will these hot flashes ever end ?

[Mofred]

Hi all

I am grateful that after 19 months since i developed pmr symptoms I am feeling a lot better and have gradually reduced over the months from 30 mg (think gp went a bit over the top with that dose because i was on 25 and when i reported some blurred vision and headache she upped it . I saw optician very quickly and no issues found and no recurrence of symptoms since but maybe she was concerned might be gca ) Any way despite gps desire to get me off the steroids quickly, thanks to you folk giving me sound advice and after a few months of having to increase again i have got down to 1.5 mg . Another gp has been more understanding and recognises the need to go at my own pace . Though hot flashes are not as severe as when I was on a high dose of pred, I am still bothered by them .

I know its been hot at night but this is like the hot flashes I had during the menopause which I found debilitating but had more or less gone by my late 50 s I m 66 now . I used to be a cold creature now I am always hot . I just wondered if this is the pred doing it or my adrenals trying to work better . I am on thyroxine 75 mg and have annual blood tests when i remind gp and never heard of any issue re this . I also have had jumping legs or muscle spasms in legs for many years prior to the pmr and they keep me awake but that could be citalopram side effect as been on that for years . Anyway I shouldnt complain because pmr is very debilitating and many of you brave folk have other physical problems to deal with . I am just interested to know what could be causing this overheating i dont have a high temp . Mind you i may be grateful for this in winter when the fuel bills sky rocket . Take care all of you .

[SheffieldJane]

You maybe deficient in vit B12 because this can cause hot flashes as can vit D deficiency and Folic Acid deficiency. I don’t know how it works in the US but can you have these things measured? I take vit B, vit D and Folic Acid as a matter of course ( just in case) Worth investigating? This symptom stopped when I reduced my Pred dose.

[Mofred in reply to SheffieldJane]

thankyou for advice

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The hot sweats/flushes/thermostat dysregulation are a common feature I think - and seem to have varying underlying causes. Pred can do it, PMR can do it and it is difficult to decide which! For me it was a fail-safe signal I was hatching a flare - together with pain in my wrists.

As you say though - could be handy come the winter!

[Twopies]

It’s the oddest thing—every single night between 7 and 8ish I feel like I’m burning up—a hot flash, I guess. Then it goes away after awhile and I’m cold again (raynauds, I’m always cold). Just had bloodwork (not for this though), everything fine, I figure it’s just another thank you from pmr.

[PMRCanada]

I’ve had sweats from the beginning of my PMR journey 4 years ago. Every morning from about 4am-7am I sweat on the back of my neck and cleavage.

I’m guessing hot weather doesn’t help. And as PMRPro says, it could be PMR, a side effect of the pred, or some other issue. You have gone from a high dose down to a very low dose in a relatively short amount of time, so perhaps your body is trying to catch up with the changing levels of pred.

Hope you get some relief soon!

[ubaoz]

Oh, my sympathies indeed! I've always publicly said that hot flushes aren't too bad as they don't hurt and don't last too long. But they can often be extremely uncomfortable and debilitating for sure.

I find too that that my hot flushes are always worse and more frequent when I'm stressed, anxious or tired. In some ways they're an indicator of how well I'm coping with things at any given time. So they're (sort of!) useful in that way. They can also occasionally come in handy on a cold day (like now, as it's still winter here in SE Australia). No fun whatsoever in the middle of the night in summer though!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to ubaoz]

Hehe - your current winter weather is about the same as Scotland's late summer!

[ubaoz in reply to PMRpro]

Oh dear; despite Scottish ancestry, I think I'd probably freeze solid in one of their winters then. We Aussies are such wimps when it comes to cold! Brrr… 🥶

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to ubaoz]

Not solid - the wind would woggle you about too much!

[madhouse1 in reply to PMRpro]

🤣

[Hidden]

Morning, I too am suffering hot flushes. I've been putting it down to the humidity but now thinking it's Pred. Like you say, may come in handy when the heating has to go back on at a reduced temperature. Although Hubby feel the cold big-time, so that will be doubtful.

[Bridge31]

Certainly never ending for me. I’m on 5mg.

[LozzaSandstrom]

Well, I needed to read this thread - I have been in an unacceptable state for 2 months with the heat it literally pours off me, my head and back are soaked about half the day - I AM overweight, I AM on HRT patches and 57 years old and it IS a heatwave but I knew it was more than that - so thats why I am literally wilting every time I move - I never knew PMR and or Pred caused hot flushes I think I have a triple whammy going on!

[Missus835]

I too have hot flashes which I did not have during menopause. I'm not reducing Pred quickly but when I do, they seem to ramp up a bit. Unsure why. Then the level off again. I'm 72 so well past menopause, but it sure doesn't feel like it. You've done well in reducing your Prednisone after 19 months. Kudos!

[Mofred]

thank you everyone for support and advice with regard to taperin, as you always advise ,it isnt a race and we all need to take it slowly and everyones body is different . i think that these increased flashes may be due to stress and also as suggested that pmr symptoms are returning though not severe i am getting stiifness in my legs and shoulders particularly on rising and getting from sit to stand and some pain in lower back and tired ness so think got to increase the steroids again . was on such a low dose of 1.5 so not surewhat to increase to i thought i was ok on 2 but maybe not not sure if worth contacting gp they have left me to it more or less since diagnosis and when i order steroids i get them .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mofred]

I would try 2mg first - if that isn't enough to get an improvement in a few days, take 5mg for a few days and then try 2mg again if you were OK at 2mg before. Half a mg can make a massive difference.