Morning stiffness Osteoarthritis. ??

[Rocketronzy]

My question here is people on here and

With Osteoarthritis,are you very very stiff though

The night and waken up in pain with stiff arms legs wrists fingers toes 🤔.

Then after work out.

Am fine playing badminton, table tennis. 🧐

Thanks 🌹🌹

[PMRpro Ambassador]

That was my experience with PMR - though not as dramatic as you describe.

[SheffieldJane]

I went through severe pain in my knees that have been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis, pain, night and day. I have been totally helped by Pilates and a cream called Flexiseq. This cream has had an amazing relieving effect. I can only think it was briefly, severely inflamed and has now settled.

[Rocketronzy in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thanks for that Jane.

Sorry to here you’re problem.

That stuff sounds good.

The point I am trying to confirm

Is my problem is not osteoporosis.

It is pmr.

🧐🤔 probably both as I have a few knoblles on my fingers. But they won’t have it. (Doctors. ). As I can’t say I have bad owt. It’s just this severe stiffness.

Doctors no longer listening to patents. It’s all blood test.

And if it doesn’t show in the blood.

It’s not there Tuff 🧐

Anyone else think this is the trend?

Thanks for reeding.

🌹🌹

[SheffieldJane in reply to Rocketronzy]

I think doctors do like to have clinical confirmation, but that is not possible in 20% of PMR cases. I wish more of them knew that. The knobbly joints sounds like Rheumatoid Arthritis to me, it can present in a very similar way to PMR. Have you ever been tested for that?

[patriciawhite in reply to Rocketronzy]

Very much the trend ,they seem reluctant to take ownership of anything now ,I just see my doctors a middlemen passing the buck .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Rocketronzy]

I have Heberden's nodes on one finger joint - it doesn't necessarily mean it is OA but it often is. They are bony bumps:

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

The nodules that form in RA are different and form under the skin.

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

The damaged joints form differently too:

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

It is the damage that occurs in RA that make the use of methotrexate and the other DMARDs very important as they actually change the way the disease works and reduces the risk of these deformation which are less likely to form if the RA inflammation is well controlled.

[pollymarierose]

I also have OA. But, I've had it for years and did pretty well up until a couple of years ago. PMR is new to me. I read that there's morning stiffness but it eases up as we become more active. That's not the case with me. I wake up impossibly stiff. I wake up in pain usually. I rest awhile and start to move around a bit only to discover that the more I walk around the more stiff and painful I get. So, I wonder if it's a combination of both OA and PMR.

[Rocketronzy in reply to pollymarierose]

Mm I think you’re write.

Also my stiffness is in the muscles as well as joints.

But all the time I have been coming

Down off pred I have felt worse.

But they just want me off pred.

It’s a bugxxx

Am not going to win. 😬😢

[pollymarierose in reply to Rocketronzy]

But with our PMR friends, we'll stay in the race. Hang in there!

[Mrs-CJ in reply to pollymarierose]

I tried taking my prednisone in the evening and my morning stiffness disappeared. I think others have good results splitting their dose....some in am and some in pm. There are lots of postings about splitting doses. You need to experiment.....every body is different.

Once I got down below 5 mgs I moved my whole dose to breakfast to help get my adrenals to get to work again. (I have had mixed results with that).

[Blearyeyed]

Did you have you ANA / RA Factor checked as well as inflammatory markers when you had blood tests done?

Have you had any x-rays done recently of your knobbly joints ?

[Rocketronzy in reply to Blearyeyed]

Yes I have had an e Ray. Only nobles I know of is one on each 1st finger.

As for osteoarthritis I feel a bit of fraud at the moment.

[Christophene47]

Hi Rocketronzy,

In addition to PMR, ( which I pray is on its way out) , I have severe osteoarthritis, particularly in spine which refers pain to hips and legs. I am very stiff in the morning; it takes me about 3 hours to loosen up enough to start my day. So, yes; stiffness happens with osteoarthritis. Morning is when I relax with a light breakfast and watch a couple of european detective series, subtitled of course in English. Then I get going. I am retired so I have that luxury; not sure how I would manage if I was still working? Guess I would have to get up at 4 am or earlier. Good luck.

[Jean56]

PMR diagnosed 3 years ago. September last year pain in hips and lower spine came out of the blue. I didn’t know whether it was PMR flaring because I’d reduced too far with steroid dose or something else. Doctor sent me for an X-ray. Diagnosed OS in both hips and lower spine. I don’t take painkillers....yet. Mornings are bad, it eases slightly as the day goes on, what I have discovered is with me, if I have a couple of very sedentary days, ie don’t go out but just potter around the house the pain and stiffness in the morning gets worse. These are the deathly fatigue days. I do need to have a walk everyday to keep the joints mobile it helps the pain and stiffness enormously. Good luck

[patriciawhite]

I am the same I have PMR .. Rheumatoid and Osteo .amongt other stuff . Getting up in the morning is so difficult and painful ,It takes over an hour to unstiffen .Night time is painful and during the day too .I had x rays and that didnt show it so the Rheumatologist did scans on my hands and that showed it up .The doctor just laughed at my hands all swollen and red bruised looking and painful and said Oh dear it looks like you have punched a wall .It wasn't a wall I felt like punching I can assure you .X rays don't show everything So remember that . I didnt realise it .

[Rocketronzy in reply to patriciawhite]

Like your remark wasn’t the wall felt like punching. 🤣🤣🤣 we’ve got to keep our sense of humour up.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to patriciawhite]

Was he asking to be punched himself? Obviously needs some instruaction in patient relationships...

[Hellyowl]

I only have GCA. I am very stiff in the morning. Feet hurt in particular. I take pred about 7:30 by 11 it is easing by 3pm I can do a gym workout. I think it is a side effect of pred . especially being I on a slow reduction. Dr just says arthritis. But I think that is a get oug card. My mum had arthritis and she didn't get better in the afternoon. Exercise helps better than painkillers.

[Telian]

Do you have PMR? Sounds like you could have a mixture of OA as well.

With me the PMR was real stiffness which improved a couple of hours after getting up in the mornings. My OA was not as bad in comparison with stiffness but very very painful that didn't improve at all any time of day or night - I'm going back to 2002 pre PMR (2014) - had 10 surgeries over a 10 year period on the upper body - elbow/hands/wrists/fingers and shoulder. Surgery was a success each time.

Six weeks prior to diagnosis of GCA then PMR I had 3 consecutive days of severe painful stiffness that woke me early each day in the hips calves and shoulders, I had to roll myself out of bed as couldn't lay, it was like the pressure of laying was hitting nerves - Rheumy said it was the start of the AI. I found PMR much more debilitating generally than OA. I do have a high pain threshold so whether I'm conditioned to just one, the worst, pain I'm not sure. I find I have to keep moving gently to keep supple. That is more difficult with PMR as you have the fatigue as well. However I am a little older now so who knows what causes what - doctors don't always know. Monitor your symptoms and listen to your body - and tell your doctors exactly what's happening - keep a diary. You need the correct diagnosis for your trouble spots to know how to treat them effectively.

Physio hasn't helped me or my neck, had two whiplashes many years ago. I know my restrictions and have to keep to them or I'm in trouble. I do Tai ChI. I get that you can do some things like your badminton and table tennis, it's not affecting your troubled areas - yet! The fingers/toes problems could be something else? OA is localised to the affected joint problem. PMR affects the muscles.

Think you need to give your body a little TLC in terms of your activities and reintroduce gradually monitoring the effects of each - don't forget you're gripping the tennis and badminton racket/bats....I took effective pain killers for OA but none touched PMR - which only improves if you're on the correct dose of pred for your inflammation - and time of course as it goes into remission! PMR needs TLC otherwise it will rule you.

Do you see a Consultant for your OA? Mine was spot on with diagnosis in all my 10 ops.

Best Wishes.

[Rocketronzy in reply to Telian]

Wow thanks for all that information

Sounds like you have really been through the mill.

I wish you all the best for the future

Look after yourself.

🌹🌹

Ronzy.

[Telian in reply to Rocketronzy]

You too.