Major surgery & increasing Pred

[magmapearl3]

I haven't posted for a while as I have been successfully reducing . I was down to 2 mg daily when I was stunned by a diagnosis of a tumour on the colon. I am due to have surgery soon and wondered if I should increase the dose and by how much ? I seem to be having a return of some PMR symptoms although only mild pain in the butttocks/hips area and slight stiffness. I'm not sure if this is due to the stress of coping with the diagnosis and all the medical tests involved i.e. colonoscopy, CT scan etc. as I seemed to be reducing ok with only slight discomfort. Your advice would be appreciated . Many thanks.

[nevagivup]

Talk to your surgeon and anaesthetist and tell them you need increased Pred. They will know how much to give you because you have been on corticosteroids. Major surgery impacts on your adrenal abilities. I wish you best of luck and a return to health soon.

[Hidden]

Hello Magmapearl3. Wishing you all the best with your operation, mine went well two years ago for colon cancer.

You have coped so well with PMR/GCA. Trust your positive approach will see you through.

Operations are over relatively quickly. Be careful what you eat for a while though! My appetite caused some discomfort.

[SheffieldJane]

What a blow magmapearl! It must be so stressful on every level. I agree with the advice to consult your doctors, they need to know what's going on with you. I wish you well for your operation and subsequent full recovery.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Discuss it with your surgeon and at your pre-op work up - they will almost certainly provide short term cover during the procedure but that is something up to the individual surgeon/anaesthetist. Make sure it has been put in writing on your notes - so they can't say they didn't know! And tell everybody in the medical team at the hospital - once too often is better than once too few.

The stress of coping with a diagnosis like this is likely to do no good for your PMR so it might be worth upping your dose a bit to see if it helps.

And all the very best - if it isn't one thing it is another. This getting older business is not for the faint-hearted!!!!!

[magmapearl3]

Thank you everyone so much for your positive, encouraging and informative replies! As usual this site is the best support network ever invented ! xx