Pain increase

[SRIXON]

Hi. Im on 13mg pred at the moment noting I have been on various levels for well over 2 years. The last few days I have seen increased painnin my shoulders and upper arms especially my left arm where stretching out to take a mug from the cuboard is at best uncomfortable. Do i need to raise my pred . Col

[SheffieldJane]

Have you done a bit of detective work? Sometimes these pains are a muscle protest at some task you’ve done the day before and a rest day can sort it. Does it feel typical of your PMR?

If it doesn’t seem to have a physical cause and it feels like your PMR the a couple of mgs for a few days may nip a flare in the bud ( and then return to your usual dose). Hopefully you won’t have to increase long term and return to the last dose you were comfortable at.

[SRIXON in reply to SheffieldJane]

Yes it feels typical PMR

[PMRpro Ambassador]

If it feels like typical PMR then you probably do need a bit more.

Have you any signs of an infection (cold or something)? Have you used your arms more in the last few days as well? Have you recently reduced the dose? Depending on the answers to those question you might need just a mg or so or you might need more.

[SRIXON in reply to PMRpro]

No cold, no more than usual use of arms etc, beem on 13mg gor approx 6 weeks. Col x

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SRIXON]

If what you need is 13,5mg it might have taken that long for the inflammation to build up enough for you to notice ...