Tapering again.

[Seraphina56]

Hello to all you lovely people who have helped me over the last week. Things have now progressed further and this morning I noticed a rash where the pain had been. A visit to the doctor confirmed my suspicion of shingles. So I think I did have a PMR flare but I now also have shingles. Life is such fun isn’t it.

Getting the GP Appt was interesting. They open at 8, I rang at a minute to 8 to be told they were closed then at the stroke of 8, to be told I was number 15 in the queue. When I finally got through I knew I’d have to present a really convincing case to get a same day Appt. When I got one for 11 today, it felt like winning the lottery. Hurrrah!

Not sure the best way to manage the pred, which I’d increased from 8 to 13 this week to deal with the flare, now that I’ve got the shingles and I’m on Acyclovir, so any suggestions gratefully received.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Since one needs the antiviral medication within the first 48 hours after the first rash appears I'd classify the need for an appointment as an emergency - and when you ask for an emergency appointment it must be the same day!

You could try dropping the dose back to where you were since it is under a week and see how you go. The pred will probably help relieve some of the symptoms so it depends how important being under 10mg is to you!

[Thelmarina]

Hi - your practice should offer an online service, and same day appointments are usually loaded early in the morning. Just a thought for the future. Also GP+ appointments are worth asking for if you’re told nothing is available. You may not see your own doctor but sometimes that doesn’t matter! Hope all goes well 🌺

[Seraphina56 in reply to Thelmarina]

Thank you Thelmarina. My practice says for a same day Appt you have to ring up at 8am. Otherwise, in the past, because we haven’t got through on the phone at all, my husband would go there in person and wait in a queue. As for doctors, I’ve long since stopped expecting to see or speak to anyone I know. The two phone calls in the last week and yesterday’s visit, were all with different people I’d never met.

The doctor I saw yesterday, despite the Appt, saw me half an hour late and was in so much of a hurry, I couldn’t get through a sentence of explanation without interruption.

I can’t help feeling that had I been examined by a doctor last week when this first started instead of speaking down a phone line, that the shingles might have been picked up then and I may not have increased the pred. Hey ho. It seems to be par for the course these days. My PMR monitoring over the last two years has consisted of this: I get a letter telling me to ring the surgery to make a phone consultation Appt. I do this and wait two weeks for a phone call. The doctor says ‘are you okay?’, I say ‘yes’, he says ‘okay, carry on then, bye ’.

When I get back on an even keel again I may contact the practice manager to suggest I could help them out writing an info leaflet and getting some better monitoring in place.

[Thelmarina in reply to Seraphina56]

That’s very interesting. I’m chair of our Patient Participation Group, every practice has to have one by law. When you have the energy (!) it would be good to find out about yours and give them feedback. Online services are very much part of the NHS reforms, the NHS has produced an online service which enables practices to offer appointments, repeat prescriptions and access to your medical records if you wish for it. Emis (Patient Access) provides the same service. There’s no practical reason why your practice can’t upload on day appointments. Maybe there’s a more efficient practice where you’re based? You probably don’t need this info just now but tuck it away for the future! All best 🌺