Should I try the 5 mg of prednisone increase for few days

[arvine]

well I have told my story few times over last months, most recently over 3 weeks ago have severe groin pain and moves around, hip joint front thigh and same side achy leg, had MRI on back about 6 weeks ago, ortho dr also ordered MRI for left hip( this was to check if tears tjat happened in Jan in gluteus and hamstring have healed , ) for which is not causing pain now, everything described is on right side, cant see him intil aug 3, at which time he would have results of those tests, currently constant pain left hip , groin pain like being strangled, have to use walker, not put any pressure or move top jointbof leg. Already went for left hip MRI coupl weeks ago, couldnt tolerate pain in left side to complete test.all muscles hurt especially few hrs morn and night, and seems to me this all began in April when I started slow taper from 5 mgs to 4, and if what I am going through is a flare lasting now for few mos?My rheumy is saying naturally increase would help pain because pred is a painkiller and wants me to continue taper, been on 4 mgs now for few weeks,

[piglette]

The groin pain does sound like you may have a hip problem rather than anything to do with PMR. An xray should find out though.

[arvine in reply to piglette]

Yes thinking thatvasvfar as groin pain goes, just the bodyy muscles hurting, every day, wondering. If that s happened because if tapering, still long wait to see ortho dr aug 3, cant get around much, and being on pred cant take any anti inflammatories, so not much relief for pain last few weeks

[piglette in reply to arvine]

You could try anti inflammatories, which might work and show it is probably not PMR.

[arvine in reply to piglette]

ButvIve been told cant take ant ifammatory wile on prednisone??

[piglette in reply to arvine]

You should not take NSAID type drugs, unless for a short time as they can affect the stomach, but there is Tylenol and some stronger drugs that you can take.

[arvine in reply to piglette]

I do take extra strength tylenol but barely touches pain, have t 3s(tylenol with codeine) they dont work much better and have bowel problems , IBS, spastic colon, diverticulosis so dont use them much , being on pred for almost 8 years think has contributed to many of my current issues in last year or so

[piglette in reply to arvine]

In fact Tylenol really does not work for PMR.

[arvine in reply to piglette]

Oh I know that very well, the extra strength tylenol I am taking prescribed by my GP is only to take edge off groin, nervevand hip pain, not pmr, which my rheumy has suggested di notvhave any more, still have to do dead slow taper to get off pred entirely, at this point with all these issues Im having , am reluctant to continue taper right now

[MiniSpec]

I can thoroughly understand your situation, I've had PMR for nearly 15 years and been on Pred for 14 of them, and I've been on 3mg per day for the last year. However, since dropping from 4mg to 3mg I found that I suffered slowly increasing levels of pain and stiffness each morning, along with a corresponding weakening of my shoulder, hip, upper arm, and upper leg muscles and tendons.

This reached crisis level three weeks ago when I tried to cut back my next door neighbour's massive hedge, that was slowly taking over my front yard. I started well enough, using electric hedge trimmers, but the constant use of my shoulder muscles caused them to give way after about 20 mins. I'd almost finished and was just tidying up the last straggling bits when my arms just dropped and I found I couldn't lift them again. It was scary at the time, because I nearly collapsed from exhaustion as well (it was a hot day!), and I felt ill for several days after.

Since then I've had very weak shoulders and found that any attempt to lift either arm above shoulder level was extremely painful and exhausting.

After vacillating for over a week I finally decided to up my Pred, to see if that might help. So last Monday I increased my daily Pred from 3mg to 4mg. Just doing that took away nearly all the pains and stiffness that I've been suffering from since before Christmas, and now I'm back to being able to lift both arms above my head with ease, and without pain.

My advice would be try increasing your Pred according to the 'sick day rules' for a week or more and see if that eases the pain. If it does then you've identified the culprit, otherwise keep on at the medical establishment to investigate as it might be something serious, like a hernia, or diverticulitis, or an appendix problem that's causing the referred groin/hip pain.

[Doraflora]

I must admit arvine, I only reduce by 0.5mg at a time and stay on the reduced dose for a good few weeks before dropping down another 0.5.

I’m currently on 2.5 mg (4.5 years of PMR); but the last few days I’ve doubled up to 5mg as I was suffering a bit. I’ll drop back again tomorrow

[Pixix]

I get a lot of groin pain & hip pain, it’s fairly constant. Ihave trochanteric bursitis & arthritis. When I get a bad flare up of the pain I don’t increase my pred because it’s not the PMR flaring, & I tried it once & it doesn’t help. Instead I changed my pain meds, & now take time release Tranadol & have patches (sounds heavy, but I have a number of other diagnoses which cause acute & chronic pain). Why not go to your Dr and try to get the pain treated? I do get regular steroid injections, too. I normally flare for a month when I reduce by 1mg, but I see that as something I’m willing to go through to get to zero. The PMR does settle each time but then I spend a little time on the next dosage before tapering.sorry, my brain thinks I wrote this on your last post a couple of weeks ago!

[arvine in reply to Pixix]

You could have wriiten this response before, either I didnt read or lately my brain is on overload, dont remember. Well all my dr has suggested is extra strength tylenol or tylenol with codeine, neither seems to do much for pain, and been told cant take any anti inflammatory meds while still on prednisone, have to try get appt with my GP this week, asl about an exray on the rigjt hip which is the where pain is and groin, ccsnt see ortho dr until aug 3, which has been booked for mos, get results on back aand left hip MRI,

[Nightingales]

Just a word of caution. When my hip started with excruciating pain, could barely walk, agony turning over in bed my Rheumatologist ordered an X-ray. The report said mild to moderate osteoarthritis. My rheumatologist patted me on the head as usual. But I knew that this was far worse. Finally, after three months of being virtually bed bound he ordered an MRI, which showed Avascular Necrosis, resulting in an urgent Total Hip Replacement. It had been visible on X-ray but needed an expert radiologist to spot it. If you could manage the MRI I would recommend it. Sorry you are going through this I know how painful it is.

[sidra1968]

If it was me, I would up it by the 5 mg recommended, for at least a week and see what happens. That in itself is a trial and a way to help diagnose it. If it doesn't work, well then more can be investigated..but if it does...either way you will have more answers than you do right now.

[arvine in reply to sidra1968]

Yes I am considering doing that, just nervous about it after getting to 4 mgs for last couple of mos, I guess Im looking for reassurance going up by 5 mgs for a week wont have any adverse affects, cant handle any more ptoblems right now , thank you

[Grammy80 in reply to arvine]

It took me five years to get to 10 mg....my rheumy in the States strongly believes in .05mg reduction a month at a time once I got to 5 mg. I so sorry you are so uncomfortable and hope you get some answers...in the meantime I sure wouldn't reduce anymore, I'd probably increase. Since getting off pred three weeks ago, I sure have some pain centers I've not felt in a while and will talk to my doctor. After so many year (and you more) how I feel at 83 is more important to me than anything to be gained by staying at zero.💞

[arvine in reply to sidra1968]

And just to add, my rheumy(2nd one Ive had)whom sorru to say dont have lot of confidence in, told me “of course pred will help any pain, it s a painkiller”, so you may understand my dilema

[Broseley]

I agree with Sidra1968. I had excruciating pain in my top left femoral area near the groin. Added to the bad right knee I've had since May, I was virtually immobile and to cancel our holiday. I took an extra 5mg pred for 4 days (I am down to half mg). After 24 hours all the pain, even in my knee, went and hasn't come back 2 weeks later! GP sent me for an XRay and my hip is fine. My knee showed mild arthritis only. So it must've been inflammation, whether or not it was due to PMR, the pred helped, so it's worth a try.

[arvine in reply to Broseley]

Thank you, did your dr say what your groin pain was caused frm then , that is what caused groin pain, I had overca year ago and MRI then showed nerve root impingement and femoral nerve trapped, it did subside over time with help of spinal decimpression therapy, this time seems much worse, and did have labral tear showed on last right hip MRI over year ago, now have to wait to be assessed and request MRI on this right hip and groin,

[Broseley in reply to arvine]

No, I'm waiting to see the Dr again to discuss the results. I was supposed to go yesterday but everything went wrong due to the computer crash.

[arvine in reply to Broseley]

Oh yes heard that on news, well appreciate hearing what your dr says about groin pain, if you want to share that information thank you

[Broseley in reply to arvine]

Ok I'll let you know, if I can get to see her anytime soon! She did suggest an inguinal hernia, and got me to cough while she felt my groin, but all was OK. Anyway, the pain was definitely in my hip - surely a hernia would not give you hip pain on weight bearing or walking? Outside of that, there was no pain.

[arvine in reply to Broseley]

Ok thank you , be interested in hearing that, causebif groin pain

[Broseley in reply to arvine]

Hi, I spent another hour on the phone this morning to the GP surgery. When I finally got through, there were no appointments left. The Dr isn't in on Tuesdays so I have to try again on Wednesday. It's so frustrating!