Some Questions | Arthritis Information

I have been diagnosed with PMR since November of 2008. I am up to 25 mg of prednisone daily that seems to be helping some but I am still having alot of difficulty getting around. My legs won't move like they use to and I am always stiff. I am worried that the pred could cause me to have other problems. Is it common for your hands to sweat and for you to lose range of motion and the ability to walk without some assistance. I am a 47 year old man that teaches shop class for a living. It is getting very difficult to do my job. Has anyone else on here had these kinds of problems, and how long did they last for you. I am only seeing my local internist since the closest rhumatologist is 100 miles away and has a six month waiting list. I am losing weight because I yhave always been on the heavy side. So far the pred has cause any weight gain, just a little stomach upset.

Anyone have any thoughts.

hi agman, i was diagnosed in july 08 with 90 sed rate and was put on 40 mgm of pred. it immediately took it away, but i felt like the hulk, sweat, couldn't sleep and felt wired. i am down to 4.5 now, but have lots of pain, but i wont go up again, i am going to try and wait it out. the pred should have taken it away completely, maybe the dose was not high enough for you.For me - the pred was not enough. I also took a Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. I ended up stopping the pred and just took the nsaid. As soon as i could stand the pain i got off the nsaid and just let nature take its course (i also took fish oil and other stuff to try to build myself up).Hello Agman,

I’ve been dealing with PMR since October, 2006. It came on suddenly, along with Temporal Arteritis, and I was hospitalized on intravenous prednisone. When I left the hospital I was on 60mg per day, and it wreaked havoc with my life – especially since I’m a diabetic. I’ve been weaning off the prednisone, but have had several painful relapses (my rheumatologist calls them “flares” and says they are very common with PMR). Each time I flare my doctor raises the prednisone back up until the pain gets down to more tolerable levels. Currently I’m maintaining a somewhat normal life on 9mg per day of prednisone, with extra pain pills to help me sleep through the night.

In my experience, the palms sweating happens for me when I have blood sugar control problems resulting from the prednisone. Has your doctor checked your blood sugar? Prednisone taken in the morning will raise my blood sugar significantly until mid-afternoon, at which point it drops fast and hard, causing low blood sugar symptoms.

I have not lost any range of motion, even at the worst. My doctor said that’s one of the ways he confirmed that it’s PMR – because regular arthritis tends to restrict range of motion, while PMR just makes it painful to move your arms and legs, but not impossible.

On the other hand, the stiffness is significant, especially between 8pm and 8am. I find that not only my hips, but my shoulders and the base of my thumb get sore and stiff. At its worst I can’t even open a jar of pickles because of the pain at the base of my thumb.

Sadly, I’ve found that the only thing that reliably helps is increasing the prednisone dose. The side effects can be awful (Google prednisone – there’s lots of good articles). But, as one Chron’s disease patient said, “it’s the poison that lets me live.”

BTW – it took me 3 months to get my first rheumatologist appointment, and it seemed forever. But if it really is PMR, you’ll probably still have it 6 months from now, and a talk with a rheumatologist may be even more important to you then. I’d go ahead and make the appointment – you can always cancel.

[QUOTE=smartie101]For me - the pred was not enough. I also took a Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. I ended up stopping the pred and just took the nsaid. As soon as i could stand the pain i got off the nsaid and just let nature take its course (i also took fish oil and other stuff to try to build myself up).[/QUOTE]

Hi Smartie101.

I've just been reading some of your previous posts regarding getting off pred and I realised how much I feel the same about this medicine which make us more ill and dependant

His specialty is fighting inflammaton. And that is our enemy....must fight inflammation. I do not want a relapse so i am gonna do all the easy things for sure and try to ease into the harder like changing the way i eat. I take his fish oils - very expensive but very potent and very pure.. and very important. He just offered his autoship customers a free bottle of any of his other supplements. And he also has a great offer going now - buy a bottle of fish oil and a bottle of his polyphenols and you get three (count em, three) of his books free. I am reading them now - about the food plan. Makes sense to me.

Hey Agman,

I feel your frustration. I had to "retire" as a Cub Scout Den Leader because of the pain and unreliability of my body from day to day. I was only on Prednisone for a short time due to the side effects (high blood pressure being just one) but even while on the Pred I had the stiffness and the shortened range of motion in both arms and legs, just as a lesser degree with the Pred. When I would stand in one place or sit for longer than a few seconds my hips would be stiff. I tell my kids I have "tinman syndrome"!!

If I were you and wanted to keep working, I would get a cane. I am contemplating one myself. (34 yrs old, ha!) But I think it would help. If I understand your question, you are wondering if the Pred is causing any of your problems with range of motion. I'm not a Dr. but from my experience I think it is just the PMR changing and manifesting itself in different ways. I have gone from losing the use of one legs, both legs, both arms etc. all at different times, luckily never all at once. The things to worry about with Prednisone are many and varied. There is a forum specifically about that here that I found helpful. Whereas I cannot use the Pred, I take an occasional NSAID (not everyday because their effect diminishes for me quickly) and I also take alot of Fish Oil (3000mg) and Borage Oil (3000mg), I also recently experimented with cutting sugar and white bread out of my diet, Atkins style. Low carbing is supposed to reduce all kinds of inflammation. It's only been 5 days but I THINK I am feeling better. By the way the first 2 days of Atkins was a killer on top of the PMR pain, I wasn't sure which was worse, PMR or Sugar withdrawal!! :) Also the fact that you are losing weight is normal, you may have already known this. Unintentional weight loss with PMR is common. That was very weird for me, also overweight. I lost 7 lbs. in December while eating the common Decemberish diet consisting mainly of my neighbor's fudge and white chocolate covered pretzels.

Take care, I hope any of this helps.