Increase in knee, finger joints, elbow joint pain

[Claremarie83]

Is this normal in the colder months? My joints are so sore at the moment!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Certainly is, particularly if it’s damp as well.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Lots of us don't do well in colder, damper and even windier weather. Since that describes the UK climate to a T ... Where-ish are you? North, south, east, west? Studies did actually show pockets of PMR in low lying damp areas - our grannies had it right about that making rheumatics worse!

However - I think as we discussed before there is probably more to this than "just" plain PMR. Is this new pain definitely "in" joints or around them? Are your joints hot and/or swollen? That might suggest an inflammatory arthritis rather than the PMR we mean - some forms of arthritis can present looking absolutely identical to PMR with initially just muscle symptoms.

[Claremarie83 in reply to PMRpro]

It really does describe the UK well 🤣🤣 I'm in the south west, it was pretty miserable yesterday, flooding around but thankfully that one practically famous (in Somerset) potato field didnt get its crops washed out onto the road below! I do wonder if maybe it's something else, but this is my first wintering with pmr so I'm not entirely sure. A trip to the GP will help hopefully 🤞

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Claremarie83]

I fled the horrendous July/August heat here - mid-30s in the afternoons for weeks so even our very well insulated houses got too hot - thinking even in Scotland July/August would be tolerable. And what did I get? The coolest summer since 2015 ... Sun was dished out one day at a time, 2 if you were REALLY lucky! And I arrived back here 2 days before the first snow of the season. Not in the village I hasten to add and it has all melted a few times since but everyone is panicking to get their winter wheels on already!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

What dose of Pred are you on at present…you seemed to have a good response in July when you first started. That isnt very long ago, so maybe you have reduced too quickly, but as PMRpro has said there may be more going in, so best to get it checked out.

Yesterday in Dorset was abysmal, today much better…😎

[Claremarie83 in reply to DorsetLady]

I'm on 14mg as the GP advised to stay at that for a bit as I had a flare up not long ago and was told to go back to 15mg. I do have a GP appointment on the 23rd for bloods, so hopefully that'll help with knowing where to go from there!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Claremarie83]

When you went back up to 15mg did that sort things out properly?

[Smithie49]

Mine too and it's miserable. Sympathies to you x

[Rynn33]

Does paracetamol help? I had an inflammatory response in those joints post a bad flu last month and unlike my PMR , paracetamol helped them so I started a joint supplement with turmeric in it and it seems to be settling them. ( My particular PMR stretches towards my knees and elbows ( in a mild way in those joints) but not any further but as you know there’s a lot of variation in people. )

[whitefishbay]

Definitely. Everything gets stiffer. I have brought out my hot water bottle which helps (as heat does not go on until 1 November). I have found moving (treadmill/walking) helps my aches and stiffness too.