PMG tapering advice

[Guilluame]

I have had pmg since September last year and have now tapped from 15mg to 2mg, however I am now experiencing right side rib area dull ache which is tender to the touch. I am wondering if anyone else has had this reaction on tapering. It’s almost impossible to get an appointment with my GP, I did ask for a follow up,blood test in May, but he said that as I had one in December it wasn’t necessary. I did have a chest infection two months ago and saw a private GP in desperation who gave me two lots of antibiotics which I a, assuming cleared up the infection. Any ideas would be gratefully received.

[piglette]

To reduce to 2mg in less than a year is very fast, but you may be lucky. The pain in your side does not sound like PMR. Have you tried painkillers?

[Guilluame in reply to piglette]

Thank you for replying to my question, I have upped my dose of steroids to 5 mg for a while to see if that helps. It is all self help these days, so this forum is invaluable.

[piglette in reply to Guilluame]

Has the increase helped? See if painkillers help which might indicate it is something other than PMR if they do. Best of luck.

[Guilluame in reply to piglette]

Thank you for your reply, I will give it another week and if nothing is improving try to get a phone appointment it’s the doc.

[piglette in reply to Guilluame]

A week is a good time to wait.

[darkred in reply to piglette]

I have a similar problem with ribs, very low on rib cage. It's a frequent stabbing pain (often, every couple minutes), especially difficult when it interferes with sleep. In this instance, would it be ok to take naproxen? Tylenol does nothing.

[piglette in reply to darkred]

You can take an NSAID for a short time. Could it be Costochondritis?

[darkred in reply to piglette]

I'm going to try an NSAID. Have tried everything else. Thanks!

[piglette in reply to darkred]

Good luck and be careful. Did you check the symptoms of costochondritis ?

[darkred in reply to piglette]

I did check. The 4th, 5th and 6th ribs are most common. So, I'm thinking it might be costochondritis. sidra1968 said she gets rib pain with her PMR. I had been ruling this out because I did not have the stabbing pains until about a week ago. I think my next step may be to increase pred and see if that helps. I took celecoxib 3 hours ago, went to bed and slept soundly for an hour. The pain is not as sharp but still exists. Maybe this new pain is now part of my PMR? However, I am not having a "flare" in my shoulders and upper arms, but I will still check out if extra Pred helps.

[piglette in reply to darkred]

I got costochondritis and even breathing hurt. I tried to give up breathing but that was a bit difficult!!!

[darkred in reply to piglette]

Well, I guess I should be glad to breathe without pain.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It isn't entirely typical - upper ribs are the usual place - but it could be costochonditis.

However there is a range of underlying causes of such pain - you probably need to ask your doctor.

[sidra1968]

For what it's worth I get rib pain with my PMR that is tender to the touch, also..everything else has been ruled out, so...mine went away with the steroids upped.

[darkred in reply to sidra1968]

My rib pain is a stabbing pain that comes as often as every 2 minutes, sometimes more often. Deep breaths have no effect on the pain. I may have to up my steroid to get some peace. Did your rib pain return as you lowered steroid?

[PMRnewbie2017]

I've had intermittent rib discomfort on and off when my dose was around the 3mg to 2mg mark. I discovered that by either not wearing a bra or putting an extender on the back so that it didn't pull so tight, really helped. Is the discomfort worse when you take a really full in breath?

[Guilluame in reply to PMRnewbie2017]

no, I can’t feel any pain or discomfort hen I take a deep breath, only hon I touch the rib area. Thanks for your reply.