What happens next?

[Polymialgia]

I’ve been on prednisone for more than 3 years and finally down to 0.5mg. so hopefully the end is is sight but I am wondering how long , if at all, will it take for the side effects of Prednisone to go ? I don’t mean the obvious ones like moon face , weight gain etc but things that you cannot see, like trigger finger, thin skin , incontinence , breathlessness and costochondritis, I seem to have all of these and so far haven’t really improved despite being on such a low dose

[PMRpro Ambassador]

All of them can happen with or without pred. I had trigger finger along with PMR for a time - gone once I was on pred. Thinning skin is also a part of aging. Incontinence can be due to calcium supplements and PMR and breathlessness, while occasionally due to pred can also accompany aging and loss of fitness in general.

[Polymialgia in reply to PMRpro]

That’s my problem are these just signs of ageing?, I don’t take calcium supplements as I don’t need them,( good bones according to dexa scan) I’m certainly not as fit as I was but still very active, walking, gardening, painting and decorating etc. All of these strange things only developed after being on Pred for 6 months and despite much investigation Doctors can find no evidence of any other conditions, I’ve had scans, biopsy and camera which is why I am convinced it’s all prednisone related, and asked the question.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Polymialgia]

Could well be - not saying they aren't. Just saying they can happen in normal aging and in that case they tend not to disappear again. Costochondritis should improve over months - that is the normal process. Pred is said to speed up the aging process and while some people say their skin improves, others say not and most doctors will say it doesn't. I don't really have a skin problem - or at least, no more than I'd expect at my age, but moisturising, with a urea-containing cream, deals well with the drier bits.

[tangocharlie in reply to PMRpro]

For me, I get breathless if not on enough Pred so it could mean that there is still a bit of PMR there? Fingers crossed it has all gone. weight and moon face for me started to go when I got down to 5 but I think only surgery is going to shift the Buddha Belly or apron left where a flat stmach should be and was 40 years ago.

[Frewen1 in reply to PMRpro]

Hi,

I'm just picking up on your reference to incontinence - I posted a week ago about my "overflow" problem, blaming the Prednisone. Lots of response, all seeming to agree the steroids were the cause. But someone made a reference (can't remember who it was) to calcium channel blockers (ie Amlodipene, for blood pressure) being a culprit for this. Sure enough, nowhere is there any research connecting Pred and incontinence, but plenty for Amolodipene. Is this in fact the cause, after all? It's becoming unbearable, came on very suddenly a a couple of weeks after my drug programme began, two months ago. Any advice welcome, before I go back to consultant... many thanks.

[Polymialgia in reply to Frewen1]

I’ve been on prednisone for over 3 years and although I always linked breathlessness with it I didn’t really link incontinence , I was also using a steroid inhaler, over the last month I have dropped the Pred to 0.5mg per day and stopped using the inhaler altogether, I haven’t spoken to my GP since I was diagnosed so have no back up for this, I can only say I feel so much better and all my “side “ effects are disappearing

[Frewen1 in reply to Polymialgia]

That’s encouraging, thanks

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Frewen1]

It could be - but there are plenty of people for whom amlodipine isn't a factor and I imagine many of the comments were from them. I can't speak to it, I'm on BP medications but never that, If you want more comments you need to repeat this as a new post probably - few will see it here as a reply to me which is how you have posted it.

[Frewen1 in reply to PMRpro]

Many thanks... still finding my way around.

[piglette]

As a rule of thumb people seem to say that after a year off pred you are back to normal. Of course this may vary from person to person.

[Polymialgia in reply to piglette]

Great, so I’ll be practically perfect by my 72nd birthday, !!!

[piglette in reply to Polymialgia]

Get ready for the celebrations, we might have got rid of Covid by then too with any luck.

[tangocharlie]

Fingers crossed the PMR has gone into remission, wish we had a bell to ring on here when people reach that stage. Maybe we should start a new thread for people whose PMR has gone, to give others hope?

[Dukeyears in reply to tangocharlie]

Good idea. I'm just going from 3 1/2 to 3, I'm already feeling a bit like my old self, not complete of course, but I feel that I'm beginning to recover.