Hot flushes and cramp!

[Lclmlbls]

I feel like I have gone back in time to the menopause. I often have what can only be described as hot flushes - not quite the same surge as a menopausal flush but often feeling unusually hot. Also I’m suffering badly with leg, foot and occasionally hand cramps. Are these things normal?

I’m down to 12mg now.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Unfortunately hot flushes very often come alongside your illness and the Pred-and you will find plenty of related posts,on the subject.

As for cramps, try magnesium - either in the form of good old fashioned Epsom salts, sprays or supplements.. here’s a post from the FAQs -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Lclmlbls in reply to DorsetLady]

Many thanks for your help, as always

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Both PMR itself and pred can lead to hot flushes in some people. If I start getting sweats no it is because the pred isn't doing enough to suppress the inflammation and a flare is threatening.

I had quite bad foot cramps with PMR but some people find pred makes them worse as it makes the body lose magnesium through the kidneys so that is a good place to start, supplements or topically in the form of sprays or Epsom salts in foot baths or the bath, But beware if you use supplements - some of them can have a laxative effect for some people!

[Lclmlbls in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for your reply. I mentioned it to my doctor who said if it got really bad she could prescribe quinine (or have a gin and tonic!) but I’d rather not take any more pills. She suggested I increase my liquid intake. The spray and foot bath you mentioned- what is that exactly and is it something to be used at the time of the cramp or something to do daily?

There’s always something cropping up with this damned PMR/pred isn’t there?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Lclmlbls]

Drinking a G&T won't help the cramps - there is next to no quinine in tonic these days. A lot of doctors dislike prescribing quinine and it doesn't always work either.

Epsom salts can be taken orally - they were a standby for constipation years ago. But you can use them as a bath additive, It is probably best to use them regularly so that the cell magnesium content increases to a level where cramps don't happen. Absorption through the skin is slow so is a preventative not an acute cure. I'm sure most chemists will have magnesium spray on their shelves.

betteryou.com/blogs/product...

[Bobbury]

Magnesium worked for me on cramps

[Lclmlbls in reply to Bobbury]

Thanks for your reply.

[piglette]

My steroid hot flushes were much worse than the menopause I felt! The cramps are nasty. I got my surgery to prescribe me quinine sulfate which works wonders in my opinion.

[Lclmlbls in reply to piglette]

The doctor mentioned quinine tablets but if I can’t find a solution I may have to resort to them. The cramps are so painful and unpredictable.

[piglette in reply to Lclmlbls]

I just take them when I get cramp. They work within minutes and taste quite nice too. If you can get a doctor to prescribe, even better, although I believe you can get them from Amazon. I recently read the book the Fever Tree, a really good read I thought.