Elbow problems

[Cyclegirl54]

Anyone else experiencing elbow pain? I’m at 2.5 mg now and have acquired a really painful right elbow. It’s painful to bend or straighten in the morning and during the day feels like I’ve been whacking a tennis ball for 24 hrs! I’ve already got an arthritic right thumb / the ‘carpometacarpal thumb joint’ I’m told! And that problem is happening to my left thumb too!

[Constance13]

Sounds very like OA to me. I have it in both elbows.

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to Constance13]

Constance, what do you do for easing it?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Have to stop digging OH in the ribs then! 🤦🏻‍♀️.

As Constance says - could be OA - one place I don’t have it - fortunately.

Are you using any topical cream for thumbs? If so, try that on elbow and see if it makes any difference.

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to DorsetLady]

I’ve been applying volterol on thumbs and elbow. It does help and I have taken paracetamol for extra relief. Hope all well with you 🌸

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Cyclegirl54]

Good thanks. 😊

[Constance13 in reply to DorsetLady]

Last sentence - I wish!😏 Still it might help Cyclegirl.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

If it is OA, lots of people have found Flexisec helpful - and because you use your hands to apply it and then wait for 10 mins before getting up to do anything including washing your hands, it helps hands too! jinasc swears by it.

I had elbow pain that ran from the outside aspect of my elbow diagnonally across to the inner aspect of my wrist as an early manifestation of PMR. I'd put it down to RSI and having been typing an awful lot (16 hour days translating) but it improved dramatically with pred and we decided it was the tenosynovitis found in PMR.

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to PMRpro]

I had elbow pain initially too and problems straightening my arms first thing in the morning. The pred worked for me !

I’m debating on whether to contact my GP or the rheumy dept. Good idea?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Cyclegirl54]

I don't know - I'm just imagining the rolling eyes ... It took a long long time for hindsight to kick in!!! You can but try - start with the GP and then progress????

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to PMRpro]

Talking about contacting the medical world, I’ve been experiencing some of those symptoms re adrenals trying to kick in. Fatigue, sudden sweats, nausea , I just go and lie down and wait for them to pass, but should I be contacting the Gp about those?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Cyclegirl54]

I would certainly ask for a synacthen test, at the very least a 9am basal cortisol level which will give an indication of how your adrenal function is doing. If it is doing something it is a case of patience - but if it is very sluggish you may need an emergency plan to implement if something were to happen like an accident, infection or other stress. One friend of mine would have odd episodes of confusion and wobbliness for no apparent reason which it was established were adrenal-related - her husband was trained to recognise them and make her take 10mg pred asap because she didn't know! Better safe than sorry!

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for that info. Best wishes 🌸

[Cyclegirl54]

That’s a plan, thanks.

[kulina]

I agree with PMRpro's advice, it could be tenosynovitis. Did you just reduce to 2.5 mg? I never had elbow pain until I reduced the Pred to 3 mg and I felt the pain just like you, in the morning and throughout the day. The pain is in both elbows on the inside, like a golfer's elbow, not tennis elbow. I figured I reduced too fast, so I increased my dose to 3.50 mg and I'll try to stay there for a week then reduce again slowly. I divide my dose, morning 2/3 and night 1/3. And I know the forum doesn't recommend this but I read a study that said Ibuprofen helps with pain when reducing Pred and at lower doses. So, I also take 50-100 mg Ibuprofen before bedtime. I wake up feeling great when I take both but when I don't take the Ibuprofen I wake up slightly stiff. I also know I don't have OA. Good luck, I hope you sort this out.

[Amkoffee]

It is probably from your carpal tunnel however you might get some relief by buying a band that you put on around your arm just below your elbow. It helped me a lot.