Feeling awful

[Crochetgirl65_]

I have been trying to pace myself through a very busy time but clearly I have not had enough rest. I was on 1.5mg but thought I ought to go up to 2mg but two days later I developed a bout of diverticulitis, probably as a result of naughty eating. Then yesterday I started feeling so ill. Aching all over, feeling sick, especially when moving around, headache and fatigue. I went to bed early but still felt bad so I took another 1mg and within a few hours started to feel better.

I have taken 3mg again today and feel ok but not back to normal. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions gratefully received.

I have been on pred for nearly 10 years now.

forgot to mention I got so, so cold, struggled to get warm. Not like me at allI normally run hot!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Maybe stay on 3mg for a few more days and see if things improve…. If not then maybe a week at 5 or 6mg and then drop back down to 2mg.

Trouble is it’s difficult to know if it’s a flare of your PMR, your adrenals struggling or the bout of diverticulitis- or more likely a combination of all three.

Hope you soon feel better.

[Crochetgirl65_ in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you so much for your advice

[piglette]

It sounds like you might have a bug of some sort. There seems to be an awful lot of illnesses going round at the moment including a deluge of Covid cases.

[Crochetgirl65_ in reply to piglette]

I also have a nasty cough that seems to doing the rounds. Perhaps it has been all too much for my system?

[piglette in reply to Crochetgirl65_]

I got the cough, but it did go away quite quickly.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

That all sounds very close to a barely escaped adrenal crisis. You possibly need even more pred. Have you tested for Covid? It is presenting very strangely these days!

[Crochetgirl65_ in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you, I did test for Covid yesterday, just in case , as I no longer know what the signs and symptoms are 😂 it was negative. Upping my pred dose seems to have done the trick as I am feeling a lot better so seems to suggest adrenal problems.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Crochetgirl65_]

SnazzyD says on another post that members of her family have taken various times to test positive - 3, 5 and 7 days and another one present with the same symptoms never did test positive!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Crochetgirl65_]

From a recent article - Cedars-Sinai infectious disease specialist Jonathan Grein, MD, told HuffPost

The cold-like symptoms include congestion, runny nose, sore throat and a dry cough.

Most patients we’re seeing with COVID seem to have milder and upper respiratory symptoms,

The symptoms—which also can include headaches and body aches, fatigue and fever—overlap with those of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a COVID-19 test can help determine the culprit.

There’s no indication that the current tests available are less likely to pick up the newer variants compared to what we’ve seen before

Grein said that loss of taste and smell—telltale signs of COVID-19 that were common early in the pandemic—are less so now.

He told HuffPost that pneumonia is a less common complication, too, but patients sometimes still develop it, “typically in people that are either not vaccinated or have other underlying health issues.”

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

"loss of taste and smell—telltale signs of COVID-19 that were common early in the pandemic—are less so now."

It was loss of sense of smell that alerted my daughter last week - her partner was chopping onions and she couldn't smell them!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

I think you have to think it might be Covid whatever the symptoms...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

It would almost certainly help keep it a relatively minor problem! They are suggsting wearing masks again here. I have mine in my bag for any time a bus or train gets busy.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

Yes I always have one in my bag...

[Dochaz in reply to PMRpro]

Just to add that if you wear contact lenses onions don't make you cry, so take them out and chop an onion to be sure!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Dochaz]

I don't remember that from my contact lens days!

[Dochaz in reply to PMRpro]

It's true for me. I have my contacts in from after breakfast until late evening, so preparing meals (which usually involves chopping onions) is tear-free, but if I'm giving my eyes a rest from contacts and wearing glasses the onion tears are blinding 😭

[Karenjaninaz]

I hope you are being treated for the diverticulitis. That type of infection can give you all those flu like symptoms. Prednisone can mask them somewhat. ONOH you need the pred to support you during an infection- sick day.

[Crochetgirl65_ in reply to Karenjaninaz]

Thank you x

[PMRCanada]

It can certainly be difficult to determine if your symptoms are due to a PMR flare, adrenals struggling, or diverticulitis (or a convo of all 3 as Dorset Lady has mentioned).

I’ve recently been faced with the same dilemma and what helped was time and the process of elimination. After what seemed to be enough time and treatment for the suspected diverticulitis, I’m left with only two possible, overlapping culprits. Paying attention to my symptoms as they relate to my taper offers some clues as well.

All this to say I feel for you given your situation. Feeling unwell and not knowing why can be frustrating as it makes it difficult to know how to treat the symptoms. Hope you feel better soon.

[Crochetgirl65_ in reply to PMRCanada]

Thank you so much for your reply. Things seem to be settling down a little now. Next decision, when to go back to previous dose of pred. There’s always something 🙂