High blood pressure

[BinnieBoo]

Hi Everyone.... Firstly I would like to say thank you to all the members whose posts I have found invaluable. I've had 'Poly' for 18 months now and am on 6.5 mg of Prednisolone. As you all know the first couple of days after diagnosis the pain and stiffness melts away and you feel amazing, full of optimism, ready for the fight. However since January I'm feeling a bit battered and bruised by the whole thing. At the beginning of the year I ditched the Alendronic acid after four hours in A&E with chest pain and a BP of 192 over 87. My heart was fine apparently. The A.A was just 'burning a hole' in my stomach lining....I have lost count of the bugs I've caught, including Covid and to top it all I have a facial rash from the steroids which makes me look like something out of a horror film. I am coping with all this although I don't feel that I have the full backing of my professionals. It is virtually impossible to see my doctor who is familiar with my progress and I end up seeing 'Dr Chocolate Fire Guard' instead who is next to useless. I haven't had a sniff of a rheumatologist although it has been mentioned several times. I feel as though I am managing this myself. If it wasn't for the forum I wouldn't have a clue. Finally I saw my favourite doctor this week as I have been having high BP readings first thing in the morning and at bedtime accompanied by an unpleasant feeling in my chest that I can only describe as anxiety, even fear. The doctor upped my Amlodipine to 10mg twice a day, doubled my Famotidine and suggested I increased my doses of Gaviscon. Before Poly my BP was always normal and I understand that Prednisolone is probably responsible. But does all this sound familiar ?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Pred certainly can raise blood pressure - but it usually reduces as you get to lower doses.

Would also mention that at 6.5mg your adrenals need to start thinking about working again… and that could account for the feelings of anxiety rather than your BP. Hopefully the Amlodipine increase will help that.

[BinnieBoo in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you for replying. It sounds very much as if it could be my adrenals. I did reduce down to 6.5 just over a week ago and it is since then that I have had this reaction. I also had my covid jab recently which made me ill and confused so I didn't make the connection. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Was the anxiety present before you started the amlodipine? How did increasing the dose affect it?

Have you got a pulse oximeter at home? Have you ever checked your pulse when the evening chest feeling happens?

[BinnieBoo in reply to PMRpro]

I have been on 5mg daily since last January and my BP has been normal. As I mentioned to Dorset Lady the strange episodes kicked off after I reduced my Prednisolone and there is an improvement in my BP readings since my Doctor doubled the dosage 3 days ago. I do have a pulse oximeter and my pulse is higher than normal when I get the unpleasant feelings in my chest.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to BinnieBoo]

Much higher? Have you told your GP?

[BinnieBoo in reply to PMRpro]

Yes it has been up to 180 over 75 for short periods and that's why I saw my doctor three days ago and he had a chat with A&E while I was there. They are satisfied that my heart is functioning well after my last visit to see the cardiac team. but obviously if that changes I should go to A&E.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to BinnieBoo]

That's a blood pressure reading - not a pulse.

[Sillydogsmum]

If your facial rash is steroid induced rosacea it is possible to improve it lots with creams, antibiotics and avoiding sunlight, booze and spices/ chilli. Fortunately chocolate doesn't seem to affect mine!

rosacea.org/patients/all-ab...

aad.org/public/diseases/ros...

[BinnieBoo in reply to Sillydogsmum]

Thank you for your reply. I have avoided all the above, booze, sun etc... I have tried lots of natural remedies and finally caved in and went to the Doc's. She gave me Metronidazole cream which I was very dubious about as the tablets have made me sick in the past. After one application at bedtime I had my head in a bucket for several hours during the night....very strange. I went back to Rose Water and Simple Moisturizer the next day...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to BinnieBoo]

Do tell your GP about the vomiting - to react like that to a cream is REALLY concerning, Just because an antibiotic makes you sick doesn't mean you are allergic but when it is in response to a cream, you have to be suspicious. Vomiting a few hours after ingesting something is a typical allergic reaction to a foodstuff, maybe it also does the same with skin absorption.

[BinnieBoo in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro. I agree, it's definitley worth mentioning.

[Sillydogsmum]

Given how little is absorbed it seems odd that it would make you vomit. There are other creams though. See second link. Doxycline tabs do me very well but I only take them in short bursts cos they make me nauseous. I plan to try Erythromycin if it gets worse. Moisturiser spf at least 30. My Metro cream is 2 % in Aqueous cream, made up old fashioned style at the Chemist, not the commercial Metrogel (0.75%) stuff with additives etc. Its all a bit of a pain though!!

[BinnieBoo in reply to Sillydogsmum]

Thank you for all the info. It's kind of you to take the time.

[AtopicGuy]

"Poly" can be easily confused with polymyositis, a different disease to PMR, but with some overlap in symptoms. Please add PMR to you Profile/Bio.