Good health to you my fellow fighters against RA or any other immune disease. I battle Lupus/RA and I am wondering for those who feel the weather exacerbates the conditions has anyone ever changed climates to accommodate their health. I am thinking San diego (dry) or Houston, do you think it matters?
6/28/11 7:00am
Hi, Aretha,
I will be interested to see the other responses to your question. I know that humidity makes me generally uncomfortable, so Houston would be out for me. I had a friend years ago with RA who moved to Ariziona because of the dry heat. He had previously lived in Ohio. He only stayed in Arizona for about six months because he had so many allergies in Ariziona that he had a hard time breathing. He moved back to Ohio. The problems I have with weather are related to the fronts moving in and the barometric pressure dropping. If you do decide to move, it might be wise to visit the place you intend to move several times to make sure there are not any negatives that you just cannot live with...like my friend's allergies.
Best Wishes,
V
6/28/11 1:17pm
Hi Aretha,
For me, I find that the heat is way worse than the cold and/or rain. Houston would be very low on my list. And if I were going to CA, I would head waaaaay up the coast to where it's cooler.
Where I live, the summers are hot and humid. I used to spend a LOT of time outdoors.... but now I basically live indoors from June-October.
So I guess that's my long winded way of saying that since everyone is different, I think the best thing to do is figure out which weather conditions are the best for you. Me? I'm thinking about building one of those germ free, temp/humididy controlled bubbles! 
Ish
6/28/11 6:57pm
Aretha, Wow, now that would be a drastic step to take. Move somewhere to suite your disease. As a nurse, I have heard physicians recommend to patients to move, mostly though because of respiratory conditions or particular allergies. If you are having that much difficulty with your disease then speak with your physician as well. I think if you think a better climate would suite your body better, than go check it out first. Visit at different intervals several times and see how you do.
Personally, the climate does effect my body, but not necessarily my arthritis' only. I live in Florida where it is humid, warm to hot and rains quite often, winters are mildly cold and usually not wet. I love it, but that is me. We are all different, you won't know until you check it out for yourself.
6/29/11 4:04pm
Thanks for the response, and for suggesting vacations.
Yes, my MD thinks it's the barometric change that agitates me. I will post an update once I get it resolved or at least attempt to. It's odd science still can't relate the weather to pain. I wonder who they have asked (obviously not us) because everyone who responded to my question feels that it does.
6/29/11 5:04pm
Odd science indeed. It is a very interesting phenomenon. There have been several newer studies lately, two in particular I read on Medscape.com, completed in 2010, about the weather affecting our pain. Both did not show any consistent data either way, and one synopsis I read, really irritated me that (in laymen's terms) "it was all in our heads". Basically, the writer concluded that pain increased because it was "anticipated or expected" thing to happen, not really because there was a change in the pain level or increase in areas of pain identified. The subjects in both of these studies self reported pain and there was not changes in the amount, levels or increased areas of pain reported by the subjects. However, being a nurse of many years, I can without a doubt say I give more pain medication to patients when the wheather changes, mostly rainy or when it turns bitter cold.
I hope you find a place you can live and enjoy without exacerbating your conditions. Good Luck to you, Barb
6/30/11 7:56am
I read a couple of studies about the same issue, Barb, and I don't get it! About 20 minutes before it starts to rain, my left foot starts throbbing. It is an excellent predictor of a change in weather. I wonder why the studies don't show any consistency, but it doesn't really matter. We know the truth!
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By Aretha— Last Modified: 06/30/11, First Published: 06/27/11
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Thanks for the response, I will post an update once I get it resolved or at least attempt to. It's odd science still can't relate the weather to pain. I wonder who they have asked (obviously not us) because everyone who responded to my question feels that it does.