Started my tapering yesterday from 20 mg so far so good ..since Dr still on holidays and pharmacy wouldn't supply 1mg pred without Dr's ok..had to take 17.5 mg instead of 18mg as per the 10% reduction schedule Im going to follow.
Wanted to share an experience the night before tapering..woke in the middle of the night with a full scale entire lt leg cramp..horrible pain I mean scream producing pain..the entire leg was involved all muscles cramped at one time..got up with husbands help ...walked on it..massaged..more walking finally started to ease..took a muscle relaxer Flexeril and finally fell back to sleep at 2 am.. 0bviously need some Potassium supplement..so question is when all of you started Pred was there a list of supplements you should be taking provided by your Dr..mine advised nothing!!!
Thankyou once again for all the support this site provides...best Knitwit200
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Probably more likely to be magnesium you are in need of - you can get that as oral supplements, use Epsom salts as a bath or footbath additive or get spray that is absorbed through the skin. I don't take it regularly - just when I need it for a few days. CAreful - not too much oral magnesium at once, it can give you the runs! Last thing we need
And you need calcium and vit D for your bones. AdCal is a commonly used version - if you are lucky your GP will prescribe it as you are on pred.
Thankyou for your quick response..I was prescribed b12 supplement when leg cramps happened years ago..also am on antihypertensive so need to be cautious of both potassium and magnesium ..perhaps I will stick to bananas and sweet potatoes and watermelon until see my ever vacationing Dr...really how many days holiday does one need..😉
Potassium no - but I think maybe you can probably get away with foot baths and even oral pred shouldn't be a problem. I have high BP and other cardiac problems and I am given magnesium by my cardiologist for the arrythmia - really helps a lot. Too much magnesium is sent on its way"
I use Magnesium but this was recommended by a naturopath and not a doctor.( as with everything there are varying quality levels so check you get the right one,) I kept getting cramp mostly in my legs but like you one night the pain was unbelievable,so much so I shot out of bed but caught my feet in the duvet and ended up head first on the floor.My wife rarely wakes up laughing so hysterically but eventually we both had a good giggle.
If you already know this then ignore my comment but when cramp kicks in remember to stretch the muscle,nice and steady as you will no doubt also know the muscles turn rock hard.Good luck.
Thx Piglette...am going to explore all options..that cramp was not your average "charlie horse" it was full leg ..still feeling heaviness in the area..did try a magnesium and some Voltaren rub and heating pad at the moment. Thankyou for the advice..when I was taking quinine once before for PsA it aggravated my psoriasis.
You may need magnesium on a regular basis to start with - the blood level may look OK but it is what is in the tissues that is important and that can be low because the blood takes it out. The deficit must be made up and that can take a bit more than just one or two doses.
I feel your pain. Sadly, I felt it too often as PMR first struck! While magnesium, foot baths etc are all good, I've found that regular stretching exercises reduce both the intensity of the cramps and their frequency. At one point I almost feared going to sleep, sure that the cramps would wake me before too long. Now, they are intermittent and less intense. I stretch calfs (front and back), hamstrings and do ankle bends (standing on stair with ankles over-hanging, slowly lift up and down). Doc prescribed quinine but I held off due to possible side effects and have not used it .... so far! Good luck.
Thankyou Captainjonny..that is exactly what I felt going to bed last night..so afraid to go through that kind of pain again..happy to report it was an ok night. Today just that deep bruise like pain in my quads and hamstring..
Some may scoff at these so called "cramps" but I honestly have never felt such intense pain..at one point I thought OMG I'm throwing a clot..
Thankyou again for your advice...take care and stay well. KW20
I too used to get severe cramp on the inside of my thighs, as you said the pain was unbearable as you could not support yourself not like you could with cramp in your calfs. I started to take Magnesium Glycinate 250 MHz at bedtime and no longer have a problem. This Magnesium does not give you the runs.
I too had severe leg cramps at night when starting on pred. Tried topical magnesium spray but only worked when cramp began. Asked for advice from members who recommended magnesium. Have taken it every night for 2 months, no side effects and best of all only had cramp mildly once, so it works for me. I order it online.
Hi and thankyou for your advise..Think I have an idea that I need to get my electrolytes checked ..that way I'll know for sure what is happening especially since the B12 I'm on was suppose to prevent cramping..take care stay well..KW2020
Checking blood electrolyte levels only shows anything if the magnesium level is exceptionally low - the blood level is kept up at the expense of the tissue level and it is the magnesium in the cells that is important. Your magnesium level can look fine on paper. While B12 deficiency can cause cramps there are a lot of other things it can cause that you would notice too.
Thankyou for your response..PMR pro...yes I am aware of what an electrolyte screening will show but still feel its worthy to pursue...
As I read through the posts sometimes every morning I wonder if anyone else ever gets the feeling that perhaps some times advice in this forum is given in a somewhat harsh manor, maybe not intentionally but certainly can come across that way.....Wouldn't everyone prefer to obtain advice without making the individual feel they are being criticized..afterall we are all in this awful autoimmune disease together and to be involved in dialogue means we were looking for some helpful advice..I personally have learned a great deal already from all of you. So just making an observation ...hoping I too have not offended anyone with this suggestion...perhaps we could soften some of the responses to a gentler kinder delivery.✌
I'd forgotten until reading this that aching legs, enough to keep me awake or wake me up, was one of the symptoms which cleared up (literally overnight and so far permanently) when I dealt with a salt deficiency. Cramping muscles, on the other hand, responded to magnesium, including soaking in Epsom salts baths,
Hi VA14266..thankyou for the suggestion..re magnesium. Yes I have started taking 250 mg daily with a great deal if relief..I find I have to keep my legs moving throughout the day....any prolonged sitting seems to aggravate them..and I need to keep my calves warm while sitting..so circulaion is a factor as well...have also found while in a spasm that Voltaren topical rub helps...thankyou again for all the suggestions..am tapering my prednisone now so just trying to get through each day...
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SEVERE PROBLEMS WITH WITHDRAWAL FROM PREDNISONE
Severe intercostal muscle ( I think )pain 
Leg pain
PMR for 2.5 years tapering
How can 1/2 mg make so much difference?
