Is this a Pred side effect??

[Croft9232]

I have a niggling pain in my sternum area when stretching/ reaching and bending forward.Is this a side effect of taking pred ? I currently take 9 mg Dx May 19.

Also thinking maybe Indigestion? however it is there it seems all the time.

I take also Vit D, 1 mg Oestrogen, and Pregablin for chronic Sciatica.

Any thoughts welcome thanks.

Margaret.

[SnazzyD]

There is something called costochondritis that a number of people have complained of here.

Have a read of this to see if it fits

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Or it could be due to acid reflux, which could be due to the pred causing irritation - I imagine you are taking 1x5mg plus 4x1mg tablets? That did cause me to feel as if a rodent was having a nibble! Strangely 3x1mg was OK!

[HeronNS]

I had that for a long time. First doctor said I'd dislocated a rib owing to how it came on, but as time went by it settled in and became chronic. This occurred roughly four months before I became aware of symptoms which eventually turned out to be PMR. I'd say within the past year, now nearly six years since the initial pain and discomfort, this issue has finally resolved, and, I would cautiously add, apparently as PMR itself seems to be packing its bags to leave. But I'm not holding my breath for that!

[SheffieldJane]

I agree with Snazzy, a number of us have experienced Sternum pain, at one point I couldn’t even bear my bra and I had to replace them all with soft bralets. This was when I was somewhere between 15 and 10 mgs. That resolved itself. Being prone to indigestion seems to have settled into a chronic symptom, I am at 4 mgs now and take Pred with live yoghurt and some Kefir and take over the counter remedies and watch my intake of triggering acidic or spicey food. Have it checked out though, just in case. Omeprazole didn’t seem to suit me.

[Lochy]

Like others here I have also suffered from sternum pain but it appears to have settled in recent months. It started in first few months of officially having PMR (3.5 years ago) and at times I thought I had heart problems. It was a sharp pain which hurt on breathing and at times travelled up my throat. I often assumed it was heart burn something I’d never suffered from before. The sternum pain was intermittent but would last for a few weeks and I often had pain in my right shoulder blade (always the right side)

Now I’m hovering between 9/10 mg it has all subsided so I have assumed it’s steroid related. Anytime I ever mentioned it to my GP or rheumatologist it was never picked up on or discussed, I’ve learned most about it from the knowledgeable people on this site.

[Croft9232]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I reduced to 8 and a half mg today after a very mini flare when going from 9 to 8 mg ,pain in hands,wrists and shoulders with stiffness. Lets see.........

[Ronnie101]

I was just about to post about the same thing. Started about 2 months ago when doing some gardening. Diagnosed as inflammation of the tendons between the ribs, possibly due to the PMR. I'm on 10 mgs prednisolone.

Having recently consulted dr Google, I thought it might be costchondritis. I've had reflux for years and I'm pretty sure it's not that in my case.

There seems to be no way of relieving it.

[Canary77]

do you take anything for indigestion? I have always taken omneprazolle with my pred. to counteract indigestion and still sometimes get extreme pain in this area but independent of any stretching etc. I suppose you should really check it out. Good luck.

[Croft9232]

No nothing as yet, decided today it is definitely indigestion, so reluctant to ask GP for another med. thinking side effects?.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Croft9232]

But WHY is it indigestion - it does need to be checked out.

[Croft9232]

All my Pred is uncoated 5mg and 1 mgs..I take them with thick yogurt around 2-3 am.and water would it be the Pred giving me the indigestion?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Croft9232]

It COULD be - but it could be a lot of things if you didn't have a problem at higher doses.

[Croft9232]

Thanks, as always much appreciated advice .