I’m sitting here curled up on the sofa, all-over pain and “drained battery” feeling, trying to figure out wth I did this time.

Yeah, I had a “minor” heart procedure last week, spent much of the week sleeping, recovering my balance, clearing the brain fog, becoming functional again.

The weekend was crazy, as we prepared to host an exchange student for the day in our home. But, I was sort of okay, even if my sleep was ‘off’. Had a doctor’s appt on Tuesday, I felt good, like I was starting fresh.

This morning, I again felt like I had been run over and body-slammed a few times. Why? I had paced myself. I ate well. I had exercised gently. Sleep was “eh” but I could nap later. What happened?

Maybe we’ve all had this experience. What caused the flare? How much of it is age, weather, stress, multiple medications, an immune system attack, a hypersensitive nervous system — or just plain illness being illness.

I’ve been living with this for a few years, and often know what my body is up to illness-wise (or when I’m overdoing it). But sometimes, it’s still like being knocked out by a hit I didn’t see coming.

I know this is true for my illnesses. I’m guessing it happens for others also. Since there are over 100 autoimmune illnesses, and many syndromes involving pain, fatigue, brain fog, and overall degeneration.

How do you manage flares — known or unexpected? What is your experience of flares like? Drop a CI Note in the comments and let me know how you’re doing — for realzies. 👍🌺