Dr Mark Porter who is a working GP writes most weeks in The Times. The link to today's article is below because he mentions steroids as well. I hope it opens. If it doesn't I can cut a paste the parts of interest.
Today I had an endoscopy because of pains in the food pipe. The doctor doing the procedure was excellent and wanted to hear exactly where I felt pain. She had never heard of PMR so I gave her a quick explanation and the moment I mentioned Pred and being on it for over two years, she told me that Pred causes polyps and other things (I forget what).
She took some biopsies of the polyps for cancer and gave me the report of what she had seen an hour later. Unfortunately the imagining machine attached to the camera was not working so she could only give a diagram of the areas of concern. She flagged up inflammation in one area and I wondered if that was from the PMR?
Her parting advice was to try hard to reduce the pred as soon as possible - but we all know it does not work like that. We would all love to be off it.
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It does open -thank you…but I think most of us are aware that PRED and NSAIDs can cause stomach issues .. unfortunately more serious for some than others..but as you say it isn’t always easy to ‘get off the Pred asap’! 😊
My Rheumy said to take stomach protection of some sort while on pred . He said he didn't care what it was as long as I took something. No problems four years on.
Well I did as instructed and took Omeprazole while on steroids for GCA/PMR for 2 years and hopefully am in remission now, but I just couldn't get rid of the Omeprazole, I kept getting sore throats Eventually after begging a locum to send me for an endoscopy ( our surgery had completely fallen apart in the pandemic) so no consistent drs, the report came back as nothing unusual just a small hiatus hernia and evidence of some inflammation.
Any future phone apps. just came back as nothing to take for the inflammation just up the Omeprazole, so I had one last go at sorting it and said I was fed up I wanted to talk to someone face to face so I knew they cared, I was depressed, my hay fever was causing me to be miserable and my diet was too limited without getting a sore throat despite still being on a PPI, I wanted to try Famotidine I had been saying for months the PPI wasn't working.
Surprisingly I got to see a new lady Dr who hopefully is a stayer. She said hay fever nasal drip can cause inflammation in the throat, try Beconase nasal spray and a second pharmacist suggested a different hayfever tab. the first one at a large chain of pharmacies starting with B said given my medication I was best sticking with the one I was on--- despite saying it wasn't working.
I get the impression their work load is too much for some pharmacists when they are supposed to be doing prescriptions.
So 19 months after remission and on Famotidine my throat is fine providing I avoid food which is too acidic, not sure what happens if I try to give up the nasal spray at the end of the grass/conifer pollen season, but usually take the allergy tablets all year around. However my steroids never caused any stomach issues. Maybe the PPI had effect for that.
I have have experienced/heard of some appalling behaviour by pharmacists at a large chain beginning with B which indicated a decided lack of training in their role!!!! I refuse to patronise them unless there is absolutely no other option. Their own loratidine (my preferred antihistamine) was about 5 times the price of the same amount from Lidl which works fine! In fact, it was almost as much as an expensive brand ...
Thanks, it is the Loratidine which I gave up on, but it maybe ok now I'm on the nasal spray, also tried Cetirizine Hydrochloride (in other words the cheapies) now on chlorphenamine maleate the one the second pharmacist suggested but they are dearer, they was Piriton brand but have found a cheaper brand.
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I'm new and would love to hear your thoughts
Methotrexate and Ibuprofen
Taking a pred break..
Nerve pain in."girdle" area...started as shocks now constant severe pain.
