Stomach problems

[Clucket]

I was wondering I anyone else has got stomach muscle and tummy problems caused by PMR rather than prednisolone or other tablets. I have had stomach muscle and related digestion problems that started at the same time as other muscle problems which was about 1 year before I was diagnosed with PMR. Now when I use my stomach muscles to any degree I get tummy problems.

This is in the form of a gastritis type of pain and bloating and discomfort the severity of which depends on how much I have used my stomach muscles. I am on lanzoprazole which originally sorted it out but now no longer seems to help. Does anyone else have a similar experience and how have they dealt with it?

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Has LVV (large vessel vasculitis) been considered at any point? If the blood flow to any part of the gut is impaired it can cause pain. I had some in the early days of PMR, never anything severe though and it went after starting pred.

Myofascial pain syndrome is also a part of PMR and it can cause abdominal symptoms:

academic.oup.com/painmedici...

[Sophiestree]

Hi. I had terrible stomach issues pre my diagnosis of LVV and had a lot of gastric problems. The pain from bloating/wind pain was unbearable at times and was often what I presented to the hospital on my many many visits. It improved once I started on the pred. I was also prescribed omeprazole, which I took at first due to the shock of everything, but decided after a few weeks to stop taking that and just to line my stomach before the pred. Have been absolutely fine since then and that was back in October.

[Clucket in reply to Sophiestree]

Hi Sophie. Glad to hear it Ll cleared up. Mine doesn't sound as dramatic as yours, but I was wondering how they eventually diagnosed the LVV.

[Sophiestree in reply to Clucket]

My diagnosis? It was via a PET scan. Got home at midday from the scan and they rang me two hours later to give me the diagnosis and to tell me to get straight to the hospital for 3 days of 1000mg steroid drip...I was instantly better...

Had by that point attended 16 different scans... so was glad to finally get a name to it.

[Clucket in reply to Sophiestree]

Gosh. Sounds awful. I hope I don't go down anything like the same route. Hope you are slowly but surely getting back on track.