As the winter nights draw ever closer, I got to thinking about my RA flare pattern. I've only had it 3 years so maybe not long enough to draw any real conclusions but it started in December, and every year since then I've felt really good June-Nov and flared post-Christmas only to settle down again in summer. I don't know if this is just clutching at straws, but maybe the lack of sunlight has something to do with it? I don't think it's the cold because when I've travelled temperature changes didn't affect me and to be honest the difference in temperature between the Scottish summer and winter is only about 15 degrees! However, we're pretty far north which means we get super long summer days and super long winter nights!! From the end of Oct when the clocks go back until March I don't see any daylight Monday to Friday as it's dark when I leave for work and dark as I go home. REALLY DEPRESSING!! Even at the weekends it's easy to sleep in until about 11-12 (I like long lies!) and then you only get about 4 hours of daylight before it starts to get dark again. And that's only if the sun can peek out from behind the thick rainclouds!!
I've therefore decided to take some Vitamin D supplements this winter. I'm starting from today and have enough to last me 3 months. I've been 99% symptom free since June so we'll see if this year I can avoid the dreaded 'winter flare'. Probably not, but worth a try (even if it's just to satisfy my curiosity!).
