Hello everyone, I have been on prednisolone for just over three weeks, pain in neck, shoulders & arms have improved . I thought my low back had gone into spasm at the weekend however I am wondering if it could be PMR . The pain in hips and pelvic area is excruciating first thing in the morning easing a little as I get mobile & the day progresses . I started reducing pred beginning of the week as instructed by the doctor. Would prednisolone help if back pain is spasm & could increasing pred back to 15mg help Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thank you
Can PMR effect hip, pelvic area : Hello everyone, I... - PMRGCAuk
Can PMR effect hip, pelvic area
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Mistyfied
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DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer
See this for areas affected by PMR - and at only 3 weeks on 15mg very likely not long enough - how did you feel at that dose?
What have you reduced to? If 12.5mg then probably too big a reduction…. So maybe back to 15mg [informing doctor] and then reduce by 1mg only…
PMR
Morning DorsetLady, appreciate your prompt response. 15mg definitely reduced pain in shoulders arms etc, although mildly back first thing in the mornings before taking pred again. Reduced to 13mg since Monday ( doctor said 12mg! ) as you mention perhaps too much! Will return to 15 mg today see how I go. Thank you for diagram, exactly where spasm pain is radiating from !
Like Charlie1boy would question if 15mg was quite enough -so maybe another couple of weeks at that dose…
Thank you 😊
My suspicion re the PMR symptoms is that 15mg was on the low side and 3 weeks definitely not long enough as a result. I had a dramatic response to 15mg but it was a few months before it built up to maximum.
If it were me, I would wonder whether 15mg was enough pred to clear up the inflammation that had built up pre diagnosis. The usual starting dose which is recommended is between twelve and a half and twenty five mg, so there is a bit of wriggle room if the pain persists.
Good luck.
Interesting Charlie1boy I had been wondering if dose was enough due to quite a slow response three weeks ago ,thank you
I have found it was a false economy to underdose at diagnosis or a flare; it just takes much longer to settle and one ends up staying on a higher dose longer overall; a difficult mind-set to accept in the first year of the illness.
I'm not impressed that your GP has apparently not checked that 15mg has done the trick. My GP took more blood tests after 10 days, then upped the dose to 20mg. Later still, to 25mg.
Thank you Sharitone, I am not too impressed with doctor either, however I did have blood test last week, levels came down slightly , hence she decided to reduce the dose 🤷♀️ thankfully all you guys and dolls on this forum have been much more helpful & informative 😊 thank you
No, no, no!!! The levels need to be heading steadily for normal and preferably got there before ANY reduction makes sense.
Double ditto... Mistyfied
👍
No, no, no as well! When my inflammation levels came down on 15mg, it was not ENOUGH to satisfy the GP. The improvement should have been marked, which doesn't seem to have been the case for you. Sounds like you're really still quite sore.
Thank you Sharitone, this forum is definitely opening my eyes . My daughter suggests I go back to doctors to discuss further , as you say , I am still quite sore, but more so today . I would go back to the doctors if I could get an appointment ! Am going to visit the surgery tomorrow in the hope they may give me one, even if it’s in a couple of weeks, there are no appointments available on line!
Do they do Econsults? A couple of weeks is a long time to put up with that kind of stiffness.
Econsult was brilliant as you were able put everything in writing and someone would get back to you …. eventually! Unfortunately the practice I attend have been going through bad times, sending out messages saying they haven’t enough staff to cope with demand therefore they removed econsult last year . Think it’s a sign of the times NHS are struggling . The other message they sent out was to say appointments would be released at 00.01 , can you imagine having to stay up to jump on the computer to get an appointment at that time of night 🙈 they have now moved that 10.00 am however there are loads of mental health appointments on the system perhaps I should book one of those , hmm 🙊 will see how I get on trying to book an appointment tomorrow! Thankyou
Why don’t the doctors explain to someone who has never experienced PMR instead of giving out a sheet a paper, saying follow this , with how many weeks at this level then on to the next . I have a habit of a life time of being told what to do and doing it! Slowly realising that’s not necessarily the right course , thanks for all your help 🤗
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Difficult to say - but I have had an almost identical experience this week! Having had a steroid injection for the sacroiliac pain, this week it seems to be muscle spasm!!! Get rid of one nightmare and another turns up ...
The SI pain got worse with walking, this is on trying to get out of bed first thing!! Once I am vertical and move a short distance around the flat, it improves a lot. I had a Pain Clinic appointment on Tuesday and she said the muscles along the spine were very tight and injected them but rather tentatively. They softened a bit but I assume it will take time to fully improve.
The only way to find out if pred helps is to try and then reduce more slowly. I find a hot water bottle helps a LOT! And it doesn't help PMR pain at all.
Interesting you have experienced similar this week. Definitely worse getting out of bed , being mobile helps, hot water bottles or heat pad are effective as you say get rid of one pain and up pops another 🙈 I am inclined to agree reduce more slowly. Hope you feel a bit better soon !
Been good today - but I'd taken ibuprofen early on and haven't been out. It was cold - never really got above freezing - and there was no sun today which makes it worse.
If you work out what it is - do tell me! And I'll post if anyone here can tell me what it is!!!
Sounds very cold where you live brrr 🥶, am not very good with the cold weather . I will indeed not sure I’ll be able to work it out though !
Only in January and overall it isn't at present actually but with clear skies at night the temperature in the valley plummets. I live in a high valley, halfway up a mountain. There is no wind though so as long as it is sunny - which is most of the time - even in the winter you can sit outside for a drink with a warm jacket and they often provide blankets!
WOW sounds exceedingly idilic ,you paint a lovely picture , I love mountains😊enjoy
It sounds like you should ensure that the steroids are doing their job before reducing. I had a rheumy who pushed me to reduce too soon and it caused me to yo yo after that and I am certain things would have gone more smoothly if I had not been pushed at the beginning.
Reading your story and other's input makes me really question my GP's plan of attack. My GP put me on 10mg of predinsone after consulting with a Rheumatologist about my symptoms being indicitive of PMR. I have yet to see a Rheumatologist myself, first appointment is May! The 10mg made my shoulder stop hurting and my groin/thighs for a bit but pain in the groin upper thigh is creeping back in now. It's been 10 days. GP considered uping to 15mg but said to wait to see if I level out in the next two weeks and then she would start to decrease. No mention of re-doing blood tests or any real follow-up, she is the worst. It is all so frustrating. I still question the diagnosis as I have yet to speak to anyone in depth about it. For now I think I am at the mercy of my GP and will have to hold out until my appoitnment in May with the reumatologist. I hope you find the dose that works and a doctor that will do the right thing. The inforamtion here is a godsend.
The information here is definitely a godsend . So sorry for you PMROSE it’s all very stressful & frustrating, good luck .
If 10mg achieved something then she is wrong to wait to increase the dose to see if that gets a better result. 10mg is too low a starting dose for most - the guidelines say the lowest effective dose in the range 12.5 to 25mg. It hasn't been effective - so she needs to try more, If you haven't got to a reasonably pain-free level, she shouldn't be even THINKING of reducing. You have to achieve remission first - THEN you can find a lower dose.
Give her this to read:
ard.bmj.com/content/83/1/48...
It was published in BMJ so she may have seen it - and should have paid attention!
Agree with PMR - 10mg is very low dose to start - below guidelines, so not sure why Rheumy/GP settled on that... and GP should have gone with first though of upping it to 15mg...
Hi, I was initially diagnosed by my DR with having PMR however the rheumatologist diagnosed fibromyalgia, so that's still a mystery. What I can say is similar to you that I have pain in both my hips,cround the buttock, lower back area and inner/outer thighs. That pain after ultrasounds showed up to be trocherantic bursitis, but I believe that bursitis can be PMR related too. Very painful at night, at rest and after sitting so I emphasize with you. I had the painful shoulders too but after getting 2 cortisone shots that pain decreased. I'm no expert but thought I'd share that in my experience hip pain can be related to PMR.
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