Newly diagnosed

[Kma123]

Hi everyone, I've just been told that my symptoms suggest I have PMR. My GP has sought advice from Rheumatology and been advised to treat as PMR and see how my symptoms go. I started 20mg of Prednisolone per day yesterday and within a few hours felt quite sick and a little dizzy with a very bad headache (this could have been a migraine). I've taken the dose again this morning and again have felt quite dizzy. Is this normal on Prednisolone or maybe just a coincidence that it coincides with starting the medication? The pain in my shoulder does seem a bit better than normal today but again I'm not sure if that is too quick?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi and welcome,

Some get a very quick reaction to Pred regarding their PMR pains, so you may be one of those..

Dizziness is quite common, headaches not quite so common but maybe just body adjusting to new medication. How long after taking the tablets does it come on, and how long does it last?

Maybe give it another couple of days and see if those symptoms get better.... one option is to take Pred at night... but give it a chance to settle initially.

as you are new - a bit of general info for you -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Kma123 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you so much for your quick reply!

Yesterday I felt sick about an hour and a half after taking the medication and then felt dizzy most of the afternoon. Today I haven't felt sick but felt dizzy about an hour after taking it and now my head just feels quite thick (not really sure how to explain it!) My mum suffers with rheumatoid arthritis and had been on every medication going (including prednisolone for many many years) and she seems to think it can't be the medication but I'm not too sure.

Thank you for the advice, I will see how I go over the next few days.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Kma123]

That says to me that yes it is the Pred, it takes about an hour or so for it to get into the system.... hopefully as your body gets more accustomed to it, then these side effects will abate.

Any reason why you started at 20mg? ... most common is usually 15mg. Just thinking you might not have had these side effects at the slightly a lower dose, but stick with what you are on for now...

Obviously should it get any worse [not that I think it will] - you should seek medical advice.

[Kma123 in reply to DorsetLady]

I'm not sure why I was started at 20mg tp be honest however that is only for 7 days and then 15mg for a month. Fingers crossed it settles soon but I will definitely seek advice if it gets worse

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Kma123]

okay.. GP taken slightly different approach, but hopefully it works, and the lower dose will stop the side effects you have. Keep us updated please.

[Kma123 in reply to DorsetLady]

Yes I'll be lad to get this week away so I can lower the dose and Hooe the symptoms improve. Will keep you posted

[SnazzyD]

Pred does that to me about an hour or so after taking it and higher the dose the worse it is. When I was on 60mg it floored me; I felt drunk. While I felt affected I took it at bedtime to sleep through the worst. I still woke up at the crack of dawn once the stimulant got kicked in. It doesn’t happen to everybody but it is a regular complaint on this forum.

[Kma123 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm glad it's not just me, I thought I was going ma's! I still feely really heady now, kind of like a hangover!

[SnazzyD in reply to Kma123]

Yup. I felt heady and sort of stuffed up the whole time until the dose got down. You do get used to it though. Don’t be tempted to reduce too quickly bec of this though.

While we’re at it, start a low carb low salt diet now to avoid spiking blood sugars, weight gain and fluid retention. The steroid moon face will happen anyway but that too will reduce as your dose does.

[Kma123 in reply to SnazzyD]

It really does help knowing its not just me and I look forward to it settling down! Thanks for the advice regarding diet, I shall look to do that straight away.

[piglette]

I started on 20mg and had all sorts of funny side effects, but I had a magical effect on the pain.

[Kma123 in reply to piglette]

That's really good to know (that you had magical effect on the pain not the side effects). My pain has already reduced so I am hopeful. Can I ask how long it took for your side effects to reduce?

[piglette in reply to Kma123]

The sensitive teeth went away at 15mg. The others just slowly improved. I tend to react very badly to any tablets or vaccines. I spent two weeks in bed after my Pfizer Covid vaccine. I was told to cut out gluten and simple carbs to stop the moon face and it worked! Possibly pure coincidence of course.

[Kma123 in reply to piglette]

I'm praying things settle a little next week at the reduction to 15mg!

[piglette in reply to Kma123]

Good luck. A mantra for PMR is rest, rest, rest. You must remember you have an illness. The steroids just help the pain, they don’t cure the PMR!

[Kma123 in reply to piglette]

That's sounds like a good mantra and one I think I'm going to need to learn quickly!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

You are not alone! There have been several people over the years who had this feeling as the dose got into the system. Some found taking the pred at night worked for them, others that it improved with lower doses and some tried splitting the dose successfully.

[Kma123 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you so much, it really does help to know I'm not alone and that I'm not going mad! It's all a bit of a minefield isn't it! I shall see how I go for a few days but it's good to know there's options to try and ease the symptoms and I'm praying the reduced dose after 7 days will help as well

[Gossiplady in reply to Kma123]

Hi there Kma123! Just remember you have many many friends and advisors on this forum. Rant when you want to and remember this is a marathon not a race. Keep strong!

[Kma123 in reply to Gossiplady]

Thank you so much, really appreciate it@