Just diagnosed

[Glenboy1]

Hi just got diagnosed with PMR and need to know how people have got on with the steroids. Thank you

[piglette]

They are a wonder drug.

[Rose54]

My little white pills are my happy pills

Reach for them first thing every morning thier the difference between Quality of life and being nearly bed bound and dependant on others .

Having a life is more important to me than any of the side effects .

So for me thier are worse things in life .

[Pollypuds in reply to Rose54]

Same here, hoping the gradual taper works but for now those little pills are my saviour!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Within 6 hours I was almost back to normal - certainly functional - on 15mg. They gave me my life back. Nothing would persuade me to give them up except no PMR symptoms!

I've had my share of adverse effects - but none that made me say no more pred and anyway, most pred adverse effects are manageable or avoidable when you know how.

[Hidden]

Hi Glenboy1

Have you taken your first dose yet?

Honestly in a day or so, maybe even less, you will feel so much better.

Pred has a bad press but they have their benefits. Tell us a little more about yourself, Dorset Lady will send you a link with lots of information for you to read.

Take Care & Welcome.

MrsN

[Glenboy1 in reply to Hidden]

Hi MrsN haven’t started yet as was a. It reluctant but all the positive feedback has encouraged me to start 😊

[Hidden in reply to Glenboy1]

I remember how l felt, holding them in my hand & saying ‘Here Goes’ there are not many treatments that make such an impact so quickly!

Pred has a bit of a bad press but for us it’s a game changer!

Good Luck 🍀

Keep in Touch

MrsN

[Glenboy1 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you 😊

[OutdoorsyGal]

With a PMR starting dose of 15 mg, I was painfree almost right away. (GCA has a much higher initial starting dose, but PMR sufferers are “lucky”.)

After 3 weeks at 15, I spent a month at 10 and then dropped 1 mg per month til “done” by January 1st. A fairly fast taper by this group’s standards, but pretty standard according to my American physician, an internist, not a rheumatologist.

I was painfree at the end, but (new?) aches and pains are occurring since, and will need sorting out, but are mostly responsive to NSAIDs, so hopefully not PMR.

As for side effects, I had almost none. I watched my appetite carefully to avoid weight gain, filling up on herb tea when I “felt peckish.” No moonface, no buffalo hump or hair growth in odd places, but I did experience some major shedding as I dipped below 5 mg. Seems to have stopped now and new hairs growing in. My OH says I was pretty cranky (‘roid rage?), but our marriage has survived. I was able to continue almost all my previous activities, though maybe not at the same level of intensity (skied more blues than black diamonds this year). And I was complimented on my appearance - the plumping effect smooths wrinkles and I had a rosy glow.

All in all, I rather LIKED taking prednisone, though I was very wary of it at first. It certainly did the trick for PMR stiffness and pain. I maybe should have tapered more slowly, as low doses don’t harm you, and they do keep inflammation at bay. I didn’t have to take any NSAIDs for the entire time. The pred even masked the pain of my previously injured shoulder.

You’ll do fine. Welcome to the club!

[Glenboy1 in reply to OutdoorsyGal]

Thank you so much for all the info. Feel better now about taking it 👍🏼

[Soraya_PMR in reply to OutdoorsyGal]

Could I just point out that you won’t get ‘Roid Rage’ from prednisolone! Pred is a glucocorticoid. Anabolic steroids (used for body building) are made of testosterone and similar and build muscle and reduce fat to ‘improve performance’. It’s the anabolics that cause Roid Rage (in theory, but that’s possibly over-hyped and IMO could likely be due to co-occurring polysubstance abuse.)

There are some posts of people on pred feeling ‘cranky’ (hyperactive maybe at higher doses, some anxiety, tearfulness, mood swings at the lower doses) and corticosteroid psychosis is a recognised side effect (approx 5%) But Roid Rage? No!

[OutdoorsyGal in reply to Soraya_PMR]

Sorry about the misnomer, but I WAS raging for awhile on prednisone.

According to my spouse...I was oblivious.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to OutdoorsyGal]

I raged with PMR/no pred. Pred gets the blame for a lot of things and it may not be true!!

[PMRCanada in reply to OutdoorsyGal]

I had frequent moods swings at higher doses, and now at 8.5mg I find myself intensely emotional at times (however this could also be attributed to menopause and drama that’s occurring).

[Emerlad_70]

Brilliant to feel nearly back to normal since starting them

[Glenboy1 in reply to Emerlad_70]

Thank you 😊

[alangg]

Wonder drug for pmr. I'm 61 and have been slowly tapering from 15mg since diagnosed16 months ago. Instant relief and, for me, no side effects at all. Good luck!

[daworm]

I was dead set against taking pred when diagnosed...terrified of all the stuff I read about it..”the devils tic-tac’s...but now over a year and a half...”meh” as they say...I developed some of the side effects, nothing serious, wouldn’t go through PMR with out it...I started at 20 now “trying” to hold at 5 1/2...don’t expect a miracle I still have off days and stiffness but I shudder to think what it would be like without it..Dr. Has quarterly blood work for liver, etc..all’s fine and my inflammation is down...thanks to the pred...my advise is be as active as you can but having a bad day, lay around!! Also I still drink coffee, still have a beer once in awhile, have no stomach problems..

[Glenboy1 in reply to daworm]

Thanks for that daworm 😊