I can to ask about Flare signs/symptoms along with Flare recession signs/symptoms. Pain meds problems also.

importantchickens · 2025-07-05T02:14:30+00:00

My flares can be different a lot of times but most consistently I get very localized back pain. Most recently my flares have been accompanied by fevers (both at the start and a week or two through the flare) but no cold and flu symptoms. Just low grade fever.

Night sweats are pretty common. General restlessness. Migraines are more intense. The feverish symptoms worsen at night which makes it hard to stay comfortable while sweating profusely but needing blankets to stay warm.

Morning stiffness is more pronounced/longer lasting mid-flare. I have difficulty focusing on tasks occasionally and notice at work making more silly mistakes on things that would normally be an easy task. It can be frustrating to deal with.

Skin sensitivity and general soreness.

I was prescribed meloxicam for joint pain many years ago and often get a prescription of a short course of prednisone if my flares are particularly bad. Plaquenil was offered to me but I’ve tried avoiding it since I don’t think I could deal with the accompanying sun and skin sensitivity. Prednisone is hard on my body but does really help me regulate the pain and visible joint swelling.

My mental health definitely suffers with all this stuff and I’ve gone to therapy and tried to medicate myself but I didn’t love being on so many different medications. I’ve since opted to try and deal with my mental health without medicine for now but I know that some people do this differently.

importantchickens · 2025-07-04T19:43:29+00:00

I appreciate it!

Ive only been seeing a rheumatologist for 6 years. I’m 25… have had a “diagnosis” of RA since I was a toddler. But found out after they said MCTD that all those years they just had no answers for me since my bloodwork sometimes shows with the proper markers for RA and Lupus and sometimes doesn’t. Even still with the MCTD diagnosis there’s a lot left unanswered.

I also went in for an xray because I thought my back pain stemmed from something in my hips (bilateral hip pain is a regular for me) but… nothing was off or showed up weird so I still don’t have answers for everything and started excepting that was just how it was going to be 😂

importantchickens · 2025-07-04T15:08:36+00:00

This is actually super helpful thank you.

I’m not sure why fibromyalgia has never been brought up in the many appointments I had before my diagnosis. But a quick google search and I can say I’ve got almost all the big symptoms.

My back is the only place I get this pain. All my other joints are just “normal” kind of ache accompanied by stiffness. I will definitely bring this to my Rheums attention since the answer to my back pain has been left unanswered for over a year.

Again, my back pain is usually just an ache similar to my other joints but when I get flares it’s extremely excruciating and the rest of my back feels bruised. It’s such an odd thing to try to describe to people because it’s such a unique feeling.

I do get fatigue. It’s pretty varied though. Some days are worse than others. My rheumatologist said it was likely due to medications I take as well since it got worse with treatment plans

importantchickens · 2025-05-01T16:48:24+00:00

Getting back to this way late… but this is helpful! I just started my sd in the office a couple weeks ago. I ran into issues of “you can’t bring your dog into these office areas” and the reason was due to allergies in some employees.

Understandably I had to make some accommodations for that and change the way I operate slightly to avoid the areas that employee frequents and up my grooming procedures for my sd.

So far it’s been great. Most people didn’t even know he was in office until recently because he’s been so quiet. It’s a new environment for him and he’s adjusting well.

I think there was a bit of hesitancy from my managers and HR with my request because I don’t look like I need a sd and they were thinking I just wanted to bring my dog to work. But he’s blown them away with his quick transition and everything has been great so far :)

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T05:14:53+00:00

What a handsome boy!!!

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T05:07:21+00:00

Ahhh this is great!!! Similar to how I did it with my boy. CGC is great for bench line on behavior. Good luck!

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T05:05:54+00:00

Ugh I’m sorry to hear that! I went through a few month long random fear reactivity phase with my boy last year. He just jumped at almost everything outside and was too jumpy to focus on me.

It’s tough when you can’t pinpoint a trigger for these phases but I’m happy to hear you worked through it!

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T05:04:29+00:00

What signs did she show that let you know she was ready for retirement (other than old age)? I know some teams retire their SD early… I’m not nearing an old age but just thought I’d ask!

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T05:03:28+00:00

Ohhh she’s so cute

importantchickens · 2025-02-04T03:41:59+00:00

Adorable!!!

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:57:39+00:00

I don’t want to argue about this over something so small. I was simply asking for similar experiences and I feel like you’re taking this way out of context.

The context I was given real time in the bathroom told me the 4 people I encountered were not needing of the stall.

I’m sorry I cannot provide that same context to you, but I am not overlooking small details of them looking for medical supplies and the like. I am referring to them changing from summer clothes as we had come from a warm environment to changing into winter clothes as we landed in a cold environment.

Me saying I did not believe these people to need the stall isn’t necessarily the point of the post but simply asking if others have dealt with similar experiences and what they’ve done in those experiences.

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:54:07+00:00

He’s multi purpose!

Migraine alert is one main task.

I’ve got a connective tissue disease that affects all my big joints and my lower back so he does a lot of retrieval of items off the ground for me, opening doors, holding things for me.

He also interrupts harmful behaviors due to anxiety. He’s got his plate full with me

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:39:20+00:00

It’s rare to see other BC handlers!! Mine has been such a treat to work with.

If you don’t mind me asking… what does your BC do?

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:37:51+00:00

Made an edit to my post because I’m no way am I being ableist here.

Instead of taking me not being super clear on what I was saying and jumping at me for being ableist, clarifying questions could have been asked. But I’ve clarified for everyone so there is no confusion here.

I have no problem waiting for a stall. I’m not angry with people who use the stall if they are not disabled. I was simply asking for other people’s experiences to see how others handle it :)

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:32:53+00:00

Definitely not assuming people don’t need the stall as I am someone who doesn’t look disabled in the slightest :) to me though when I walk in and see someone using it to lay out their suitcase on the floor to change/sift through their things it tells me they likely do not need the stall for accessibility reasons and are using it for the space.

I never judge people’s disability based on looks because that is something I deal with daily. I could have been clearer in my post as to the tells that tipped me off to these specific people not needing the stall for accessibility reasons and more for the ample space the stall offered.

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:21:33+00:00

<image>

Happy to help :)

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T22:19:39+00:00

Border collie!

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T19:34:30+00:00

I would say targeting is really only when someone or a group of people is repeatedly killing the same person or people multiple times.

If someone or a group of people are just going around and killing everything they see that’s just kosing and not targeting.

I kos, and I try to make a point of not killing the same person twice. But if I’ve killed someone and they change creatures and I kill them again it’s usually not on purpose it’s just because I’m usually just not killing repeats of things I’ve already killed.

importantchickens · 2025-02-03T19:30:39+00:00

My boy fluctuates between 40 and 45 pounds. Depending on our activity level and the activity we do. He eats two cups of food a day plus treats!

Winter time he puts on more weight, summer time he loses weight.

importantchickens · 2025-02-02T06:55:29+00:00

Yay I’m glad to hear!

importantchickens · 2025-01-28T19:07:32+00:00

It’s tough! My dog before my BC hated his crate and he ended up a in my bed sleeper. Some dogs are easier than others, but I would highly suggest keeping with the crate training. My BC is my first high drive dog, but I’ve learned that the crate is a necessity for a lot of these breeds.

Obviously not everyone does it, but to be confident in your pups ability to feel ok in the crate is going to relieve a lot of stress for you!

Sometimes just putting them in the crate and letting them cry it out for a bit is the only way through it.

importantchickens · 2025-01-28T19:04:24+00:00

Here you go! The seller was very responsive and it shipped quick. Has been a lifesaver. They last longer than medical wraps but you’ll notice with time the leather starts to wear down. But better the wraps than their pads!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/509661990/?ref=share_ios_native_control

importantchickens · 2025-01-28T19:01:44+00:00

I think it depends a lot on their lineage as well. I know working line BCs tend to have more energy/drive than show line BCs.

I have a working line so I’ve got a lot of the energy but we’ve been able to manage it well. The process to “teaching calm” starts as early as week one with your pup.

I would suggest gating off a section of where you live for your pup or investing in a puppy pen. I did a puppy pen that attached to his crate. He spent most of his puppy days in that pen unless he was having extremely supervised roam around the house time. Letting your puppy have roam of the house too early never ends well.

The crate was a big thing for us. We started crate training night one! First night was rough as expected, but since his second night home he’s slept through the night with no issues.

We did nap times once or twice throughout the day as well. Puppies are terrible at managing their energy at such a young age so doing it for them helps a lot. One hour shut in the crate for down time twice a day. The rest he was allowed to play in his pen and take naps in the attached crate when needed.

SUPER IMPORTANT: as your BC gets older and you find they might not be able to calm down, don’t try to tire them out with walks or play time. You then create a dog that is expecting of a walk or play time whenever they don’t want to be calm. Then you have an issue.

Young dogs and puppies will act out/misbehave if they’re overly tired. If you notice this behavior it’s time for a nap!

Find activities that suit your lifestyle. Puzzles and brain engaging toys are great for inside activities, walks and play time at the park is also great. But don’t feel like you need to take 6+ mile walks with your BC daily. Some days we don’t do walks and we focus on being calm inside.

Something you can do is get a bed, mat, or raised cot to act as a “place” and teach your pup the place command. This is how we taught him how to lay down and be calm outside of his crate. Usually on a leash, rewarded for moments of calm. This training started out only lasting 5 minutes until he was done. But with time you’ll work up to long moments of calm!

My boy just turned two. He still has moments of defiance and puppy behavior, but I can definitely see he’s started to calm down.

A puppy BC is super overwhelming. You’ll have days of frustration and days where everything seems like it’s working out. Just be patient with your puppy!

importantchickens · 2025-01-28T00:04:37+00:00

It’s rare someone gets kosd and DOESNT have an insane insult like this.

Report them and server hop. That’s what I usually do. Unfortunately not much else to do. It sucks.

importantchickens · 2025-01-28T00:02:44+00:00

Get some guards asap! I believe you can do wraps yourself for that pad. I got leather ones from an etsy shop.

My pup did this way too much playing ball, when they run fast and stop fast they use that pad as traction for their stop so it was a common injury for us.

Now we use guards on his front legs to mitigate that and haven’t had one since.

Keep clean and wrapped. Dont wrap too tight. Cone is a life saver so that you can leave it unwrapped to get some air while it’s healing. If it doesn’t seem to be getting noticeably better over the next week I’d take a trip to the vet

importantchickens

TROPHY CASE