Inactive lymph nodes? Mine don't seem to be working could that be PMR related?

[Loco99]

Last week I had a very nasty suspected infected insect bite on my face which became very swollen and alarmed my GP so much he sent me to a specialist ENT to get it drained. The ENT sent me for an ultrasound which ruled out a dental or bone abscess but showed that the lymph glands in my neck had not reacted at all to the infection. I am now on heavy duty antibiotics and the lump has drained naturally. I just wondered if the lack of reaction from my lymph nodes could be PMR related?

I am now down to 4mg of Medrol and have very little PMR pain but feel constantly exhausted.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

PMR is almost certainly due to an underlying autoimmune disorder that makes the immune system go haywire. How your immune system reacts otherwise isn't entirely clear. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system reaction to infection. Taking pred also affects the immune system - suppressing its activity to try to reduce the activity that is causing (in this case) the PMR.

I was switched from prednisolone to Medrol for about 9 months - and it was awful! I put on vast amounts of weight, suffered dreadfully from fluid retention and felt rubbish. I was given an antibiotic that shouldn't be used together with Medrol and it caused an achilles tendon problem that put me on crutches for 9 months. Those reactions were, of course, quite extreme and I was on 20mg which still didn't give me much relief, but once I was put on a new form of prednisone (that's 3 different substances we're talking about) I'm on a far lower dose, have steadily improved and now feel pretty much back to normal. After the switch of medication I also had manual lymph drainage where the lymphatic system is stimulated and encouraged to do its job - and the effect that had did suggest my lymphatic system wasn't really working particularly well. I, on the other hand, have never had any trouble with infections of any sort whilst on pred.

It's an interesting question.