A man and his snow shovel (Part 2)

[MovingForward_Always]

Remember me?

Now at 3 weeks on prednisone 15mg. I feel so much better. Discomfort when it follows me is on such a different scale; I no longer wish for an out-of-body experience to get away from the pain and stiffness.

Having read all of your advice quite carefully, I had decided to accept my.. predicament. Slowed down; I haven't worked more than 3 days a week since I first wrote. Rest has been very helpful; denial... not so much. I have been putting 'pacing' into practice. I limited my holiday festivities. I left early when I felt I had to.

Have my first rheumatologist appointment on January 9th. See my GP again a week after that. I see all of you every day. I read your posts and feel like I am not all alone. The hardest part is getting support from family and friends; they look at me but do not understand how I feel.

Moving Forward

[Hidden]

That sounds much better and you are moving forward now. I think 2 years in my family...at least sisters...have got it now. I have always been very independent so they know if I am not being so independent then something wrong. The good news for me was that last year over Xmas I had to retire to bed at 8pm. Made it to past 10pm this time. Earlier than them but a positive for me. Keep moving forwards!)

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Sounds like an excellently learned lesson!! You are so right: acceptance and not denying where youa re are crucial. It leaves all that energy to get on with what you CAN do - which is actually quite a lot.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi MF_A,

So agree with your comment re friends and family. It because we look our normal selves, apart from a podgy face, and they don’t know what’s going on inside so assume all’s okay.

If you can get them interested enough you might like to show them attached, it may help them “get” your illness, or help you explain it better

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[daworm]

what I did for close family was to print out one of the many articles explaining PMR and also Prednisone side effects...helps somewhat...they still don't know especially when a person looks so normal but feels so crappy...wife knows though, thats what counts...she can tell immediately what kind of day I'm having just by looking at how I'm holding my hands or what my face looks like...I must look like crap some days!!! haha...the holidays finally caught up with me yesterday...bad day...but as usual, bad days are followed by good days...dont know why but thats how it works with me...feel good this morning..."it' seems to build for a few days, progressively getting worse till I crash, then it starts all over again...just how it seems to work with me...im trying to get under 15mg's to 12...going at it slow...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to daworm]

On bad days you tend to rest more - your body catches up and you have a good day, or at least a better day and you notice the contrast.

[Scotte]

From one 50-something Canadian Male to another... Dumb-A**... lol! It's tough but you gotta do it. Put the shovel away. We got our first snowfall early October. Having been diagnosed back in August I was feeling quite good and with shovel in hand, out I went to push around our champagne powder. It caused such flare that I damaged/irritated the nerves in my left arm so bad I had wrist drop and symptoms of carpal tunnel. An increase in Pred and some nerve flossing exercises brought me back in about 4 weeks.

Now when it snows I leave it alone... and pray for a Chinook!!!

Have a Happy (shovel free) New Year!!!

[MovingForward_Always in reply to Scotte]

So..... What are you saying? That I should shovel less? Increase my preds before shoveling? 😂

I gave my wife the equivalent of a doctor's note (wise quotes taken from replies here on the forum) and told her I had to be excused from my shoveling duties.

This has worked out ok.

😀

[Scotte in reply to MovingForward_Always]

My wife accepted my note also... Thank God... 😀... she accepted that quicker than when I used to ask for help to get off the porcelain throne .... Lol!

Being a former Montreal'er I can appreciate how much snow you are talking...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to MovingForward_Always]

My Canadian mates head for Central America - no snow there!