Steroid injections

[bunnymom]

I have been dealing with a sore shoulder and arm pain on one side for 3 months. Was diagnosed by dr as tendonitis. But as I was seeing no improvement I went to an ortho dr this week who disagreed with what I had been previously been told. He suspects that it is PMR although he hasn't seen it much. He gave me a steroid injection without much hope that it would help just to rule things out. I am to have an mri to look for a pinched nerve this week. BUT the pain is now gone except for the injection site. Has anyone managed their PMR with injections along with the Preds? Seems possible that reductions might be smoother. Thanks all for your kind help with this baffling disease,

[suzy1959]

Well, my lovely Rheumy has just recently given me 2 phials of liquid steroids to be injected if/when I have a flare so that i don't have to change my oral Pred. dosage and I don't have to go and see him, my practice nurse can do it. I have often had steroid injections as well as the oral dose, most often because the OA in my knees has been really painful and it helps a lot. I think there is a lot of interaction between the OA pain and the inflammation of PMR as they seem to go together for me. i.e. when .i have a flare of PMR, the knees flare up too.

[bunnymom in reply to suzy1959]

Thank you for the encouragement. Not sure how to explain it but it seems to be working.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

PMR can be managed with i.m. depot Medrol injections alone rather than oral pred. It is mentioned in the most recent international recommendations for the management of PMR. Shoulder bursitis is also a common part of PMR.

rheumatology.org/Portals/0/...

Recommendation 5 on page 7.

[bunnymom in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for the current info. I am trusting drs here less and less and am ready to be referred to the teaching hospital nearby

They really don't have much background.

[Annodomini]

Pred tends to weaken tendons and I had very painful tendonitis in my right shoulder and biceps. My GP gave me a cortico-steroid injection into the shoulder and I've never looked back in almost two years. It wasn't a flare from the PMR itself but a side effect from the prednisolone, so I would be surprised if an injection into a specific joint would deal with a flare.

[bunnymom]

My situation sounds like yours

Thanks for replying.