DIY seems to be the only way to go with this.

[Ta1ch1]

Well did enjoy my 2-day respite, but now I am paying the piper.

Just when I thought my 12mg daily Pred was going to do the trick, I get unexpected pains in my right ankle which seem to radiate up as far as my hip. A few sleepless nights and morning doses of co-codamol on top of my Pred ( hopefully ) would have been enough to calm things down, but that didn't work. So as I am more or less left alone to manage this, I have upped my Pred to 13mg this morning and after a few hours, the pain is subsiding.

Finding a pattern with PMR in my case is difficult and I never know what part of my body will be affected next. The main shoulder/mid girdle areas are always affected, of course, it's these little extras that throw me.

Coping with this and finding what will work for me seems to be trial and error. I had started taking both co-codamol and naproxen in the morning, which did seem to help, but as naproxen is an NSAID I decided to leave that alone.

So it's back to the drawing board.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi Ta1ch1,

PMR seems to catch you unawares doesn’t it, but I would say if you think that’s what it is, always go for an extra mg or 2 rather than throw in another drug.

Of course, that’s always assuming it is PMR and not something else - and as we all know it’s not always easy to ascertain that!

Hope you’ve sorted it with going up to 13mg.

[Ta1ch1 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thanks, DorsetLady, the extra 1mg ( to 13mg ) and the co-codamol do seem to have dulled the pain to something similar to a sciatic buzz ( nerve tingle ). tomorrow I will stick to 13mg and leave off the co-codamol. As I say, this is a trial and error for me at the moment.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Ta1ch1]

Unfortunately, it seems to be trial and error for most of us throughout!

[SheffieldJane]

This new symptom warrants investigation I think. To me it doesn’t sound like a PMR manifestation, more like you’ve hurt yourself. In fact it reminds me of the sort of pain my husband experiences, probably because he does all the heavy work and lifting. You haven’t been digging your garden have you? When we trace back my husband and I can usually pinpoint how he’s hurt himself. Prednisalone weakens muscles, that could be a clue too.

[Ta1ch1]

Funilly enough I had been doing a little barrow work and filling a french drain over with soil. But as this had not included walking any great distance I had not considered that my ankle/leg could be injured by this exercise.

I'm straining to see a connection between taking the extra 1mg and the relief that would give me if the pain was PMR unrelated. I'm not very far into this journey and obviously have a lot to learn about the root causes etc.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Ta1ch1]

You are likely to injure yourself far more easily both because of the PMR and the pred. Like SJ I think this is more likely to be an add-on than the PMR itself. And it could be both - so a bit more pred helps because you were actually a bit on the low side.

[Telian in reply to Ta1ch1]

I agree with what's been said whilst it might not be PMR it could be a strain also - I had similar while gardening that affected my hip which became really painful and did not respond to painkillers, as I could not sleep for it went to see GP and he thinks it might be displaced disc but I hardly did anything! Am waiting for x-ray and in between it's started to improve a little but interesting what SJ & PMRpro says about injuring more easily....think there's something in that... All the best Ta1ch1.

[Hidden]

Bummer... it does seem so much Of this is "trial and error." Good luck back at the drawing board!

[Ta1ch1]

Oh well, back up to 15mg today and that's not enough to keep the pain at bay. Also, I noticed that a headache has returned, so win a little lose a little I guess. Going to stick with 15mgs a day for a month and see if that settles things down. At least the sun is shining.