What to do

[daisylazy]

Posted lately about shoulder pain .just wondering if you could have chronic pain in upper arms only in PMR . Well slight niggles in back and knees but not anything much .At physio today and she thought I should up the pred to get rid of inflammation so that I could do the exercises which with this amount of pain is impossible .Xray showed arthritis in shoulders but why did they both get bad so suddenly .Any advice would be greatly appreciated

as I going on holiday to Portugal on Friday and would love to be a little pain free .Thank you so much in advance

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

If you are going away on Friday, there’s not a lot you can do - if it is osteoarthritis then Pred isn’t going to do a lot… so you need otc painkillers.

However if it is PMR you could try an extra 5mg for a week and see if that makes any difference. But you don’t want to try both at same time or you won’t know which is which… and you don’t really have time to find out before you go away.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

A flare has to start somewhere and I have been trying to get from 7mg to 6mg for some time but every single time after 2 or 3 weeks at 6mg the biceps tendinitis that has always been a feature of my PMR resurfaces and if left long enough the left elbow stops be doing much at all. Nothing else - arms only.

I'd try the extra pred for the holiday and drop back afterwards. If it works, you have your answer and a better holiday. If it doesn't you can still try the painkillers.

[daisylazy in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PRO and Dorset Lady .I will try extra Pred and see what happens when I get back .Hope to get a bit of sun ,Weather not great here at the moment.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to daisylazy]

I hope you do - the weather here in northern Italy is also absolute rubbish! We've been getting 2 good days max at a time - wettest May ever. But the weather systems seem to be forming in the Med and travelling east. Forecast for Lisbon is upper 20s and no rain for the next week.

[daisylazy in reply to PMRpro]

Oh that is good news Pro .Sorry to hear that your weather isn't great .Best wishes for an improved summer Sadly every country seems to be changing weather patterns .

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to daisylazy]

Today it is 10C and chucking it down!!! And I have to go out ...

[herdysheep]

Going on holiday raises the temptation to carry too much and not evenly. Be as kind to arms and shoulders as you can. You may need raised dose for a while after you return if you can't move the luggage to someone else! Either way, enjoy your jollies. Can't be anything but warmer than here and quite likely drier.

[daisylazy in reply to herdysheep]

Thanks so much Herdysheep I need the break so here's hoping .

[calibriel]

In answer to your question about having PMR in arms/shoulders only, yes you can. It’s where it started with me, and the only place I’ve ever really had it

[daisylazy in reply to calibriel]

Thanks calibriel good to know .

[AtopicGuy]

Inflammatory disease of the joints is rheumatoid arthritis. PMR is a disease of the muscles: often those surrounding the joints.