like my old life again. Symptoms GONE. I was back at the gym, lifting weights again and gaining my lost muscle back! If it wasn’t for the daily hydroxychloroquine, I could’ve forgotten I even have this disease.
Then 4 weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I woke up and felt like I was hit by a truck. I just knew. The rheumatologist put me on prednisone and I’m finally starting to turn a corner. But thinking how long it will take to get back to baseline and not knowing when this will happen again- it’s messing with my head. Thanks for listening.

It seems that most people with CTD feel stiff in the morning and tend to get better as the day goes on.
I’m the exact opposite. I’m currently in a flare. I usually wake up ok, and then as the day goes on I get incredibly fatigued and my joints become increasingly stiff and painful. By evening, all of my muscles are aching and I can’t function anymore. Is anyone else in the same boat and how do you manage? I’m on a prednisone taper, but it’s not helping as much as I had hoped.

I was diagnosed with UCTD in August 2025 after I developed a bunch of health issues from parvovirus b19 (fifths disease). I was diagnosed with UCTD based on joint pain/stiffness, muscle pain, skin rashes and sun sensitivity, extreme fatigue, mouth and nasal sores with the following labs: low c3 and c4, low WBC and platelets, and sometimes low RBC. My rheumatologist brought up the possibility of seronegative SLE on Friday. Did anyone’s diagnosis change from UCTD to SLE? Specifically seronegative. I’m not finding a lot of information on it.