Pmr v arthritis

[Holycow2]

I have been on Presdone since September 21. Started on 15mg and tapered down to 1mg. I have severe arthritis in hip and am awaiting hip replacement. Anyway the last few weeks I have been getting terrible pain in both thighs but thought it was down to the arthritis. I have now got mild pain back in my shoulders and I’m wondering if the pain in my thighs could be down to PMR? Yesterday I upped my Presdone to 7mg or should I go straight back to the 15? Any advice/ experience would be fantastic

[123-go]

This will be disappointing for you but it seems that your thigh and shoulder pains are due to inflammation building up through being on too low a dose of Prednisolone. It is very rare for PMR to go into remission after only fourteen months and you have overshot the dose you need to manage the inflammation by reducing too quickly and it has gradually built up. I would suggest you stay at the 7mg for a couple of weeks and if that's working for you then reduce by 1mg a month for two months then by 0.5mg every 4-6 weeks. You need to reduce more slowly over longer periods at lower doses. Listen to your body: only you know if things are working for you and patience really is a virtue .

Others will be along to advise but be sure that PMR marches to its own drum however much we want to march faster...if that makes sense.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

have replied to other post, but will replicate here for completeness-

Hi, and welcome To get from 15mg to 1mg within a year is very quick, so yes a flare of PMR, and no you don’t need to go back to 15mg, the 7mg should suffice.

Here is info on dealing with a flare - 

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

And this is just general info - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I just replied on the other post:

"Hi and welcome.

It is very unlikely after barely over a year that the PMR is gone but it is at a low level of activity and with a bit of luck 7mg should be plenty to get things under control - depends a bit on how long you left it to build up and how much inflammation there is to clear it out.

DL's given you the rest - just ask if you have any questions