Am i in a relapse?

[Hunter134]

Iam under alot of stress from selling house and i have more pain now.Have to pack and its been difficult.Was on 7mg of prednisone then upped it to 10 last week but not much relief.Can t seem to see the end of tunnel.Frustrated aft a year and the pmr is relentless.Any advice?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Looking back at previous posts I have to say you don’t seem to be very good at managing your PMR.

Seems that you are trying to rush through it, and to be honest at only a year in, you still have a long way to go.

I appreciate that selling/moving house is very stressful at the best of times, but you do need to learn to pace yourself better than you are.

It’s no good just upping the dose and carrying on as normal- you need to give your body chance to rest and revive.

Is the housing market still buoyant in Canada? In UK it’s ground to a halt with the lockdown procedures in place, so no-one is moving st the moment.

I’ve you haven’t seen this, please read through it, it might help you cope with your illness a little better -healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Hunter134 in reply to DorsetLady]

It wasn t too bad selling.It took 2 wks to sell.But only a 30 day closing.I ve had a rough few years is why my pmr keeps acting up.My husband became disabled so i am his caregiver.My daughter has had 2 transplants in the last 3 years.I really do pace myself cause i know since i had the pmr 10 yrs ago but came out of remission.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Hunter134]

Oh dear you do have a lot on your plate - do you get any assistance for your husband ?

Maybe you need to try 12.5mg for a week and see if that helps.

[Hunter134 in reply to DorsetLady]

He walks with a walker now.But hes limited to help pack.We ve lived 40 yrs in our house so we need to purge.The way i feel hes been helping me.lol

[Hildalew in reply to Hunter134]

You say you had PMR pain 10 years ago and then that you came out of remission. How long did it take to go into remission the first time?

[Hunter134 in reply to Hildalew]

It only took a year after bei g put in prednisone.But took a year to diagnose.This time has been much harder to stabilize my inflammation.

[Yellowbluebell]

You may well be having a flare and the usual increase reccomended is to add on 5mg on to your current dose so you could still go up a bit. Stress is not good news for pmr. Is there anyone that could help pack etc?

Unfortunately a year is nothing in relation to pmr and some people on here have had it for 6 years or more and some even 10 years!! Sorry but I think you will have to accept your pmr isnt going to disappear after a year. I personally am into my 2nd year since diagnosis and I went undiagnosed for over two years.

I hope you can get some help and that upping your pred eases the pain. YBB

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Unfortunately the median duration of management of PMR with pred is just under 6 years - the time taken for half of patients to get off pred. Only 1 in 5 get of pred in a year and then remain at a higher risk of relapse later.

You have to learn to live with both PMR and pred - and when you do, life becomes a lot better. No-one else can do it for you - up to you I'm afraid. It means taking enough pred and when you have extra stress, you may need a bit more pred.

[Telian]

We moved house recently and the stress sent me into flare plus other serious family illnesses contending with.

Best to stay at a dose that keeps you pain free and stay there for now. Staying calm is important too.

Best wishes

[remission]

Okay, what has been working for me to calm nerves and help keep the PMR in check is taking CBD....it's the non hallucinogenic part of marjuana. I take 20mg per day, now idea if that would help you, also no matter what plan a rest time each day, when I rest and nap for 1/2 hr in the afternoon I feel so much better for the remainder of the day

[Hunter134 in reply to remission]

I thought about trying cbd oil.I am a nervous person so when under stress its not good for my pmr.

[remission]

are you saying that you have tried it?? I mean, it's not for everyone, but I was so against it and any other drug for some 65 yrs, but have to say glad I tried it, because it does give me relief