About 6 weeks ago I started getting some acute pain especially in one leg. My surgery suggested I should increase the pred. dose to 5mg (I was previously on 3 1/2.) This had no effect so I increased the dose to 10mg for a week. By then I was in so much pain that I went to the doctor who did not know the cause of the pain, but suggested X-rays and a visit to a physio. I then contacted an amazing physio, who after 2 sessions has enabled me to walk again; his diagnosis was bursitis in 3 places plus tendonitis, and he says none of this is caused by PMR. I now plan to reduce the 5 mg dose of pred, since it seems I did not need to increase it anyway, but could you wonderful people advise me as to how to reduce? Do I go back to the DL plan, or can I return to my old levels more quickly? Any advice will be much appreciated!
tapering after a wrongly diagnosed flare! - PMRGCAuk
tapering after a wrongly diagnosed flare!
You can reduce more quickly…perhaps would try in in two stages…maybe down to 7mg for a week, then down to 4mg - again a week or two before resuming usual taper. But obviously make sure okay at 7mg…and again at 4mg.
Not sure I totally agree with physio though, bursitis certainly can be triggered by PMR. …so just be aware.
Hope goes well.
Thank you so much - what a minefield it is! I suppose that whether it was a flare or not I just have to experiment and see how my body reacts.
Yes, but if it reacts badly, don't reduce any further until it settles...hopefully it will behave itself!
Yes, patience is not always one of my virtues..thank you again for your support.
I say repeatedly - if you don't learn anything else with PMR you will learn patience!
..but it quickly reverts to normal impatience when GCA gone!!😉..well that's my excuse anyway.
Nor mine!
There are areas where the impatience remains - I'm currently fighting RBS contact options!! Not impressed so far ...
Quite..,after the 99th statement of ..’press 1 for….” and the abominable musak one does get a trifle rattled. .🤨
Especially when their version doesn't work with pressing 1 on an Italian digital phone ...Today I even managed a fight with a chat bot - I had to ask about 4 times to "chat" with a person. And a job that could have been done in 15 mins on the phone took up nearly 2 hours of my time ...
how extraordinary - I have had exactly the same experience today! Think of all those hundreds of stressed people who are in the same position...
I don't agree with the physio - both bursitis and tendonitis are part of PMR so could well have been started up by the underlying cause of the PMR. But I do agree with DL!
Note I don’t have PMR but Stills which manifests as RA for me.After a leg injury last year I developed bursitis on my big toe joint, excruciatingly painful. Dr said though that it WAS part of Stills and caused by RA.
Thank you! I have just looked up Stills and it sounds unpleasant. Did you have a cortisone injection for the bursitis?
This was last Xmas lockdown so only telephone advice available I’m afraid so I had to manage with pain relief, it took 6 weeks to settle during which time I could not wear shoes but wasn’t walking at that time due to leg injury.
oh my goodness, you had a lot on your plate; I do hope everything stays settled.
Still limping snd hurting from the leg injury and RA flare since vaccination but Covid free at least and limp is improving slowly but think I’ll give the marathon a miss 😉, thanks for your reply 😀
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