I don't think PMR results in lung inflammation - it targets the soft tissues surrounding the joints. Pred is used as probably the most effective antiinflammatory available.
Did the hospital look beyond heart and lungs? For example, at arteries in the trunk?
Walking uphill is a problem for me too. Even a slight incline can be a struggle on certain days. Been particularly noticeable for me since hitting the lower doses when adrenals are trying to fire up again.
It's not necessarily inflammation that is causing this, although if it is present it won't help.It could simply be that you are feeling more Fatigue and as your body is having to cope with dealing with two health conditions at once , and dealing with processing your medications and any side effects they may cause , that it might need you to pace your activity at a gentle speed with more rests.
It could also be caused by a reduction in your stores of essential nutrients because both the illnesses and the medications that treat them can reduce how well you absorb certain vitamins and minerals , and lower levels of those can also cause Fatigue and Breathlessness.
Low or Deficienct Vitamin B 12 and Folates are often the common cause to more side effects and symptoms like exercise intolerance and Fatigue, and even if you have a good diet you often don't absorb these as well from food if you also take a steroid or PPIs. As we age it can also be harder to absorb nutrients as well from food for similar reasons , because of the change in stomach pH .
These vitamins also effect how well you absorb other nutrients , especially Iron and Vitamin D , which are other common causes of added breathlessness, palpitations , muscle pain and exercise intolerance. Vitamin B12 or Folate Deficiencies can cause a lot of ongoing symptoms including recurring Anaemia, Vitamin D deficiency, Muscle weakness , and cardiac and breathing difficulty,
It's worth requesting to have regular blood tests done for Ferritin/ Iron , Vitamin B12 , Folates, Electrolytes and Vitamin D when you take medications like steroids, PPIs, NSAIDS and various antidepressants used for pain, or if you suffer from inflammatory conditions, because of the effect these things have on your general health.
NICE guidelines suggest being tested every 6 months for Vitamin B12, Folate and Iron. Ferritin , even if the previous tests are normal but low, and getting tested every 12 months for Vitamin D to monitor the levels.
Get copies of the results as even if they are Normal , if they are borderline or at the lower end of the range some people can get symptoms earlier than others , especially if they are already dealing with a chronic illness , Fatigue or are over 65.
You can make amendments to your diet to add more of these nutrients into your diet to solve the issue and prevent symptoms getting worse , or take active supplements for a short time after a meal to improve things more quickly.
Another possibility is dehydration.
You body can be dehydrated even if you don't feel thirsty.
This is particularly true for people on medications or coping with inflammation.
Your body uses up much more water than the generally healthy population because if the extra jobs it is being asked to do during daily recovery.
That's why it's even more important to get the recommended amount of fluids each day when you have an illness.
That's also very true whilst you do physical activity.
People often end up in a vicious circle when it comes to drinking. They reduce how much they take in because they need to go to the toilet more and get more dehydrated. However, dehydration can often make you need to go to the toilet more too , sometimes with more urgency than drinking enough , because the body is eager to get rid of salts which might be building up in your body as the water level drops.
You can help your breathing during activity by drinking regularly as you are doing it , not just before or afterwards .
Drinking some water just before tackling a hill or a cardio related exercise also helps to regulate your breathing while you do it.
Drinking more , little and often , helps reduce burning in the chest and breathlessness as it cools your core body temperature which makes it easier to take in bigger breaths and helps you to get oxygen to travel more easily in the lungs and bloodstream.
It helps reduce your heart rate, in turn managing your blood pressure and reducing tension in the chest and airways which makes more exerting activities easier to do.
So , it's worth having a bottle of water with you at all times and getting into the habit of sipping from it regularly throughout the day,
I hope these suggestions help if you haven't been using them already , take care , Bee
Thank you so much for all this information Blearyeyed.Wish I could print it out and refer back when needed.I had PMR for 3 years followed by a prolapse and now a ILD .After a test for vitamin D at the beginning I was found to have none.Think I might need to up my dosage xxxxx
You can copy and print reply . If printing is the issue -then copy and paste into a word document. You can also save either the entire post on forum -or copy the reply as a link onto your device somewhere when it can be ready found.
If you press the MORE tab under the post you should see an option COPY REPLY LINK , press that and you should be able to copy it and print it off that way.
Thank you both so much for the reply’s and advice .Ive got a pulmonary appointment now but will definitely have a try this evening.Xxx I’m a bit if a dinosaur with technology so wish me luck 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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