I posted a while ago to say I was seeing a new rheumatologist saw him in June have just finished having tests which included spinal mri , X-rays on hips and shoulders also scans on shoulders the results were I have facet joint osteoarthritis throughout lumber spine the most marked at L4-5 and L5-S1 nerve roots have potential to be irritated by disc bulges , X-ray of shoulders reveal large are of calcification there is also a large bony spur . I also have osteoarthritis in my left Foot .I don’t reall understand all this as my appointment was about my PMR which I have been on pred for 7 years my GP sent me to see this new rheumatologist as my CRP levels were up this has been happening on and off for years so my pred goes up and then I reduce accordingly I am at present on 7 mg the reason I am writing this post is at the end of the letter from rheumatologist he thinks the findings would appear other than PMR but I wonder if that’s the case why do I still have all symptoms of PMR deadly fatigue, hip pain arm pain unable to dress myself at times hand & back spasms……
He suggests I reduce pred by 1 mg a month and refers back to GP for blood tests to check CRP and thinks leflunomide aren’t needed at the moment so that will leave me with nothing , the rheumatologist did not do a blood test when I saw him in June but I had one yesterday so will see I have been in a lot of pain for a few weeks but didn’t up my pred as was waiting on all the test results but what upsets me the most is the rheumatologist says he hasn’t arranged a further review for me at his clinic I am at a absolute loss to know what do even if he had given me an appointment to explain the results of the tests so I understood the meaning of them it would have been something . Sorry to write so much