Flare after synthacen test?

[Sufferinginsilence]

I know (from reading all the advice on here!) that having a synthacen test at 5mg of pred is probably pointless but my rheumy referred me for one last week. I had gradually got down to 5mg two weeks before and was struggling along, slight discomfort in shoulders but not too bad.

As you know, I couldn't take my pred before the test and I normally take mine at 2am. So by the time of the test at 9.30, I was in agony, shoulders, hips, hands, chest - everywhere. That was on Thursday, took 5mg pred after the test and carried on as usual. All was ok until Sunday when my shoulders and chest wall (where I first felt the symptoms pre diagnosis) started to ache and it has continually got worse. I spoke to my GP yesterday and he thought it was costochondritis and told me to rest. I had a chest infection five weeks ago and it's left me with a tickly cough so he reckoned the coughing had inflamed my chest wall.

I am personally wondering if it's a flare so I've upped to 10mg from this morning. Has anyone else experienced this after 'missing' a dose for a synthacen test?

[SnazzyD]

Sounds to me like the niggles you were having but were coping with were a flare near the tipping point. You had a chest infection with coughing that is not resolved too. I suspect the delay in taking the Pred was the straw that we always talk about that broke the camel’s back. If it wasn’t that, it was possibly going to be something else soon.

[Sufferinginsilence in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks SnazzyD. I'm realising that now!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I think Snazzy has hit the nail on the head.

But if you were that bad with the pred being just a few hours late - that really does suggest that you are barely covering the inflammation with the current dose and you have absolutely no buffer there to reduce the dose any further.

[Sufferinginsilence in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you. That's what I was thinking.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Agree with other responses - and make sure you feel a lot better in 10mg before you drop back down. .. and as you say the aforementioned test is unlikely to tell you much.