Shopping with PMR (and GCA)

[Jane-s]

Let me tell you about today. Up at 6.0 a.m steroids(17.5) ,all other meds, cup of tea , breakfast ,shower , wash hair,, into car off to Sainsbury’s. Feeling OK,! Christmas Eve rush ;sold out of brandy cream and Trifle sponges!

Cheese counter, then it came ,Pain! All round hips. Suddenly I’m an old woman, At the check -out a kind assistant said” Your shoe lace is undone”

“Can’t reach “ said I. Kind Assistant did it up for me .

Home . Wonderful neighbour helped me unload shopping. Now Paracetamol and a cup of tea . Next to walk Martha, my little dog.

Looking forward to the rest of Christmas. Have a wonderful time , all of you!

A small question. Should I control pain with Paracetamol or increase steroids?

[SnazzyD]

Hello. An eventful Christmas already! Re pain, if it is PMR, it is likely Paracetamol won’t be the answer. Having read your previous posts it could be all sorts from development of arthritis to sacral misalignment, unhappy ligaments from long term Pred aggravated by Pilates to name just one, the list could go on. Have you tried Paracetamol? If so, how successful is it? Do you get a good part of the day before it gets worse again?

Re Pilates etc. I had all these ideas about what I was going to do to get my body back into shape but I’m finding I’m having to train at home to be fit enough to get through the door for any of it. Just because it’s a good thing doesn’t mean to say you’re ready. All I do is try to make sure I try to achieve full range of motion of all my bits and I’m still not there yet.

[SheffieldJane]

Oh dear! You can control the pain by delegating Christmas to someone else and resting this out. Snazzy has given you the full reply. Take care! Recognise the shoelace incident. 🤶

[Hidden]

Oh Dear Jane, just when you were getting along nicely! Rest, Take It Easy!

All The Best for Christmas & 2020 🎄🥂

[Blearyeyed]

Paracetamol first , if you aren't sure if it is all PMR .

Warm bottle of heat pad , some joint lotion if you have any , and some rest .

If it worsens and is PMR and increase possibly . But try and rest and let the elves do the work instead , that may be the best medicine

Have a lovely Christmas , just take your time over it , take care x

[Jane-s in reply to Blearyeyed]

Hanks for all your helpful idea s. I felt so well until the trolley pushing in Sainsbury’s. Maybe I should have shopped on line!

L

[Blearyeyed in reply to Jane-s]

Next year! Sometimes if I do go to the Supermarket the trolley is the only thing keeping me up. Have a good Christmas and put your feet up after that trip xx

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Jane-s]

And then it would have arrived at the last minute minus some essentials. Like a turkey ...

[SnazzyD in reply to PMRpro]

Been there done that with Xmas essentials and a few years ago the bird was so off that we just lobbed it out of the back door on Christmas Day. The veg was nice though. The supermarket refunded my whole shop.

[Yellowbluebell in reply to PMRpro]

Mine came last night minus christmas puddings!!! I had even changed the order to accommodate another variety of pudding being out of stock!!

[SnazzyD in reply to Jane-s]

Shopping trolleys are awful for the lower back, particularly the sacral area. As one turns, usually with feet stuck to floor all the twisting under resistance goes through the knees and pelvis and back. If the core and pelvic floor muscles are like a tired string bag like many of us, the effects are amplified. Delivery can be just as dicey. Yesterday the delivery came and for some reason I picked up a crate to lift it up on to a surface while the driver went out for another one. Today I have a few ‘calling cards’ to put up with 🙄

[HeronNS in reply to SnazzyD]

I always use the smaller trolleys they supply now (we call them carts). Much easier to use and I seldom need as much space as the big ones allow. One day recently I used a big one and was quite surprised how much harder it was to push and turn than the little one. And I have just discovered, to my chagrin, that one of our larger chains is in the process of introducing "smart" shopping carts. Good grief. So you pick up a packet of spaghetti and the cart recommends a sauce you might like to go with it. How irritating. It also scans the item so at the end you just pay and leave, there will go possibly the only conversation I will have with another human being besides hubby all day.

[Hidden in reply to HeronNS]

My darling husband uses the Smart Hand Held Devise so he doesn’t have to queue to pay. I don’t think he’d like anyone recommending a sauce to go with his pasta 🍝 if it’s not on his list........

[HeronNS in reply to Hidden]

I have so far stood my ground regarding getting a smart phone. Pretty much said when I find I need a mobile phone for something important at least once a week then I'll reconsider. So far, nothing near that. Maybe every couple of months I'll think, this would be a good time to have a phone. It's really expensive here. Probably most plans are something like $80 a month, and I can think of far better uses for that amount of money!

[SnazzyD in reply to HeronNS]

Sounds like hell

[HeronNS in reply to SnazzyD]

Why?

[SnazzyD in reply to HeronNS]

A cart that talks back and tries to second guess my purpose plus being the sum total of human contact.

[HeronNS in reply to SnazzyD]

Oh yes, I agree. I thought you might be referring to my smart-phone denial! A smart cart is way beyond my comfort zone. Fortunately we live in the boonies, geographically speaking, so they won't be "rolling" them out here any time soon. Maybe they'll still have old style carts for ancient folk like me?

[Yellowbluebell in reply to Blearyeyed]

I have packed my electic water bottle!!

[HeronNS]

What the others said. As pred is not a painkiller as such I would definitely go with something which would have a more immediate action and chalk it up to experience. From now on you will remember "pacing" even at the height of Christmas prep! I hope you are feeling much better after a rest?

A detail. You mentioned taking "all other meds" at the same time as pred. Have you checked for interactions?

[Jane-s]

I have to confess I never checked for drug interactions. Most are to counteract the negative effects os Prednisolone

I’m trying to have a bit of a rest before I gather up all the presents and stuff and head off to daughter and family.

Not sure about ‘pacing’. Is it probably being sensible with activities!?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Jane-s]

Just for starters: calcium and pred should be taken at least 2 hours apart and you shouldn't take more than 600mg of calcium at a time - so one large tablet is not a good choice.

[Whitner in reply to PMRpro]

PMRpro why should calcium and prednisone be taken 2 hours apart?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Whitner]

Because they interfere with each other: pred reduces the amount of calcium absorbed (a systemic effect I think) but calcium taken at the same time mixes itself around the pred tablets and makes it harder for them to be broken down.

[Whitner in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro I’ll separate them!

[HeronNS in reply to Jane-s]

Pacing is " being sensible with activities". In earlier more vulnerable days I got quite good at allowing myself at least as much down time after an activity as the activity itself. I also discovered that even the most pleasant and relaxing activity, such as coffee with friends, tired me out, and I needed alone time to recover, just as if I'd made a trip to buy groceries! Strange, but there it is. Do look up The Spoon Theory. Good little metaphor for how we need to live.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Jane-s]

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk......

gives useful links about pacing and living with chronic illness.

[Jane-s]

And so will I!