1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Fibromyalgia Syndrome

My elderly mother on 3rd round of Prednisone.

Posted , 6 users are following.

julie28248
julie28248

They think she has fibromyalgia. She is in excruciating pain more so in the evening when she sleeps. This is her 3rd and heaviest round of Prednisone. Starting at (4) 5mg tabs a day for 14 days then decreasing to (3) for 14 days and then 2 a day ect. The last time she was on a high dose was only for a week and caused her incredible anxiety, high heart rate (which btw, she has a heart condition), diabetic reactions and blurred vision. The symptoms of fibromyalgia always come back within weeks of finishing the Prednisone. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Gabapentin maybe?

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • tory38006
    tory38006 julie28248

    Posted

    Hi Julie,so sorry about your mom.I have fibro and have high sensitivity

    to drugs and their side effects.Has she been questioned on symptoms

    for polymyalgia rheumatica? The pain would go away with prednisone

    if she has pmr.But with fibro I'm not sure what it would do.I have taken

    gabapentin and couldn't manage the sedating side effects during the

    day or the raised heart rate.But maybe your mom can handle a low dose.

    I'm sure others will chime in.

    • julie28248
      julie28248 tory38006

      Posted

      Thank you! Raised heart rate is concerning. I wish there was something that could calm her pain without threatening her life. I'm becoming very distrustful of her doctor.

    • julie28248
      julie28248 tory38006

      Posted

      Updating as I go. I've spoken with her doctor. He agrees it may be PMR, he is not a rheumatologist, he is her general physician. She had a biopsy for temporal arteritis which came back negative, but thinks the result may be wrong. He wants her to continue with the Prednisone at the dose I explained and will reassess in about 2 months.

    • tory38006
      tory38006 julie28248

      Posted

      Thanks Julie for the update.If you go to the pmr forum you

      will get excellent advice from Eileen and Anhaga.Wonderful

      ladies and warm support.I hope something can be given to

      your mom and to ease your fears.Hugs Tory

  • kiki74
    kiki74 julie28248

    Posted

    With prednisone they have to ween her off. Not because it's addictive but because it can cause withdrawal symptoms. It's a corticosteroid so it's meant to help with inflammation and produce cortisone. It's not meant for long term care. It can wind up suppressing your immune system. She has to be careful with other medications cause there can be interactions. I've been on it, as well as family members, for asthma. I get puffy and gain a ton of weight cause I was always starving. Another side effect of the medication.

    If she has been diagnosed by a rheumatologist with fibromyalgia they should be discussing long term treatment plans. Each person is different and depends on what works for them. I personally couldn't take meds due to sensitivity,so I do supplements. Others swear by their meds. But her doctors should be discussing her medical history, drug options and physical therapy for her.

    • julie28248
      julie28248 kiki74

      Posted

      This is her 3rd round. The first time was in July/August of last year, it was over 30 days in total. The second was for about a week in total and currently it will total 56 days which is nearly 2 months on a higher dose than she's ever been on. She has her primary care doctor and her cardiologist. I am very uncomfortable with this. I want to do supplements but can't when she is taking the Prednisone. The only other pain med they attempted was Salsalate which after her first dose she immediately started having sharp pain in the mid-left side of her chest, her heart.

    • kiki74
      kiki74 julie28248

      Posted

      Her primary care needs to give her a referral to a rheumatologist. They are the ones who usually make the diagnosis of fibromyalgia by doing a tender point test and help treat it.

      Many primary care physicians aren't informed enough on fibro. Most think we are crazy but its just starting to get recognitionas a disease. I had a doctor tell me I was just depressed and needed to get up and move. When i complained about my heart rate he said it was fine. I walked out and called my health care provider and got a new doctor. I had several tests done and saw necessary specialists. I had fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and they found a leaky valve in my heart. You need to advocate for your mom like I did for myself.

    • julie28248
      julie28248 kiki74

      Posted

      Thank you. I will be doing everything I can. This site is giving me much information to discuss with her doctor. If communication doesn't fair well, I will seek a new doctor for her. I only have 1 mom.

    • kiki74
      kiki74 julie28248

      Posted

      Glad I can help. I would also talk to her cardiologist. Some of the meds for fibro can have side effects within the heart. Specialists don't forward test results and meds to primary and vice versa. So make sure you get copies of test results and keep a list of meds to update doctors.

      Good luck and keep me posted on mom's health. Wish you all the best!

    • kiki74
      kiki74 julie28248

      Posted

      Is her doctor giving her a referral for the rheumatologist?
  • heather51637
    heather51637 julie28248

    Posted

    Hi

    It sounds to me like your mother has polymyalgia . It takes a simple blood test by a gp then it's steroids for a considerable time.

  • cherub123
    cherub123 julie28248

    Posted

    I started on Amitryptiline, after which i was put on Pregabalin,and then i was Naproxen. i have alot of problems with my memory and am due to have a brain scan soon. i have never heard of Prednisone but it does not sound to me like she has fibromyalgia these symptoms seem to me different than fibromyalgia symptoms
  • leeanneb46
    leeanneb46 julie28248

    Posted

    Hi Julie, I have been diagnosed with fibro for past 9 months

    but both I and my doctor believe I have had this for probably 2 years.

    All the usual symptoms everyone else talks about with extreme pain,

    exhaustion, brain fog it's got to the stage I can no longer work and I am

    very isolated. I actually believed I was going insane. 4 months ago I

    went on Prednisone, I got instant relief from pain but not from other symptoms.

    My doctor gave this to me as a last resort and he expected no relief.

    Prednisone should not work for fibro pain.

    I have twice tried to slowly reduce my dosage, by 1 mg at a time,

    and have had to go back on full dose within days. I now have high blood pressure

    and am now also prediabetic.Not what I want. What I am getting at is that I

    am taking whatever's going to Stop the pain.

    I'm so sorry got your mum, and wish her the best, YOU are her angel.

    Bless ...

    • cherub123
      cherub123 leeanneb46

      Posted

      i was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after i had TB back in 2014. i have been off sick from work for 2 and a half years and dont know what i am going to do if i cannot get back to work. my memory is bad. they told me that apart from brain fog, i also have down syndrome which means that my memory will eventually fail from the age of 40 which is quite worrying.

      i was diagnosed with fibro about 2 years ago. and have never ever been in so much pain in every part of my body as i am now. i understand what you are going through

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.