Would rigorous work cause GCA flare?

[montebello]

Hi all,

I'm in the midst of a slight GCA flare -- having had to increase my PRED from 8 mg to 10 mg over the last few weeks. All is well at 10 MG (no jaw pain anymore), but I'm wondering whether or not my recent outdoor activity might have caused the flare.

I have been careful not to overexert myself in the last 13 months -- heck it was impossible anyway due to the fatigue I was combatting. But now that the fatigue has gotten better (not all gone but better), I found myself tackling some of the outside work that needed to be done.

I found myself clearing brush, using the chainsaw, and sweating a LOT but only for a period of 60 minutes per day. I had been doing this for about 2 weeks before the flare hit.

I thought it would be good to gradually get myself back into some strenuous activity, but maybe not?

Thoughts?

[SheffieldJane]

😐 oh dear! Well you know don’t you? Our muscles cannot spring back like they did when we were healthy. Pred can fool us into imagining that we are strong. You might get away with complete rest. Let’s hope that this doesn’t lead to a full blown flare. The instructions for this eventuality are in FAQs kindly supplied by DorsetLady.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Yes - but that doesn't sound like gradually!!!! Half and hour of light work at most is where you start - not straight into the chainsaw level!

[Blearyeyed]

Yes , vigorous exercise , especially after a long period of inactivity will cause a flare in either GCA or PMR symptoms.We need to pace ourselves, although most of us have made exactly the same mistake as you , and tried to do all those activities at the same level as we did before GCA/ PMR when we felt a bit better; so you aren't alone.

We all learnt the same painful lesson.

When we start to feel better we can stay that way and reduce the chance of flares by slowly increasing our physical or mental activity , having plenty of rests between activities and building up our strength gradually within our current comfort zone .

It feels frustrating, especially if you were a very active person in your " Old Normal", but it works.

If you do this your daily activity becomes consistent ; you expand the range of your comfort zone without flares ; and it can improve the speed of your recovery too.

Go from one extreme to another and you will yoyo between busy days and bed days and struggle from flare to flare,

Run the race like the slow and steady tortoise and not the speedy hectic hare and you will win it in the end.

There is no way I could have touched my chainsaw whilst I still had GCA , the loss of muscle strength and the migraines alone would have put me on my back.

As the Cadburys Caramel Bunny used to say , "Take it Easy" , take care , Bee

[Bluey-1]

Oh my goodness Montebello, take it easy. I reiterate everything Bee has said. Pacing, pacing…

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Gradually-yes…. But what you did was anything but gradual 😳

as mentioned by SheffieldJane -advice for flare if required -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Blearyeyed in reply to DorsetLady]

Yes , sometimes people forget that gradual doesn't just mean the time spent doing an activity but what the activity is.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Blearyeyed]

Very true!