Thanks to those who answered my first post on this site asking if anyone contracted PMR following pneumococcal vaccine , that was my question. Many replies were very helpful but then it turned into vaccine vs anti vaccine and people stating they know stress of any type including vaccines can cause PMR. I would like to see the scientific paper proving this is the cause of PMR. So my first post was a stressing experience experience due to some replies.
Could people please tell me their experience if they contracted a Bacterial infection or Virus whilst on prednisolone for PMR. Have you had more illness than prior to being on prednisolone and was your illness worse ? I have read a scientific paper stating for every 5mg Prednisolone dose there is 13 times the chance of contracting a Viral or Bacterial infection and of course Covid. This is to help me decide how much I should mix with people and if I can care for my 12 month old grandson ( he will be in child care the other days ) when my daughter returns to work. I have ony had PMR for 4 months .
Can I say thank you in advance for those who take the time to answer me. It will help me in my decision making.
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Helag
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I would say I have had fewer infections while on pred - I did have a problem with UTIs but that is a life-long problem due to narrowing of the urethra and improved greatly when I stopped calcium supplements and ate more cheese.
I don't go to mass gatherings anyway - I never did, but I tend to get one humdinger of a cold per year - and haven't had one since before Covid so long live masks!!! But again that has been a life-long pattern for colds. I've only had proper flu once in my life, it was pre-pred though. Other than that - really haven't been ill in the last 13 years since PMR was finally treated with pred. I don't have small grandchildren though to bring all and sundry bugs home from school.
To my knowledge I haven't had Covid though I was exposed to it when my cousins were here skiing and caught it there before visiting me for a few days - they were still positive when they reached home and I had been in the car with them.
I have been on prednisolone for 5 years and I feel my immune system is no worse than before taking it. In that time I have had 1 cold and one tummy bug both lasting 2 days or less
I've been on pred for over 3yrs and not had one single cold or stomach bug....despite spending some of that time working in a school Nursery!!
I've been exposed to covid several times but as far as I'm aware, I've not had it myself and all my PCR/LF tests have been negative.
Before pred I would experience at least two to three throat infections every winter but not had one since being on pred!
This is all probably part due to mask wearing, more frequent hand washing and improved hygiene awareness as a result of the pandemic.....all very easy protocols to adopt that clearly work!
I have been on pred for 4 years 4 months and have not had one cold.
I did have what I assume was a virus about 2 years in which caused me to cough for about 4 weeks. No head or chest congestion just coughing day and night which was exhausting.
I noticed while on higher doses of pred that the mild bout of asthma which visits me each Autumn/Winter change of seasons did not happen.
I considered that later, but it was just before (only just), Covid was identified in Australia. Possible but I guess I’ll never know. I wasn’t sick in any other way, just coughing.
My daughter had a colleague who spent xmas and NY at home in northern Italy before returning to Scotland in January 2020 with an awful cough which everyone in the endoscopy department caught and passed round. She went down with it in early Feb - spent her 40th birthday in bed. Of course that was before anyone considered it to be CV. She had proven Covid recently - otherwise the first time and despite having nursed patients all through not caught at work! - and said it was eactly the same as that episode in Feb 2020. It was later found that the virus had been present in that area of Italy over Dec/Jan. And no - we will never know - but the virus was almost certainly here at the same time it was first seen in Wuhan.
Hello Helag, I have been taking prednisolone for over six years because of PMR/GCA. My highest dose was 60mgs, I have had one head cold during this time and no other infections of any type.I am now 71 and my my first grandson was born just before the first lockdown. My son and his wife live too far away for us to be a useful support, visits need to be planned and their current home too small to put us up.
Zoom/WhatsApp etc are wonderful but no replacement for regular contact and that special one on one time for a multitude of reasons.
I totally understand why you are anxious about picking up something your grandson might bring back from nursery, from my understanding the vast majority of the time it is either a 24 hour tummy bug or a cold.
I still feel quite emotional when I think about that time not only for myself but for my daughter-in-law and my grandson. She missed out on meeting other new mums and making friends and as a result became very low in mood which has had huge ramifications. My grandson, now nearly 3 years old is anxious and sensitive and still cries at any change.
I suspect there are and will be many research projects into the long term effects of lockdown on new mothers in particular and on the baby, father, and other children.
I know it is not an easy decision for you but I can't help thinking, just go for it, and embrace every single moment of that precious time.
Grandmothers, and grandfather's are just programmed to love their grandchildren, we have no control over it and your grandson will benefit from that time with you in ways that are immeasurable.
Good luck with the decision and do let me know how you get on.
This is probably stating the obvious but I think it might be really hard to see a clear relationship between pred and infection in the past couple of years. Since the Covid pandemic started, it has drastically changed many people's attitudes and behaviours around infection control (hand washing, masks, social distancing etc). So whilst pred can suppress the immune system and in theory make us more susceptible to infection, if we're acting to make sure we're less exposed to infectious agents, then, as many have found, that works in our favour. Seesaws and swings.
Personally I've not had one infection in two years since being on pred for PMR initially and in the past few months for GCA at much higher doses. But prior to that I very rarely ever caught colds, flus, tummy bugs etc anyway.
At my current 25mg of pred I'm still shielding and being very careful to limit any potential exposure though and will continue to do so until I can get to much lower dosages. Fingers crossed I stay clear of infection. I hope you do too and can find the balance between protecting yourself and spending time with other, potential lurgy-carrying people! Good luck with your decision making!
Such an individual decision. Almost 3 years on pred for PMR/GCE. Began on 60 mg for over a month...high doses through first year now at 3.5mg...with sluggish adrenals. But I can't afford to give up work...there is absolutely no way I could survive on my state pension. (I live in Israel so don't have the range of social benefits available in the UK). I am a freelance so need to be available for work. I decided not to risk infection so I completely isolated (before covid came along). I occasionally meet people in my garden but otherwise I don't. I still got a very unpleasant fungal infection (a risk with pred) and took powerful drugs for months (for which they have to monitor your liver function etc)
The deathly fatigue is a daily battle but I grab my conscious hours to work (morning and evening usually). My grandchildren occasionally visit me in my garden...but really it takes so much energy. Life has changed and I just accept it. Fortunately, I love my work. I have an occasional garden visitor (including some stunning birds, eg the Smyrna kingfisher) It's enough.
Hi Helag, been on Pred for over two years and not been ill with anything during that time. However, Covid muddies the waters as those of us in this situation were doing what we could to avoid situations where we might catch something, and if we were out then wearing masks. So it's not really a normal comparison. It's an individual decision, but we now happily go and meet/socialise with our children and grandchildren.
I have had a nasty bout of viral GE, plus some GI bother with MTX, but no RTIs at all, and they used to be my speciality. Our son, who lives with us, had Covid nastily for a couple of weeks, but we did not get it. We care 1 day a week for our granddaughter, who is continually picking up colds from nursery; my husband occasionally catches them, but I don't. So I would conclude that pred is not causing any more infections, except of course, we have been protected by lockdowns, and I am still extremely careful and wear a mask.
Thank you all for taking time to tell me of your history or not of infection since being on prednisolone. It has made me feel less anxious a lot less at risk of contracting infections and especially if I keep wearing a mask in crowds and non -ventilated areas. I have not been hospitable to my friends in having nobody in my home only in the garden and only my daughter and husband and baby ( who live near) have been in my home. It is not a way I enjoy living. Also, I together with my husband feel happy to care for my grandson one day a week in the future even when he is also at nursey school catching all sorts.
I still have not seen my new grand daughter (as I live in Exeter and she is in London) ;I was frightened of catching anything plus I soon feel fatigued and my hip muscles soon tire on walking and especially on sloped ground.
My son and daughter's babies (my first Grandchildren) were born within an hour of each other in the early hours of my Birthday (both by emergency caesarean) so it was both stressful and exciting!
Thanks again to all who responded. I do hope this is the correct way to reply to you all simultaneously.
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