Stiffness /Pain, muscle relaxers

[arvine]

Stiffness occurs at the onset of PMR, usually bilaterally, so trying to determine , is the pain that we experience result of stiffness? and can we say that inflammation causes pain ? Right now, most of my discomfort is in my back, as I have previously posted, a,nd the stiffness in the morning in my lower back is the worst, so now have a question, has anyone with these back issues, which is not realated to PMR (don,t even know, or think I have PMr any longer) taken a muscle relaxer called "Roboxact, or Roboxin" and realized some relief? I take tylenol of course, but it really doesn,t help much with tightness and pain in lower back,

[piglette]

I found the pain in my case was the muscles. Initially I was virtually unable to move and even trying to raise my arm was agony. Steroids worked like magic.

[arvine in reply to piglette]

oh yes, I agree, 6 y1/2 years ago, when I was first diagnosed with PMR, started on 40 mgs, yes was like magic, then tapered over the last years to 4 mgs until this past Dec, when GCA symptons appeared, put back on 40 mgs of pred, turned out from a temporal artertis ultrasound, wasn,t GCA, then MRi on head, resulted in subacute diffusion, ( subacute stroke), at any rate, a lot of other issues since that time, 2 bouts of norovirus, in hospital each time 24 hrs, then chronic back issues really have gotten bad, so now being referred to stroke prevention clinic, and pain clinic. In the meantime, wondering about this muscle relaxer for back pain, down to 10 mgs of pred, and hope to taper in another week to 9 1/2, as with pred, cant take any anti inflammatories, and extra strength tylenol doesnt help much, so thinking about this muscle relaxer , over the counter Roboxacet, anyway, so far haven,t seen anyone mention that for lower back problems, so thought I,d put it out there and ask

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to arvine]

You do realise that it contains paracetamol/acetaminophen? Don't take it AND tylenol - you would exceed the recommended dose which is dangerous.

[arvine in reply to PMRpro]

i

oh yes thanks, do know that, rarely ever even take 2 tylenol a day, as don,t find they help much, at this point just trying anything that,s acceptable for pain, with being on prednisone,

[powerwalk]

My lower back is absolutely appalling. Ive had several lots of steroid injections and two different lots of rhizotomy, all to no avail. I dont know why it has gotten so bad in last 6 months but it is beyond debilitating and i dont know what the answer is. Im going to request an MRI to see whats going on instead of throwing injections at it that are doing nothing. I hope you get some relief soon, its a bit of a nightmare.

[arvine in reply to powerwalk]

oh boy, I can relate, lower back really limits your daily activity, and brings me to tears sometimes, Im hoping the pain cinic can suggest some kind of treatment that,s helpful, but hearing some people, not having much success with steroid injections,?

[powerwalk in reply to arvine]

In fairness they can be good, a lot of people get relief with them. Thats whats bothering me as to why they are doing nothing, i have had them before and varying success. Definitely worth trying if your medics want to do them for you. Some people get several months relief from them. Let us know how you get on with your treatment, best wishes.

[arvine in reply to powerwalk]

thanks Powerwalk, will do

[arvine in reply to powerwalk]

so are you saying, none of the injections, steroid, ? has helped you, given you no relief?

[powerwalk in reply to arvine]

In the past i have had relief from them. This time no, they just aren't working, so i dont know whats going on. But as i say they are worth trying, definitely.

[singingloud in reply to powerwalk]

Have you had an MRI or Ct scan of your spine? My pain has improved since four weeks ago I had spinal fusion.

[powerwalk in reply to singingloud]

I am in process of trying to get MRI. I asked the pain guy months ago to order one and it was met with deaf ears. I dont know what im even treating with these injections which are now doing nothing. These things take so long. Its great you got some relief, its just so depressing, i couldnt get out of the chair yesterday with the pain.

[singingloud in reply to powerwalk]

Keep trying. You need to know so that you don’t have permanent damage to the nerves in your body. Shots worked for a while but then no more so keep trying.

[powerwalk in reply to singingloud]

I will, tk you.

[arvine in reply to powerwalk]

Hello, the reason I mentioned a test, is that "themoaningviolet"on this forum said "PMR confirmed with PETscan" and not sure what Petscan is or means?

[powerwalk in reply to arvine]

Thanks Arvine, I think a PET scan is more indepth and picks up different things. Used for cancer etc and obviously other things like blood vessels. Not an expert but hard to get because of expense than an MRI even. Im hoping to get a cancellation with Consultant next week if im lucky and will again look for an mri. I think my main PMR is under control. Well who knows really!!!! Im weary of it all. As are most of us.

[arvine in reply to powerwalk]

"im weary of it all", oh I can relate, so tired of it, depressing etc, but we have to keep going, good luck to you powerwalk, in my case, my rheumy got me in for MRI very quickly, like just over a week, very fortunate that way,

[powerwalk in reply to arvine]

Yes keep on going!!! Thank you.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to arvine]

My point was, it’s used for many diseases , not specifically for PMR,

as detailed here -

Why is a PET scan performed?

Your doctor may order a PET scan to inspect your blood flow, your oxygen intake, or the metabolism of your organs and tissues.

PET scans show problems at the cellular level, giving your doctor the best view of complex systemic diseases.

PET scans are most commonly used to detect:

cancer

heart problems

brain disorders, including problems with the central nervous system (CNS)

[TheMoaningViolet]

Hi, for me the onset of PMR was in my back. The pain started at the top and over the next three month it descended down my back until it was stopped by steroids. I have never had any shoulder involvement. I did have stiff hips at night and trouble walking, usually in the morning. I definitely had PMR diagnosis, which was confirmed by PET CT.

[HeronNS]

I'm going to suggest if you have anyone who offers Bioflex light therapy in your area that you give it a try. I've been going to a physiotherapist who offers this since I was on about 7 mg pred. Not so often now as in the beginning and nowadays more for issues like you describe than for PMR. My tension and stiffness is really in my neck and shoulders. I went for physio a couple of weeks ago (after a couple of months gap), which that day consisted of a bit of manual loosening of my neck, and then light therapy, 45 mins total appointment, and when leaving, realized that I felt much lighter! All the tension was gone. I've been much better ever since and have decided not to wait too long for next appointment. Perhaps once a month, which is much less than I got in the beginning, but also more often than I'd experienced lately. I'm fortunate that our insurance covers quite a lot of the cost.

Unfortunately I can't seem to get the clinic locator to work. To test I looked up Halifax NS and it gave me Calgary AB! It used to be really easy to find out who was offering the service anywhere (mostly in Canada as it originated here), but probably if you're interested you could just e-mail or call their 1-800 number. They've made their website fancy and hard to use.

bioflexlaser.com/

Update - tried the locator again, and was able to find my own practitioner by scrolling down. Maybe I hadn't waited long enough for the map to fully load, because the map also worked this time.

bioflexlaser.com/clinic-loc...

[7Louise in reply to HeronNS]

oohh! Thanks Heron NS, I’ve sent a text out to the Bioflex company, to see if they have a list of therapists performing this, in my area.

Acupuncture was useful for me at one time, maybe this will be also

[Pixix]

my lower back,pain is a haemangioma, discovered through having an MRI. Haven’t heard of those particular muscle relaxants but may be a trade name sold in Canada & not elsewhere? I take amitryptylline as a muscle relaxant about 7pm, & it helps me get to sleep, but sadly, doesn’t last long, & I’m usually awake at 2am!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Pixix]

It is the trade name for a mixture of paracetamol and methocarbamol

[Pixix in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks, I was short of time to Google! S x

[Peterpiper74]

I have pmr. Also osteo arthritis which due to lower crumbling g hits my sciatic nerve constantly. I used to live on gabapentin oramorph and many others and with steroids for pmr and the odd Zapain cope with both quite well. I'm currently on 15mg daily.

[Skier321]

Prior to pmr I used to take platinum robaxicet, which is really ibprofin I found it worked very well for me back then for lower back stiffness. I was told when I got pmr and started prednisone that I should not take it at the same time by my doctor.

[7Louise]

Hello Arvine, and fellow Canadian. The stiffness is horrendous, and that was my first symptom, I used to say ‘I was turning into cement!’ I put up with it for so long, I didn’t have a clue what it was.

It was my wonderful chiropractor who said, ‘ I think you have poly’ …. After much self research, I knew that was me! For years I was told I had Fibromyalgia,. I suffered a long time, then we lived in China ( work related) for over 2 years, back before all the diet fabs, and given their diet there ( eat what’s fresh, in season, next to no bread, or dairy, very little meat) and walk, walk, walk, and foot massages weekly (!) I was absolutely symptom free 🤷🏻‍♀️…. Plus I was low on eating bread, do not a lot of gluten either. I became ill with severe stiffness once I returned home. Supplements like D3, B12, Calcium, magnesium helped but it was the onset of PMR.

What I did know, is that I have osteoarthritis , my birth mother, when I reunited had RA, so I learned quickly, genetically I was predisposed to autoimmune diseases and arthritis related illnesses.

I am down to only 1/2 of a 1 mg tablet of prednisone, my PMR is manageable. But I am always in pain and stiff for at least 2 hours first thing in the morning. I get more agile as the day goes on. Definitely the osteoarthritis. Lower back, extra strength Tylenol takes the edge off but not completely. I worked with a mature friend who took a fair bit of D3, ( more than suggested 🥺) and her osteoarthritis was nearly gone in a later X-ray. I feel like the answers are in foods, ( nutrition) exercise , supplements, plants. That seems to be my experience….although I’m grateful as heck for prednisone when I need it!

I would suggest an X-ray and a bone density test, if you haven’t had one, but also walking ( slowly ) seems to really help. Gentle yoga and swimming on good days.

[arvine in reply to 7Louise]

Hello 7Louise, well Ive had exrays, MRI,s etc, and last number of mos, few other issues, but mainly lower back right now, don,t even know if I still have PMR, test results show, spinal stenosis, synovitis, bulging disk, osteo, and of course degenerative disks( which started in my 30,s, I am 75 now) got down to 4 mgs, after 6 1/2 yrs, until Dec past, when had GCA like symptons, test showed negative, but rheumy put me back up to 40 mgs at that time, have now gotten to 10 mgs, going to be slow taper here on in, been referred to pain clinic for back issues, which are really the most painful now, after standing, walking 10 min or so, back starts up, seizes, very painful, take tylenol, but doesn,t do much, so going to be another long time getting down to 4 mgs, can,t take any anti inflammatories with pred, so hoping pain clinic can help me get some relief for back, very debilitating, also have had bone density done over the years, so far showed only ostopenia, but having complete physical at end of May , will be due for bone density then, yes, have been considering getting in water for long time, to date, hard to get moving in mornings, to get to scheduled aquafit times, and that along with IBS make mornings hard for me to get out,

[7Louise in reply to arvine]

oh Arvine! I’m so sorry, what a rough time you are having. I had a Hottub for years, that really helped with blood flow and stiffness, have you ever been on the route of nutritionalist and Naturalpathic doctor? I know arthritis is horrible, some have more pain than others, but I’ve gone to almost vegan ( mostly vegetarian) for two months now. No dairy or eggs or sugar the first week. No alcohol (!ok, 2-3 drinks) in 2 months. I’m so much better for it, ( fish once a week) my inflammation and cholesterol is down, and way more energy, even lost 8 lbs.

🤷🏻‍♀️🤞 it’s not a cure but it helps.