Well I did well on my trip to London yesterday to see my eldest son and 8 month old grandson. It was tiring because of the travelling and by the last leg of the journey home my neck was really achy. I slept well again cos of the long day. But.............Today my left had from writ to finger tips is well................bloody killing me. My middle finger cannot bend as the pain is so bad.
Suppose to have had a phone consultation today with my fab doc but no appointments left so got to try again tomorrow.
Still doing ok on 20mg but really worried about dropping as don't want a flare up for it then to take a few more weeks on high dose pred to get down again.
I had to use my new friend (walking stick) in London as we walked to the shops nearby. Purely because of a very steep walkway at least 45 degrees it was a killer more so coming back down. My knees are still hurting.
Just read up on Tendonitis and it is obviously what my painful fingers and knees and toes is all about. Will be chatting to doc about this also. I know there are some things you can wear on your hands that look like splints but not sure if it will help or not.
Hope you all had a good bank holiday weekend,
Keep smiling
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Sue8
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Hello Sue,
glad London went well !
Funny you should mention about your finger - my middle finger on the left hand is exactly the same, weird isn't it !
So glad the trip to London went well and I'm sure it was a boost to see your son and baby grandson.
Sue, I recently had a similar experience to you shortly after coming off steroids (frightened that PMR was returning!), only it was my thumb - the joint at the base was swollen and painful and the tip got stuck in the straight position and when it bent accidentally I had to unlock it back - ouch! It was diagnosed by local Walk-In Centre as Trigger Thumb and later at our Charity's AGM a rheumy said it was tendonitis and, if he'd had his needles on him he'd have been jabbing it with steroid but confirmed it was not PMR. My local pharmacist said it had happened to both him and his brother and it had spontaneously resolved......in about 4 months!! Anyway, I stuck with it and it recovered just a couple of weeks ago after 3 months. I have since spoken to another person with PMR who has had the same experience...twice, once with a finger and then with a thumb. She had had an injection for the first but didn't find it very helpful and then left the thumb to recover on its own.
I am wondering if your left hand is the one you use with the walking stick?
I have only just got the stick and only used it once ion London. I kept swapping hands though. I only got it for support for my jelly legs. The doc thinks my jelly legs were more to do with my high blood sugars than the pmr.
been to GP and as usual he was great. He is keeping me on 20mg of pred for now as I have a lot of stiffness in the morning along with my hand and knees hurting. He has however decided to refer me to a rheumy and wants me seen within 6 weeks. He thinks that my hand/fingers is possible "zero negative rheumatoid" he said i will test negative for RA but the pain seems to be this. I am a bit confused. He says rheumy will sort it along with my PMR but he is at the end of the phone. Not had a period now for 7 weeks and get hot flushed he says it's the pred doing this also but I can cope with this.
I'm not surprised you're feeling a "bit confused". He may have already carried out a Rheumatoid Factor blood test at the outset of your sympoms prior to diagnosis which is why he thinks you would test negative for RA now.
If your GP thinks your jelly legs are the result of high blood sugars, then it's very strange that so many PMR-ers without high blood sugars have the same experience. However, he's being very wise in advising you to stick on your present 20mg steroid dose and also in referring you to a rheumy who will hopefully be able to explain all. Meanwhile, I hope the hand pain eases up.
I did test neg for the RA factor a couple of years ago and thats why I was seen by a rheumy then. I had scans on my hand but cos they could not find any inflamation or deterioration they signed me off. Doc squoze the sides of my hand today and I nearly hit him lol. Even if it is seronegative RA I am already taking naproxen and I presume nothing else will be offered. I don't want anymore meds anyway 13 a day is to many
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