Latent arthritis or PMR

[dmart7]

I have had PMR for five years, with classic shoulder and hip symptoms, initially and during flares. Never been able to get lower than 8.5mg Pred until this year. Now down to 6mg. Always slow taper - max 0.5 per month. Over the last month or so I have had increasing arthritis in hands. It is quite uncomfortable and seems inflammatory - on bad days there is some redness especially around joints. With short experiments, I can eliminate it temporarily either by increasing Pred for a few days or taking some NSAIDs (plus PPI of course).

Given my own experiences, I think it is some kind of latent arthritis masked by Pred rather than PMR. What do you all think?

[Rose54]

HiI defiantly had pain in fingers and wrist if l went too low . A slight increase for a few weeks and l was able to go down with no problems . However Preds can mask other pains.

I have had PMR for 7 years lowest l have managed is 7mg .Currently on 15mg.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Peripheral arthritis is seen in some PMR patients. I have sore hands but I had sore hands in early PMR too with no sign of arthritis then.

Have you tried Flexiseq for your hands? It works well for some people.

flexiseq.com/

[dmart7 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks. I already have Voltarol and Flexiseq, and plan to experiment with each - separately of course!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to dmart7]

I don't know - no reason why you couldn't try them in combo. Other than price of course ...

[dmart7 in reply to PMRpro]

....but then I wouldn't know which worked, or worked best!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to dmart7]

You do each version one at a time - a week of one, a weekf the other, a week of both ...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

Flexiseq doesn’t always “kick in” that quickly - see this from Lloyds pharmacy

“How quickly does Flexiseq® take to work?

The pain relief appears to improve with repeated application. Whilst the manufacturers claim easing of symptoms can be experienced in as little as 2 days, realistically this would take 2 weeks but then still continues to improve gradually over 12 weeks. The onset of pain relief has been seen to be comparable to other pain relief products such as oral celecoxib.”

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

Fair enough - at least 3 weeks of it then!!! Preferably longer. But I am left to wonder if people would go on using it that long if they didn't feel some improvement,

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

Actually it does improve with use -you just have to be a bit patient to start with. From personal experience I would say 2-3 weeks to really notice a difference. And if you’ve bought a tube you are going to use all of it & not waste it -too pricey..

Seems to be keeping my right shoulder under control -long may it continue.

[Sharitone in reply to dmart7]

Could you try one of them on each side of the body? That's what I do with emollients.

[ubaoz]

The redness and the fact that the pain in your hands can be relieved by increasing pred definitely seem to suggest an inflammatory component don't they. Would it be worth checking it out with your doctor as well if you think it could be one of the inflammatory arthritis variations, rather than say, osteoarthritis? As you say, after 5 years of pred, any underlying problem may well have been there alongside the PMR all along or developed/intensified as time went by, but has been masked by the pred until now.

Hope you can find a satisfactory answer soon as sore hands can quite miserable – good luck!