I don’t know how to explain all this but am intense pain in my left groin area. I am waiting for results of back and hip X-ray. This is after having pain for weeks and my GP thought I was having a flare. He said to increase from 5mg to 6 and if that wasn’t enough to go to 7. I decided to go to 7mg for 10 days this didn’t help so I increased to 9mg now for 14days.
I think now I would have gone to 10mg immediately but was just so scared about having to taper all the way again. I don’t know what to do now. I have intense pain in my left groin but no stiffness. Ibuprofen sometimes helps. I also sometimes have a localised pain in my left arm which feels as I’ve I’ve had an injection. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Oboes22
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Thank you DorsetLady, yes same hip. I will ring my surgery this afternoon (special line for test results) and see what they say. I do try ibuprofen gel and tablets which help sometimes - paracetamol has no effect on me at all. Thank you again - I'll keep in touch.
Sounds very much to me like Osteo Arthritis. My hip problems before hip replacement always presented as severe groin pain. Went on for a couple of years with me being sent for physio etc. It wasn’t picked up until I changed my GP and he straight away sent for for an X-ray which showed severe osteo arthritis…. As soon as I has my hip replacement the pain disappeared.
Thank you jaycee44, I do have arthritis n my lower spine, I hope the X-ray shows something that can be addressed, b being in pain is so debilitating. Take care.
I will add that this is just like my arthritic hips. 2 replacements later and that pain was sorted. I could not find any pain killers that helped at all. The x ray should show it up.
I thought my intense groin pain was arthritis starting up - it wasn't, it was bursitis which is made worse by the PMR. It eventually did go with the pred, took a few months though, but does flare at times. I still get odd hip and thigh pain - definitely not OA, been checked for.
Just a note - if it is a flare of the PMR cauasing problems, adding 1mg to the dose will be very unlikely to do anything, it isn't enough to clear out the accumulated inflammation. The flare protocol is add 5mg to where you flared and you can stay there for 10-14 days and still drop back to the old dose, or preferably just above, in one or 2 stages over a few days without having to taper again. Longer than that and you need some tapering but not long drawn out and slow.
And….not the same I know….but I dreaded my knee replacement, had to be practically arm wrestled into it by the surgeon, and now I think it’s one of the best things I ever did 👍
Hope you’re sorted soon Oboes, whatever it turns out to be xx
I am taking Prednisone 7.5mg daily for autoimmune disorder. I had pain on my left groin area a month ago. The pain I had was not intense but was painful. I still have the pain but it is less painful now. My doctor suspected it was hernia or swollen lymph node. They did ultrasound and blood tests. The ultrasound result showed I have a swollen lymph node. They did more blood tests this week and i am waiting for results. I know my diagnosis might be totally different from what you have now. But if your x-ray results are not conclusive and you still have pain ask if you need altrasound or CT scan.
Thank you Magburaka, I know I have OA in my lower spine which doesn't help and have had X-rays and an MRI and wear and tear in my hips. Some days are better than others. The Pred I know odes mask some of the pain. I will see my GP in a couple of weeks. Take Care.
Hello l had this in my left groin in 2019 it is so painful. I couldn't walk it was so unpleasant. I had an x-ray on my lower back and they put thee pain down to an issue with my lower back. It gradually went away. I took Codomol at a higher dose than you can get at the pharmacy. I hope yours goes as well
Thank you Kashmiri1, some days it's better than others - I know I have OA in my spine and sometimes ibuprofen works other days it doesn't. Today is a good day, so I keep smiling. Take care
thank you Grannymiaow, I don’t think so I feel fine. It’s so odd that it’s not always consistent despite X-rays showing wear and tear on hips and spine. . I have a GP appointment to discuss. We shall see. Take care.
I have it, too…mine is a combination of OA & bursitis. The OA on its own was unpleasant but OK. The bursitis is much more acute! I’m waiting for an appointment to have a steroid injection to see if that helps. But your pain could be someth8ng completely different! This is just my story…doctor will diagnose, hopefully!
Sorry to hear this i have had aches and pains around my hip and leg for over a year. When it started in the groin it got really bad . Went back to my GP Yet again, so i great consultant at the hospital and am now waiting for a new hip, the trouble with me was the Pred was masking some of the pain , so when i got round to having yet another Xray it had got really bad, i know how you feel the groin pain is very hard to cope with. I would go back to your GP and ask for your whole pelvis to be xrayed to be on the safe side . Good Luck Viv🌷
Thank you Viv54 - as you say the Pred dies mask some of the pain - I know I have OA in my spine which doesn't help. Saying that I am so mobile but what you say about a pelvic X-ray has been in my mind as at times the pain seems to be in my pelvic bone and not just in my groin. I have a GP appointment in a couple of weeks so will definitely ask him. Thank you again. Take care.
I hope it helps, it was my GP who suggested I have hips and pelvis xray. I find it so difficult to walk as the pain in my hip/ pelvis is agony , the pulling sensation in my groin is awful.Can't wait for my new hip !Good luck with you GP😊
I too have intense groin pain on the right side. Wraps around to my hip and down my leg to below my knee. Walking is extremely difficult. Had been waiting for a CT Scan, but my GP is no longer my GP so can't see that happening. What I wanted to say is: I'm on 45 mg. of Pred at this point and it does not touch the groin pain, so I'm presuming it's not PMR related. What does help is a combined dose of 500 mg acetaminopen and 200 (or 400 mg depending) Ibuprofen in the morning. One works on the pain, the other on the inflammation. Easy on the IB, but it relieves my groin pain for most of the day. This pain is only alleviated by a lot of rest. It had subsided quite a bit and then I did something to irritate it again. My left shoulder was acting up yesterday (could barely lift it) and it is not touched by Prednisone either. If I could actually reach "my rheumy" then perhaps I could get this sorted out.
Hi Missus835, I'm so sorry to hear you have such awful pain. Mine is mild compared to yours and although I've had X-rays and have wear and tear on my hips and back I'm not convinced that the pain I have is related. At times it seems to be on my pelvic bone and other times just on the very edge of my thigh. Sometimes ibuprofen works, sometimes it doesn't. I have a GP appointment in a couple of weeks to review my Pred dose which is now 9mg after a flare. I hope you find some continued relief. Take care.
Same here and I am waiting for results of xray on right hip last week and down my leg, I also have pain every morning in. my right elbow and both ankles. worse in the morning - its a job to know whats PMR and what is arthritis for me .
I have tapered to 3.5mg and apart from those areas I am fine so I am very reluctant to increase again.
Hi LozzaSandstrom, I agree it's difficult to identify what is PMR and what is arthritis - my X-rays show wear and tear in hips and I'm now on 9mg of Pred after a recent flare. I see my GP in a couple of weeks. We have to keep smiling. Take care.
Get a Urine test and a scan to rule out Epididymitis, this condition is very painful. The pain can radiate all around the groin area and make walking nigh on torture. It would be totally unrelated to any X-ray and may be a separate thing entirely you hadn't thought of.
I think it is very very unlikely that is the problem here - and if it were it might make the medical journals. Oboes22 profile indicates she is female ...
Yes, my mistake there was no indication of the persons gender in the question so the issue emanating from one side of the groin area I made that inaccurate assumption on the basis that the drugs that oppress GCA can lead to immunosuppression one of a number of causational factors in that condition.
Yes and has a number of causes including a supressed immune system which the drugs that control GCA can cause. There was no indication of the individuals gender apart from it being a one sided issue so trying to help I made that inaccurate assumption.
While I don't have any answers, but a very intense groin pain/pull happened to me right before I got PMR last year. The groin pain was terrible, lasted about a month, and then morphed into both hips and into the more traditional PMR symptoms. The groin pain seemed to "move" into my hips, so it lessened with the appearance of the PMR. There must be a connection, but I don't understand what or how. I would be very unhappy if the groin pain reappeared now that I'm down to 7mg pred. I hope you feel better soon.
This caught my eye bc my groin felt pulled muscle and it was from the way I hobble from hip and back bum pain. Probley totally not your issue but I just try to walk better or not when in that much pain and my groin is better. Our bodies adjust to our structural issues and problem but causing other things to go.
I had a right total hip replacement in November 2020, the leg was very swollen days after surgery, and the physio told me it would eventually redolve and to keep leg elevated each afternoon. The oedema eventually resolved during the 6 weeks post op'; however, in February I started having severe groin pain such that I could not get into or out of my car, and had to use my helping hand device to put on trousers, socks etc. I could not raise the leg more than a couple of inches lying or standing. The GP who saw me, arranged an X-ray of thebhip prosthesis, and all appeared to be normal. The GP referred me back to the consultant whose care I was under for the RTHR. I finally received an appointment in the autumn of 2021, but was admitted for major surgery so had to post-pone the appointment. Interestingly, on admission the groin pain and associated mobility problems were unchanged, but during the two weeks hospitalisation as suddenly as the symptoms had started eight months previously the symptoms stopped. In addition, just weeks prior to going into hospital I was having severe left shoulder pain, and actually was using my TENS on and off during the early days in hospital. Then, exactly as the groin pain had redolved spintaneously so did the shoulder pain. since February this year I am having progressive pain and stiffness in my neck, shoulders, arms own to wrists. I have had it diagnosed as PMR, and I wonder if the past episodes of pain and immobility could have been earlier onsets of PMR. Intend to seek a referral to a Rheumatologist, for clarification.
Hope my story may cast more light on your symptoms.
Thank you Jsc50. Sorry you’ve had such a difficult time and hope you are feeling better now. It’s def not my hip as the X-rays just show wear and tear. I have a GP appointment next week in the meantime I keep smiling. Take care.
It certainly wasn't associated with the hip(s) in case either. I was told it wasn't gynaecological by the gynae-oncology team during hospitalisation so now I shall mention it and the shoulder pain when I see GP with the results of a CT scan shortly. Should no other cause be proven on the scan, I would then deduce that the GP's diagnosis could be correct. Nevertheless, I shall request a referral to a rheumatologist for a second opinion. Meanwhile, I will continue applying Volterol and using TENS. It is very much down to patients to ensure all avenues are explored, before accepting a diagnosis. That is my opinion, based on my experience of an incorrect diagnosis six years ago, leaving me gynaecologically severely compromised... I wish you all the very best and hope my advice helps.
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Groin pain
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Bursitis / groin pain 
