Once you start Pred will it make you feel 100 p like you were befote getting pmr?

[chloe6]

[Loco99]

I felt better than I had for years and had tons of energy, it's a pity that high doses have so many unwelcome side effects and have to be tapered off. I'm on a low dose now and thankfully have more good days than bad.

[chubbycheeks]

Morning, I went from feeling like I was trapped in a stone statue, hardly able to move, I woke up one morning in bed and couldn't move, in panic mode I thought I had had a stroke ! I took 1 dose of Pred and within hours I could move - it was like a miracle ! Nothing else can help, I am on a lose dose now and luckily side effects have been minimal.

[daisymae]

Hi, I took went from being unable to get out of bed other than rolling, wearing clothes that didn't go over my head and slip on shoes to feeling wonderful with no symptomswithin about a day of starting on pred at 15mg. My rheumatologist said this would happen but I have to admit I was sceptical. 18 months on I am gradually reducing the dosage and it is not easy and whilst I still have odd aching in shoulders and hips I have never felt that bad again and hope never to.

[Pipistrelle]

In general: no and a little bit of yes. The yes relates to right after you start preds -- generally you will feel that the pain is gone and in that sense, you are 'back to normal'. But many of us quickly find, you aren't. You are taking a medication that helps suppress the physical processes in your body that are causing the pain, but you still have the condition. That means activity is almost certainly going to be far more limited than before you had PMR, for the duration of the illness. As you begin to drop the preds levels, you tend to start to have more pain return. You should not have a lot of constant pain -- but most of us I think find we are not pain free.

Most of us seem to continue to have morning pain and stiffness lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours (I generally did not see this ease off for several hours each day; Tylenol helped as an extra painkiller). This was the biggest immediate/limitation effect for me.

Most of us seem to have restricted movement and stiffer joints while we have PMR, too, making even things like rolling over in bed, or getting dressed, more difficult. Mild to very moderate exercise is possible but not what we might have been used to before PMR -- and actually, exercise is important as even if tough to do at the time, it helps the condition. I was very active before getting it and while I could still swim, walk and cycle it was in a far more restricted way. Too vigorous activity can cause several days of pain so finding a balance is important.

Many have other on and off symptoms for at least the early months of the condition as well.

Some lucky folks get both significant pain relief and few other symptoms and I think many of our doctors seem to expect this is how we should feel, but read others' experiences here and on various forums and it is clear that this actually is often -- maybe usually -- not the case.

It is only now that I am coming off prednisone (after just under two years of PMR) that I realise how restricted my activity was until the very end stages of the condition. I have found recently that I even have to re-teach myself how to walk without holding my legs stiffly!! I was so used to walking carefully in this way to help with pain and balance that I had to remember to flex, not waddle!

The hardest part of having the condition for me was initially, accepting that I had it, and that I would need to adjust my life while I managed it. Once over that mental barrier -- and discovering how many people I knew actually quietly persevered with far worse conditions was a major part of making me feel a lot less sorry for myself!! -- I just got on with it. Being able to talk to others here about our experiences and to ask and answer questions really, really helps as each experience has some common elements, while also being unique. It is hard therefore to predict exactly what yours will be like and whether you'll feel relatively pain free or have some pain.

[chloe6 in reply to Pipistrelle]

thank you for the information it has been very helpfulI was not diagnosed with pmr until june of 2012 my symptons started in june of 2011. I had a pickline in at the time this came on i had been bitten by a dog in 2010 and itvwas under workers comp so i had delayed treatment so in jan 2011 they treated me for ostomilist bone infection left hand so i did 4mths iv antibotics while i had pick line in i became septic in my blood stream with staff (that was june of 2011 ) i started feeling better but i kept telling them something was wrong my shoulders and hips were hurting having trouble getting up reaching walking etc at the time i was under workerscomp dr who thought i might have pmr but because of my age (50) and because workercomp otherdr said i could not have pmr they said my body was weak from being septic so it took a year latet and going to mayo clinic to find out i had pmr so he started me on pred and said i needed pt and ot so i just finished that but pt i did not reach any improvent with range in my shoulders .dr saidbi could have gotten frozen shoulders from were i could not move them for so long my hips are better but i still hurt some in am not as long as i used to i just i hope i am me again so if you have any other advice let me know thanks

[Pipistrelle]

Wow, you have been through a lot! I was diagnosed at 52 myself -- my GP had dismissed PMR because of my age as well, but I was quite sure I had it as the symptoms only fit PMR and sure enough that's what my rheumatologist diagnosed. Many doctors do not realise that 50+ is now what they define as the possible age range for this, with 70 still being the average age of onset. Hope you will feel a lot better soon.

[suzieh]

You have had such a lot to deal with - hope you soon feel better.

I am quite new to the steroid treatment and can honestly say I feel better than I have for a couple of years. I don't think I realised how run down and tired I felt - the pain and lack of energy were awful. I am reducing down gradually from 20 mg - now on 12mg; reducing 1 mg per month and so far feeling good- no pains have returned and I still feel very energetic. I just hope it continues like this. I am being careful - making sure I don't overdo things; trying to get 7 -8hrs sleep a night and am eating very heathily. Also am trying hard to drink more water every day - 6 glasses - which wasn't the case before! Most nights I do have a glass of wine and a couple of squares of choc- not completely goody goody!

[Hidden]

Hi suzieh,

good on you - more water. That's great and a glass of wine won't hurt as long as you don't overdo it. As for the choc, well I guess we all have our weaknesses - mine's crisps. I buy the unsalted ones and put black pepper on them instead.

Pats.

[iforget in reply to Hidden]

Totally off topic but I am definitely going to try crisps with black pepper instead of salt. I love crisps but struggle with salty things and this could be the answer. Thanks!