New to PMR

[PurplePiggies]

I have recently been diagnosed with PMR, symptoms cleared up dramatically on 20mg prednisolone, slowing reducing and now on 12.5mg. I am having some muscle stiffness in the morning after doing exercise, mainly from doing workouts with light weights. Should I continue or just do body weight workout? Any advice would be welcome. Also since being on steroids my weight hasn't gone up but my belly has got bigger any help with this. Thank you

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi and welcome,

Maybe have look through this intro post - and although exercise is good, PMR affected muscles don’t like repetitive action, and take longer to recover than previously.

So maybe try and vary the exercises you do, making sure you give them a day to recover, and you cannot exercise to the same level you did pre PMR… you need to build up slowly, like you would after a sports injury.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

Pred does have a habit of redistributing fat, and watch your carbs intake…. Others will be along with advice on that..

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Hi and welcome!

I would suggest reducing your weights to something lower and start with fewer reps to start with and build up slowly. Just because you USED to be able to do more doesn't mean you can now with PMR. You have a new normal since both PMR and pred affect muscles and soft tissues around the joints and care is required. Build up from a level that doesn't leave you stiff but VERY slowly - low weight and fewer reps, adding only a couple of reps each time until you find you limit, drop back to the previous level and train for a few weeks before adding more. Sounds slow - but it really is worth it.

Pred changes how your metabolism works, makes the body deposit excess carbs as fat in particular places. Try cutting carbs, especially processed ones and added sugar, limit fruit (lots of hidden sugar!) and it may help the fat deposits. It affects some people more than others.

[alangg]

Hi.

If you were only recently diagnosed, you have got down to 12.5mg quite quickly so I would be very wary of reducing too fast - especially when you are below 10mg. I started on 15mg and it took me nearly 3 years to reduce to zero but I am convinced that through doing such a slow reduction, I didn't experience any 'flares' and didn't have to go back up to a higher dose at any point.

Do read through the information that DL has suggested and pay particular attention on how to reduce the dose using one of the various tapering plans.

[AtopicGuy]

Firstly, as someone who does hard workouts, you need to be confident that you have been correctly diagnosed. PMR is an autoimmune disease, and it is notoriously difficult to diagnose because everything else must be ruled out first. Blood tests for inflammatory markers are important, but it must be remembered that common infections and injuries also raise the levels of CRP (C-reactive protein) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate). When the pain and stiffness appeared, did you ease off the exercise and give your body at least two weeks to recover before blood tests were done? Inflammation is a natural part of our bodies' repair & maintenance programme. It is not always the enemy it is made out to be.

If you and your doctor are confident nothing else could be at play, and conclude your own immune system is attacking your tissues, you need to ensure you do not demand too much of your dysfunctional muscles, until they are well.