OA symptoms back

[Gaijin]

I was never formally diagnosed with OA , only in my thumbs, but had assumed that the pain in most of my joints at night, especially , was due to OA.I used to get episodes of pain in my fingers , elbows, back, ankles..even rib cage when the weather changed but had not felt it since I started having PMR symptoms.

I am now having the first episode since.It started with my hands and now practically my whole body is sore.Obviously I can't taper right now .

I'm wondering if what I had before was not OA but something else that was controlled by higher dosis of Prednisone. The only other thing that has changed is the weather, finally it's cooled down here, and also that I've eaten gluten during this past four day weekend when I went to the coast and had all my meals out..it was either starve or eat gluten.

I posted a couple of weeks ago that I had the flu, I think it was only a common cold plus this body pain that has got worse.

[SheffieldJane]

Hi Gaijin, I think you have accurately diagnosed this latest thing yourself. Some doctors say that Pred. Improves everything, usually to convince you that you don't have PMR, but perhaps it does improve OS but they don't prescribe it because it is not finite and on balance steroids do more harm Long term. Gluten makes me feel horribly bloated these days, so perhaps I have developed sensitivity too now. My pain seems worse in wet weather, PMR does seem to be helped by heat. I am not surprised that you are left with pain following the cold virus. Every virus takes a much greater toll on us with an autoimmune disease. Do all you can to build yourself up naturally. Nice to hear from you, even though it's not great news.

Lower doses of Pred do let old pains poke through again.😟

[Gaijin in reply to SheffieldJane]

Hi Jane, I have a theory that when you retain water, the swollen tissue presses against the joints or nerves and causes more pain.In the US, one of the treatments for a pinched nerve is diuretics.No one believes me here , in this country, of course😣

I'm not too worried about the pain itself, as it really isn't that debilitating...nothing like PMR, but it will retard the tapering.

I think when you don't eat any gluten for a while, when you do eat it again, it affects you regardless of an intolerance or not.I had my gallbladder removed ( wish I hadn't been talked into it) ..I do fine with fat but not with grains and legumes.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Gaijin]

The diuretics idea makes sense to me, I like it - simple mechanics or plumbing rather.

Oddly I nearly had my gallbladder removed after excruciating lower rib pain. I was spared by the surgeon at the very last moment, I'd had the pre- med. I could have kissed him. I was a young woman, there has been no trouble since. I think I'd pulled a muscle because I didn't drive and would carry loads of shopping home, and the pushchair on the bus etc. I would have had a totally unnecessary, life changing operation. Nobody discussed the ins and outs of it. Shocking really!

I am just chatting now aren't I ?

So tired today, my Fitbit is glaring at me as I watch a movie. 😴 All the best! Jane x

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Surely you could have had gluten-free meals if you had asked - any self-respecting chef knows about it these days and a good restaurant will always adjust a bit.

But I'd say you know why you hurt - lots of small factor are enough to make a difference and you probably also did a lot more than usual.

[Gaijin in reply to PMRpro]

You wouldn't believe just how behind they are on the current guidelines to healthy eating..The area of Spain we were in, Castellón,Is very depressed, full of entire neighborhoods and resorts that have been repossessed , it has never had a good reputation for it's cuisine. I would never have chosen to go there myself, I was accompanying my divorced son and his two kids.

I didn't feel too stressed out, although on the drive, OH was sitting between the two car seats, back seat driving the whole time😲

I thought I had that under control..evidently not.

I've heard people on the forums talk about sore fingers as related to PMR..is it ?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Gaijin]

My hands hurt yes. Especially when I have been using them and the bases of my thumbs are worst.

[Gaijin in reply to PMRpro]

I didn't realize that ...kind of like DOMS, I guess.I did some origami to try and keep not-so-well-behaved gkids entertained.😎

[Amkoffee]

Your story sounds just exactly like mine. I don't know what other symptoms you may have that you don't recognize a symptoms but it is possible your joint pain is from something else yet discovered. Like you I have arthritis in my thumbs which is miserable but I also started having pains in more of my joints. My ankles, my feet, my knees, my elbows an my whole hand not just my thumbs.

For example, recently I realized that joint pain is a symptom of Sjogren's syndrome and I also have dry eyes and dry mouth which are also symptoms so I'm getting tested today to see if that's what I have. Maybe something like that. My rheumatologist said that PMR can affect the hands but it does not affect the ankles of the feet or the legs. So I had to start looking elsewhere. And of course anytime you take prednisone it can reduce swelling through your body that even could be caused from something else. You might try Googling joint pain and see what you come up with. There are a lot of things that can cause joint pain that are not OA.

[Gaijin in reply to Amkoffee]

I too have dry eyes, been told it's blepharitis but the treatment doesn't do a thing... Only cortisone drops but those, on top of the pred are surely to precipitate cataracts to form.

I also have dry mouth.I thought they were maybe a side effect of pred.

I will research the symptoms further..thank you, Amkoffee, will let you know if I come up with anything interesting.

[Amkoffee in reply to Gaijin]

Please do let me know. I'm going in an hour to get my lip biopsy to see if I have it. I had the blood test done several months ago and it was negative but it's not a sure deal with the blood test. If you test negative you still can have it.

[Gaijin in reply to Amkoffee]

Hope you got some answers today, Amkoffee..

[Amkoffee in reply to Gaijin]

You know I was not able to have it done because I'm on blood thinners. The gal scheduling me never mentioned it and I did not think about it when I scheduled my appointment. It was right before the ENT was ready to numb my lip and he asked me if I was on any blood thinners and I had to say yes and he absolutely would not do it until I could get off of them for a week. Unfortunately my doctor will not let me get off of the blood thinners until December because it'll have been a year since my TIA. So I've rescheduled my lip biopsy for December 8th.

[Gaijin in reply to Amkoffee]

Well, that sounds pretty reasonable..Dec.will come around in no time..I have to wait until the end of January to see my rheumi.

I wonder if Sjogrens is treated with Prednisone, in which case a month or two wont make a difference. Most people have to wait years for a diagnosis of that disease..

Hope you aren't too uncomfortable, in the meantime, I really hate having such dry eyes that don't ever feel lubricated..Im spraying this new stuff on them, on the outside, all day but no relief.

[Amkoffee in reply to Gaijin]

Many people including my eye doctor recommend using a hot rice bag on your eyes a couple of times a day. What this does is loosen up the oils that your eye produces allowing it to more easily excrete from the glands. You can also use a heating pad if you don't have a rice bag.

[Gaijin in reply to Amkoffee]

I remember reading that once, but since I didn't have the problem then, I had forgotten about it. Thank you, I'm definitely going to buy a rice bag tomorrow.

[Amkoffee in reply to Gaijin]

I hope it works for you.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Amkoffee]

PMR DOES affect the feet sometimes - the research group at Leeds looked at it.

[Gaijin in reply to PMRpro]

I find that OA appears in joints that I have damaged through injury..I have fallen several times on to my back and flat on my face, when I hurt a shoulder, and that shoulder is now painful when the weather changes or if I lie on it, now and have pain in my pelvic area when I get up after sitting or in the morning when I get up ... weather change affects it tremendously... used to think it was an old wives' tale when my grandmother use to say that.

But all the fingers being sore is new to me.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Gaijin]

OA does like pre-existing injuries. But do get it checked if you can - it might not be OA.

[Gaijin in reply to PMRpro]

I will, probably next year...I do miss being able to see a specialist whenever I felt like it... Hadn't realized it takes so long to get an appointment.My rheumi whom I haven't seen since June, "fast tracked" my next appointment but the office that gives out the appointments gave me one for February 2018..rheumi is probably waiting for me to Join the tociluzumab study ..I may be in remission by them...just kidding.