Does anyone else suffer from restricted breathing?

[Hollieby]

My second question of the day. Hubby is having a flare at the moment, apart from the general feeling of having a child sat on your shoulders for six hours, does anyone else suffer from restricted breathing, from a sharp pain in the back when inhaling?

[SnazzyD]

Hello, are you absolutely sure this is to do with the flare? I’d get this checked out to rule out other lung issues that can cause this symptom.

[Hollieby in reply to SnazzyD]

Yes, the pain grows with the same intensity over several hours, until I hit, by upping the pred and then it dissipates along with the neck and should pain, too coincidental to be anything else, plus had it before.

[SheffieldJane]

Having a quick glance back at your posts I see that you have both suffered from Covid. I would venture a guess that Covid could well be the culprit in the sharp pain in the back and restricted breathing. I would strongly advise him to seek medical advice and an X Ray. It could even be related to Pneumonia.In answer to your original question, Pred can cause breathlessness. When I had a phase of it on the higher doses I bought an Oximeter to test my blood oxygen levels. They were always normal and other tests showed no pathology. Your husband’s shoulder pain sounds rather as if he is being under treated. It is not usual to suffer that level of pain once treatment is underway.

[Hollieby in reply to SheffieldJane]

No, this is sometimes what he gets when he is having a flare, which he is having at the moment. He is not breathless, constantly, it’s if he tries to take a deep breath, coughs or hiccups he gets this pain in his back. As soon as he gets his flare back under control it goes away again. He is in his third year of PMR. Thank you for your comments though, I will bear them in mind.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Hollieby]

Ahh! Then it is probably a muscular strain of some kind. Our muscles do weaken with steroid treatment. It has just taken me a week to get over excruciating rib pain from one sneezing fit. A physiotherapist who understands PMR maybe able to help as this is a reoccurring issue for your husband.

[Hollieby in reply to SheffieldJane]

Ok thank you.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Sounds a bit as if it could be linked to a tight intercostal muscle - that is happy enough until it is extra stressed and then protests. My lats muscles are fine at rest -but certain movements wake them up.

[Hollieby in reply to PMRpro]

That very interesting, sounds like you’ve hit the nail on the head. He is restricted in movement on one side of his back and it’s always usually the same side. Aside from the PMR he suffers with excessive cramps too which he often get in his chest, which he has to take quinine for, oh the joys! Thank you.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hollieby]

Has he ever tried taking magnesium supplements? I find that helps a lot with cramps.

[Hollieby in reply to PMRpro]

No, I will make a note of that, thanks.

[Theadmiral]

My doctor took me off quinine some years ago as research showed it was interfering with platelets. It's no longer used in NZ but magnesium is suggested.

[Hollieby in reply to Theadmiral]

Very interesting, his platelets have been high, and they have done other tests on him and didn’t find anything else wrong!! Pity no one was on the ball about that. No continuity of care from doctors at the moment and he has never been under care at the hospital. He will flag this up with the doctor and try and get to the bottom of it. Thank you.

[Pixix]

Yes. When I get that somebody sitting heavily on my shoulders pain I get a sharp pain when I breathe, & slight difficulty taking a breath. But only when tapering & going too low..when I go back up 0.5mg to my next level it settle quickly.

[Hollieby in reply to Pixix]

That is exactly it, sorry you experience the same, but my hubby is relieved to know he is not the only one this happens to, as nobody else he has spoken to has experienced this. Unfortunately he always has to go up more than that to get back on track. He has now had PMR for three years, he started on 15mg, has had quite a few ups and downs along the way and a couple of months ago managed to get down to 3.5mg. With this sudden flare he has had to triple that amount to get the pain back under control, but he is hoping to drop back down again. I think as long as you can keep your pain at bay that is the main thing. Thank you for your reply, wishing you well.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hollieby]

That is also very common - the more you have flares, the harder it can be to get things under control again. No idea why, just is so. All the morre reason to proceed with the tapering VERY slowly, especially at these low doses. You really need 1/2mg steps at most and often 2 months at the new dose to be confident it isn't about to go pear-shaped - just to avoid the flares due to being at too low a dose. Then there is always the possibility of an increase in disease activity for some reason - a fall or stress will do that without anything inherent in the illness itself. This seems to be a new concept to the rheumies I work with on their research projects.

[Hollieby in reply to PMRpro]

He has been tapering very slow doing the half mg like you say, but that is very interesting also that stress can increase disease, it’s such a minefield. Thank you.

[Pixix in reply to Hollieby]

Happy to be helpful! It doesn’t bother me too much, as I’ve had Allergy based asthma in the past. But the first couple of times it sent me scurrying to the BP machine…thought I might be having a heart attack!! I’ve already accepted going back up to 5mg because 3mg made me truly poorly, but am getting used to 4mg now (after 3 weeks on 4.5mg, I may add). Softly, softly catchy monkey, me thinks! Wish him well from me…oh, & I have an oximeter, too, which shows amount of oxygen in blood…that’s cheap enough & very useful if you get short of breath. S x

[Hollieby in reply to Pixix]

Yes may invest in an oximeter, thanks once more, wishing you well too.

[MrsNails in reply to Hollieby]

Yes, l’ve recently bought an Oximeter - unfortunately Nail Polish 💅🏼 reduces the readings somewhat! I have checked it on a No Polish Day 😉

[Pixix in reply to MrsNails]

Only recently? Now, see, I thought you would have had one for ages!!! Yes, nail varnish and oxymeters and definitely non compatible! Tbh, I didn't realise you had No Polish Days! Easy for me, I don't wear it any longer! Well, maybe I will take it up again???!!! Who knows! S x

[Pixix in reply to Hollieby]

It helps the medics, too, or doctors...if you get an issue and can tell them what your oxygen saturation level they will know how to advise you. Our surgery actually wrote and asked us if we would consider buying one as it wasn't easy to see us during lockdown - David (my husband) suffers from asthma and COPD. It really is so easy to use! S x

[Bennijax in reply to Pixix]

What kind of oximeter? My local pharmacy has little choice.

[Pixix in reply to Bennijax]

I bought it online from online store ending with Bay…don’t think we are supposed to say full name here! Don’t know which country you live in, though. I don’t think the surgery specified a particular make, I think they all do the same job. Sorry to be of little help here, I bought it over a year ago, Mrs Nails May know more, as she’s just bought one!

[Harrywogan]

Hi Hollieby my pain in my back was when I sneezed told Gp and got xray but all fine,still comes goes when I take really deep breath. Take Care x

[Hollieby in reply to Harrywogan]

Not uncommon then, thank you