A newby to this community

[marciahiatt]

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with PMR a couple of months ago. I'd never heard of this painful affliction before and was surprised that something so painful (but not life threatening) seemed a dark secret. Apparently my inflammation reading was 102 and it would take about 5 mins just to get out of bed, limp to the toilet, then bravely limp to the couch. I've been on 20mg Prednisone now for two months and it's been a blessing. It was so heartening to find this fellow-sufferers community and I've learnt heaps about the whole PMR and GCA process. Are there any posts that focus on diet in particular. I'm worried about diabetes and/or osteoarthritis. Thank you for this site and good luck to all fellow sufferers.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi, and welcome,

Good to hear the Pred is working for you.

If you type in diets, or osteoarthritis in the Search filter at top right of screen you'll get a list of previous questions relating to them.

Pred can bring on pre-diabetes in some people, but not necessarily. If you stick to a normal healthy diet, avoiding refined carbs then unless you're already predisposed to it you'll probably be okay. If you are concerned then get it checked regularly with your surgery, or invest in a monitor- although if you're not diagnosed as diabetic you'll probably have to buy the test strips yourself.

I had osteoarthritis before GCA, and it doesn't make it any worse. Sometimes the pain is masked on higher doses of Pred, but that's about it.

If you have any specific questions then just ask.

[marciahiatt in reply to DorsetLady]

Many thanks for your reply. I'll watch the sugar and carbs intake. Wondering if a glass of wine with dinner is counterproductive. Just to make me feel sophisticated (hahaha).

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to marciahiatt]

Glass of wine is fine! You've got to have some perks!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to marciahiatt]

As I keep saying - if it isn't OK, I've had it...

[piglette in reply to marciahiatt]

Dear Marcia, a glass of wine with dinner is never counterproductive!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Though it may depend on the size of the glass - like with one of those that holds an entire bottle...

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

You need to drink wine out of a crystal glass. A good wine deserves it and a bad wine needs it!

[marciahiatt in reply to piglette]

Thank you Piglette. Definitely following this advice.

[1Purplecrow]

Hi, your concerns about prednisone are/were shared by most of us...and fortunately, most of us do not have the severe consequences listed in the drug literature.

if you browse thru the archives, you will find wonderful discussions and links to professional literature which may give you some relief. Just search diabetes, osteoarthritis, and diet and weight gain.

I was terrified about using prednisone, for the same reasons you list, and more !!.. after 4 years using Prednisone to treat my PMR, I do not have any of the negative side effects.

I do not minimize other's concerns, just saying...for me, the positive effects far outweighed the negative.

Kind regards, Jerri

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I've been on pred for 8 years - and no sign of diabetes at all. But I do eat a low carb diet - no processed carbs at all and no fruit. Lots of veg to make up. That also allowed me to lose 35lbs of PMR and pred-associated weight gain. I had had PMR for 5 years with no pred and gained weight due to not being able to exercise properly. I was at the gym 5 days a week, did an aquafit class every day which kept me reasonably mobile but didn't help the pain - nor the weight gain!

You'll find a lot of people on the forums eat low carb - and it does seem to help. Sugar and white carbs are also quite pro-inflammatory so good to avoid.