Off meds: is 13 lucky?

[PMR2011]

Fingers crossed! After 13 years (7 yrs with PMR then added GCA for another 5) I am off all meds. Pred came off in 2020 and have been on just Actemra. Tapered that to monthly and last dose was April 17th. So far so good. I wanted to say this site and all you lovely folks has been a Godsend along the journey. You taught me so much about my diseases and about myself! So I’ll continue to hang on the periphery and hopefully give back to others. Thank you!🙏

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hope 13 is lucky for you… and please do stay around… always help others.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

13 isn't unlucky here - the number here in Italy is 17!! You see a No 13 but never a No 17 as you walk down the street! Restaurant tables nos are the same.

All the best!! And please don't go away!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

That's odd seeing what the number 13 allegedly represents in the Christian world ..and Italy being a religious country. Why 17?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

abodeitaly.com/blog/why-ita....

"While many countries avoid the number 13, Italians are more fearful of the number 17. This fear stems from the fact that the number 17’s Roman numeral, XVII, is an anagram of VIXI, which means “I have lived” in Latin. Some consider this a bad omen as it implies that death is just around the corner."

Strangely, the 13th is involved in Mayan and Norse culture as well

bbc.co.uk/newsround/16543009

and "The end of the Mayan calendar's 13th Baktun was superstitiously feared as a harbinger of the apocalyptic 2012 phenomenon"

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

Ta. Interesting -on both counts - and yes Loki has a lot to answer for!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

Not who you want round for dinner ...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

Nope!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro]

I was born on Good Friday..albeit not the 13th - which apparently is lucky…

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

Never knew that about Italy. One gets lots of knowledge from this Forum, and not all about pmr/gca.!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Charlie1boy]

Funny you should say that - mentioned just the same in another post earlier today ... if you are bored!

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Charlie1boy in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you. I enjoyed that little exchange between you and PMRPro. I hadn’t known the proper meaning of Wallop as in place names - more Piddles round Worcestershire, where I used to live! 😁

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Charlie1boy]

Oh yes -loads of Piddles… 🤦🏻‍♀️

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

They were what I was thinking of originally - Wyre Piddle and its pub that used to serve Piddle in The Hole beer ...

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

Yes, that’s the one. You’ve certainly travelled a bit. 😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

I was born in Hereford, grew up in the north of the county, went to the cricket in Worcester, visited an aunt in Staffordshire - not much of the Midlands I didn't see at some point!

[Charlie1boy in reply to PMRpro]

Yes - been to the cricket at Worcester a few times. Beautiful ground, but gets flooded too often nowadays. 😬

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Charlie1boy]

It was bad enough then!!!

[Miserere]

Thanks for offering hope!! Your message is worth its weight for me at the moment. I'm pretty sure my problem is now with adrenals and so I am struggling to reduce Pred. Today is a completely fatigued day after a few busy ones. So frustrating - but at least your tale tells me there is hope - sometimes I lose sight of that.

[PMR2011 in reply to Miserere]

Absolutely! It took me 2 years to wean off Pred from 7mg. And oh the fatigue!…but my adrenals woke up in the end, even after nearly 9 years!

[Miserere]

I feel better already! Patience is a virtue I find difficult to develop ......