unbelievable

Walk in the park, I don't think so.  Many of the articles I have read have also said that you can lead a normal life with PMR & GCA, I have both.  These experts have obviously not been on long term high dosage preds, meth etc.  I am suffering terrible side effects and am struggling to get down from 30mg a day of pred and 20 of meth, still getting pain in my shoulders and hips.  I am still working every day in my plant nursery, yes only light duties, doing all the office work for my business etc, but to do this is a huge battle both physically and mentally. 

No way is it a walk in the park. It changes your life completely. I was climbing mountains in February - now I can hardly walk about. Although I try to do something positive every day just to prove to myself that it isn't going to beat me!

Whoever produced the item obviously hasn't walked in our shoes!

I looked at a couple more and found this:

A 76-year-old female presents with a history of bilateral shoulder pain for the past month. She reports stiffness in the morning for about 1 hour and also reports difficulty getting up when seated in a chair. Acetaminophen is ineffective for her pain. Her erythrocyte sedimentation rate is 65 mm/hr (N 1–25). Which one of the following is the best initial treatment for this condition?

A. Oral dexamethasone, 8 mg twice a day

B. Oral methylprednisolone, taper 24 mg to 0 mg over 7 days

C. Oral prednisolone, 60 mg daily

D. Oral prednisone, 15 mg/day

E. Intravenous methylprednisolone, 120 mg every 6 hours

ANSWER: D. This patient has polymyalgiarheumatica, based on her history and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The initial treatment is prednisone, 15 mg per day with a slow taper over 1–2 years. Alternative treatment includes intramuscular methylprednisolone, 120 mg every 3 weeks.

My question is how come in the UK we are prescribed Prednisolone (60 mg) which according to this Canadian doctor has a much higher dosage than Prednisone (15 mg)  Or have I got it wrong somewhere?  It's a cut and paste from his notes.

Of the worst sort. Sadly, people do believe it.

Pretty shocking, really.  I'm remembering how I felt last year at this time.  I was at my absolute best.  I'd just started my taper, so all my aches and pains, not just PMR, had gone away.  I still had my muscle strength, and was energetic, although I think I was about to come down with a shocking cold, my first in years.  This year, reduced from that initial 15 to 3, I have a few aches and pains, but really none of the PMR disabilities.  But I tire very easily, energy is something I read about, I've gone through the side effects of high blood sugar and elevated ocular pressure, gone now, but I am definitely much weaker than I was last year, even to the point that I wonder if my heart muscle has been affected.  The "fast and furious" only refers to a successful initial few weeks, it doesn't bear any resemblance to what we then face for years as we get off pred slowly, slowly, hoping that pred side effects are not ultimately worse than PMR....

I think one of our biggest challenges is that we don't LOOK LIKE we are constantly in pain and have fatigue! After one year of PMR my wife needs to be reminded. She often expects from me the same efforts as in the past. Of course, nobody wants to be around someone who compains all the time. But instead of being aked, "How are you?" we mustn't say "Fine" or "Okay." I say, "I'm trying to cope, but every day is like waking up with the flu and continued pain." This is why this online group is so valuable! Someone DOES care and knows what we are going through!