Advice needed please!

[Decsgran]

I am currently on 5.5mgs and am struggling! In May while on holiday my right hip gave way while walking back to the ship. It eased off but since then have had problems walking from time to time. Both legs have random aches and some days walking just into the kitchen is a problem. Without the bannisters I would be going upstairs on my hands and knees. Both hips are really stiff in the morning. The slightest exertion leaves me dripping in sweat and I generally feel under the weather.

So my question is do you wise people think I should up the dose and if so by how much? Or do you think it is adrenals and I just need to put up with it?

[PMRpro Ambassador]

What you are describing sounds far more like inadequately controlled PMR than adrenal problems. Difficult to say how much more you need but the standard approach to a flare would be to add 5mg to the dose where the flare occured for a week or so and them drop back to the last dose you felt good at. That is going to be 6mg at least since 5.5 is obviously not enough. How did you feel at 6mg and when was that?

After that hip gave way, was it investigated?

[Decsgran in reply to PMRpro]

After we got home I went to the chiropractor who worked her magic on me! I only dropped to 5.5 today as per my schedule but don’t think I should have as was having the problems on 6. I’m tempted to maybe go back to 8 and stay there for a while as I think I have been trying to reduce too quickly.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Decsgran]

I think so too. If you say the chiropractor helped it suggests you have myofascial pain syndrome problems too. They can be part of PMR as well as being a thing in their own right but in either case, they do respond better to targeted treatment - but they also benefit from the overall PMR situation being well controlled. You definitely shouldn't reduce the dose when you are having problems, whatever is causing them, because less pred often makes the situation worse.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

If it’s a flare then advice for coping with it, is contained in this link- but as PMRpro asks was your hip issue investigated?

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[piglette]

Have you tried a pain killer to see if that works? It may not be the PMR. If the painkiller does not work it probably is the PMR.

[Decsgran in reply to piglette]

Paracetamol has no effect!

[piglette in reply to Decsgran]

In that case it probably is PMR causing the problem.

[SheffieldJane]

Have you had an X Ray? It sounds like an injury that may well have triggered a flare.

[AshPen9]

Hello Decsgran. I have been on a very, very slow taper from 5mg to 4mg, lasting 6 months. About half way through I started to get some aches and pains but couldn't decide if they were due to OA. I persevered to the end of the taper, but like you I have getting terrible head and neck sweats after almost no exertion. PMPpro commented a few weeks ago that, for her, returning sweats were a sign that a flare was on the way. I finally got my bloods done last week and my ESR has gone from 8 at the beginning of the taper to 22 now. I've upped by 5mg for the past week but don't feel any different yet. Sounds like you might be having a flare.