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The Chronic Illness Flare Survival Kit

By Antoina at Unremarkable Me

(Published: May 2025)


This Is Fine… Until It’s Not: Learning Your Chronic Illness Baseline vs Flare-Ups

The Reality of a Body at War

Some of us live in bodies that don’t follow the rules. Bodies that wake up aching for no reason. Bodies that throw tantrums in supermarkets, hospital corridors, or—just for kicks—midway through a long-awaited night out, like a diva demanding a better dressing room.

We live in bodies that are always negotiating with pain, fatigue, nausea, and fear. And we carry that negotiation quietly. Stoically. Sometimes sarcastically. But always, always every day.

Here’s the part no one puts on a pamphlet: chronic illness isn’t just about managing symptoms. It’s about managing the unknown. It’s about playing medical bingo every morning with questions like:

  • “Is this the flu?”

  • “Is this my normal?”

  • “Did I just blink too hard and dislocate something again?”

Because when your body is always screaming at you, how do you tell when it’s saying something new? When it’s an emergency and not just your usual Tuesday?

That’s what this guide is for. Not to cure you. Not to pretend everything can be fixed with turmeric tea and yoga. But to hand you a compass inside the storm. A way to chart your own baseline—your “normal abnormal”—so when the needle suddenly jumps, you know it’s not just you being dramatic. It’s your body waving a red flag and whispering, “Hey, maybe let’s not push through this one.”

And for those days when you feel small, scared, or like you’re failing at the world’s weirdest endurance test?

Let this be your reminder: You are not failing for surviving. You are a goddamn champion for navigating a war most people don’t even see.


What Is a Baseline?

Your baseline is the symptoms and limitations you live with most of the time. It’s your ‘normal’—not healthy, not pain-free, but functional enough to live your version of life.

It’s the level of pain, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, or joint rebellion that you can predict. You might not like it. But you’ve learned its patterns, its tricks, and you’ve MacGyvered your life around it.

Resources for Identifying Your Baseline:

Now Let’s Meet the Villain: The Flare-Up

A flare-up is when your body throws a tantrum. It’s your baseline’s evil twin. It’s when your usual symptoms crank up the volume and bring their friends.

More about Flares:

How to Discover Your Baseline (Even When You’re Tired of Your Own Body’s Crap)

  1. Start tracking—even the boring days matter.

  2. Look for patterns.

  3. Be realistic, not idealistic.

  4. Use color-coded mood/symptom charts.

  5. Ask for outside eyes.

Suggested tools:

Why This Isn’t Just “Self-Care”—It’s Advocacy & Survival

When you walk into an A&E, an out-of-hours GP, or a new specialist’s office, knowing your baseline vs flare is your armor.

Advocacy Resources:

Antonia's Baseline vs Flare-Up Reality Check Chart

Symptom Area

Baseline (This is Fine)

Flare-Up (All Hell Breaks Loose)

Toni-Style Reminder

Pain Level

4/10 - Manageable with pacing & meds

8-9/10 - Meds barely touch it

Pain isn't 'in your head', it's in your joints. Own it.

Fatigue

Manageable fatigue, planned rest helps

Bone-deep exhaustion, full bed rest needed

Rest is not laziness; it's survival.

Mobility

Unstable but functional with aids

Can't stand/walk safely even with aids

Mobility aids = freedom, not failure.

Brain Fog

Mild fog - forget names, not faces

Severe fog - forget conversations

If your brain feels like mashed potatoes, trust it.

Mood & Emotions

Mood wobbles but stable-ish

Mood crashes, overwhelm, tears over spoons

Tears? Valid. Meltdowns? Also valid.

Medication Needs

Usual meds effective

Need rescue meds or ER care

Rescue meds are for rescue. You are allowed.

Functionality (Tasks & Self-Care)

Most daily tasks possible with effort

Even basic self-care impossible

It's okay to need help. Actually, it's badass.

New or Worsening Symptoms

None or rare 'weird' symptoms

New scary symptoms (e.g. numbness, vertigo)

If it's new, weird, or terrifying—flag it up fast.

Dear Future Me (In a Flare)—A Antonia-Style Love Letter

Hey you—the one reading this in bed, clutching the heating pad like it’s your emotional support tortilla.

I know things feel unbearable right now. I know you’re wondering if you’re being dramatic. You’re not. This is a flare. This is not your normal. This is not forever.

That’s why I wrote you this letter, poppet. Because I knew this day would come again. And I knew you’d need someone—me—to remind you:

  • You are not weak because you’re struggling today.

  • You are allowed to rest.

  • You are still worthy—even if you can’t do the things you normally do.

  • This is your body asking for care, not punishment.


Things That Help: Rescue meds. Water. Soft clothes. Comfort shows. Text someone safe.

Repeat after me:

This is a flare. This is not who I am. This is not the rest of my life.

Love fiercely, Baseline You (The One Who Knows You Best)


You Are More Than This Moment

I want you to know something, my chronically ill friends, You are more than this moment. More than the flare. More than the charts, the plans, the pills.

You are still you. You are still here.

Some days, survival is your loudest act of rebellion. Some days, getting through the hour is your masterpiece. And on those days when you feel invisible, unheard, or lost inside the noise of your body’s chaos—I hope this kit reminds you:

You are not broken. You are not alone. And you deserve to take up space—mess, pain, and all.

There is strength in knowing your body. There is power in saying “this is not fine.” And there is defiance in choosing to rest, knowing the world expects you to keep going anyway.

So when the flare comes, as it will… Clutch your heating pad, wrap yourself in your softest blanket, and remember:

You are worthy. You are fierce. And you have survived every worst day before this one. You’ll do it again.


 
 
 

© 2025  Unremarkable Me

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