Hello
My inflammatory markers in my blood are nice and low. I've been suffering from PMR since 11/2013.
I am now on 12.5 mg having got down to 1mg after a year and had a flare.
The problem I've got is bilateral soreness of the muscles / tendons above the inner ankle. And on the front of my shins.
This isn't a typical place for us I lnow. Anyone else had something similar to this?
I had very sore shins and they are still a bit more delicate that I feel they should be - if you see what I mean. I know other people with sore shins too.
You haven't been on antibiotics recently have you? Pred and quinolones do not mix well - each can cause achilles problems, together it is worse.
Hmmm - down to 1mg in a year is a bit on the fast side! Don't make the same mistake again!
Hi thanks for taking the trouble to respond. I do appreciate it. No I haven't had anti biotics. I had the bad cough doing the rounds before Christmas which went on for 5 weeks but I resisted going to the dr's. I'm not sure that was the right decision and maybe I should have upped the steroids.
The shins and ankles thing was something I noticed when I had Bowen therapy - when she held my feet or ankles I squealed! She did comment about it at the time but I didn't really realise it wasn't normal!
If you have an infection don't ever reduce - if anything up the dose but even that isn't always necessary. Never mind - you will get there again. Just be a bit gentler at the end next time. About a quarter of patients get off pred in a year or so - but they are at a higher risk of a relapse at a later point.
The chances are though that you will be able to reduce quite well providing you do it in small bites - though I suspect you don't really know where you were fine since you went so fast.
I started off Pred at 40mgand dropped relatively slowly ( or so it seemed). Then I had surgery on a foot last July when I had been on Pred for 9 months. I think then I was on about 8.
When I was on 5mg I started going to a gentle stretch class. I was coming home and having to take pain killers for 24 hours after. Not thinking it was the PMR ( idiot me).
Chatted to Dr. He said after one year when we both thought I was doing really well that we would manage the PMR clinically. I was to increase until symptoms subsided. That was 15.
Levering down again. 14 at end of Dec. 13 in Jan.
Yesterday I went to 12.5.
Last night I developed a headache on left temple like no other ended up last night at out of hours at 11pm with blood tests. I was afraid I might be developing GCA.
Bloods are back. ESR 2 CRP 3.7.
But lower legs bad and I don't feel great.
So on we go !!
If that headache continues or you get any visual symptoms at all go back - the same as in PMR, about 1 in 5 of patients with GCA do not have raised ESR or CRP or it rises long after the symptoms start. There are rheumies who will argue - but I know enough people with both with normal ESR/CRP to believe the papers in the literature that say it happens!
Thanks for that tip. That's useful. I love this site. So good we can help each other out. J.
Is it worse with activity? I get shin splints when I have overdone it, recently walked 6 miles round London and had shin splints for 4 days. Rest and ice helps. As I have been finding out normal bloods do not mean no GCA, might be unusual but patients do present with normal bloods, although A&E Drs seem oblivious to this. Hope it settles soon. Runrig x
Thanks so much for your reply. Yes activity does worsen it I think. And yet I'm worried by doing too little and getting stiffer. I thought the stretch and flex half hour class at our health club - a sort of mash up of Pilates and yoga would be ok but I can be quite challenged by it for at least a fat afterwards.
It's hard to know how to manage it all.
Hello, that is exactly the same symptoms I experience when I get a flare it then spreads to my shoulders but always the legs first! Absolute agony. I dropped to 12.5mg prednisilone successfully but after a couple of days at 10mg the burns returned. I am now on the 3rd day of 20mg and it is 1% lurking! I tried Hatha-Yoga at the same time as I dropped to 10mg and wondered if it was too much too soon! It is a horrid set back and I will be monitoring the reducing programme more carefully this time. I was diagnosed 22nd December 2014 so still a very new subscriber to this group. I Find it so reassuring to know I am not alone. Thank you for everyone's support.
Yes I have been like this for 2 weeks ,my lower leg is inflamed and I thought I had a return of Phlebitus but I have reduced my pred down to 9mg so i donpt know if it is a flare up Dr gave me antibiotics and said I had fluid in my leg I am seeing him again this afternoon
Hi, Thanks for that info on your symptoms. I am seeing a Dr next week , about my feet (post op last year), and I am going to mention it to him and see what he says. I will post if I get any new news.
Not sure what to do now 
Update “not sure if it is PMR“
Not sure if I am happy...
