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Can someone give me some advise please have I got PR.

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About a Month ago I felt stiff in my legs and though I had a virus,then it started I have a constant pain from six inches from above my elbow in both arm's it does not go as far as the shoulders and from my groin area down to just above the knee's, I also feel aching and pain underneath in the pelvic area and in the back of my legs under the bottom again down to above the knee's, and I feel pain in the bones of my bottom.

In the Morning waking up I am in so much pain I can hardly move I have to edge forward just to get up, the pain is so bad I cry out with pain,the same if I sit down for any length of time, I have to shuffle along to get going, I am in pain all the time, walking up stairs is hard and bending.

I have always been very mobile and walked miles, now I have this can anyone help me please with advise.

Thank you.

0 likes, 34 replies

34 Replies

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  • Mrs_G
    Mrs_G

    Posted

    Hello Annie Glad you have sorted out your tablets and it is very confusing all the information you are given and having suffered all that pain I think we are not at our best when the Dr gives us all the information

    I do find one of the things that effects me the most is whether I have slept well or not and unfortunately at the beginning most of us find we are buzzing when we start on steroids until we reduce the dose a bit so it is important to have them early in the day so that you get some sleep !!

    I thought 5mg and 2.5 mg were all enteric coated and only the 1mg werent ?? Thats all I have ever been given in both my bouts Have a good read of the leaflet in the box

    I havent had any stomach problems but I have taken probiotic tablets for years and of latre I have taken Actimel all these things Yakult etc are probiotics so it is best to find one you like

    Lots of people seem to take a little time to feel the full benefit of the steroids so be patient some of us like me felt great in 48 hrs but others take a week or too

    As Mrs O said dont overdo it if you feel better because part of the recovery from this is rest and many of us also get these bouts of complete exhaustion which dont seem to relate to anything we have been doing

    Hope you continue to feel better and there is always someone here to help Best wishes Mrs G

  • Lizzie_Ellen
    Lizzie_Ellen

    Posted

    Oh Betty, you did make me giggle :lol: And no Mrs O, I don't mind you jumping in at all :D and yes Mrs G, the 5mg and 2.5mg do come uncoated as I learnt to my expense when I took a months supply of 5mg to Spain with me in February only to find that the UK Chemist had given me the uncoated Prednisolone by mistake. I went to our local Spainish Chemist and apparently Spain don't have any enteric coated Prednisolone at all (so we are lucky over here in some ways!) and they gave me Omeprazole to get me through the holiday. I'm on 9mg at the moment so I have to take 4 of the uncoated 1mg and my Doc has me on Omeprazole all the time just now. I'm very lucky, I've heard of several people who can't take it, I don't have any side effects (well, I haven't read the leaflet so don't know what the side effects are :!: ). Just spotted your new post Annie - if they're enteric they're either red (5mg) or black/brown 2.5mg and white if not coated and will say either enteric or gastro-resistant on the box if coated. The green packets I have (the one's I got by mistake are not coated.) Phew, sounds a bit mixed up but hope you know what I mean. Pretty certain yours aren't enteric coated! Have a great weekend everyone, we're just off to friends for supper (he's a GP so we have a 5 minutes 'consultation' and then get down to the eating and drinking :redwine: )

    Regards

    Lizzie Ellen

  • Lizzie_Ellen
    Lizzie_Ellen

    Posted

    :ok: Today I have a brain in full working order. Its such fun :lol:

    Lizzie Ellen

    (and no, I haven't started on the wine yet - just realized how good it felt to be able to think straight and wanted to share it)

  • EileenH
    EileenH

    Posted

    Hi all!

    Just thought I'd chuck in my 2 penn'th! The majority of steroids tablets come as plain white flat tablets: 10 (I think), 5 and 1 mg and as far as I know, like Spain, that's what you tend to get in most countries. They can be cut to give you half or quarter doses - here in Italy they sell a pill cutter at the pharmacy for the purpose - so you can adjust the dose reasonably accurately. In Britain you can have enteric coated 5mg and 2.5mg which are red or brownish ( respectively) and sort of rounded pills, they look like mini smarties. The coating means they don't dissolve in the stomach and so only get absorbed further down the gut - hence reducing the irritation of the stomach and so - less gastric pain and risk of gastritis.

    If you're on a dose that is a multiple of 5 or 2.5 any GP with a heart (or a brain) would specify enteric coated on the prescription and even if you need to use 1mg tabs to get an in-between dose the fewer of the 1mg ones you need to take the less the likelihood of stomach problems. Unless it's on the presription, the pharmacist is supposed to give you the ordinary ones. It has to be cheaper (not to mention better for you) to have enteric coated rather than have to take omeprazole as well. I have a couple of packs of the ordinary 5mg tablets which I use occasionally to use them up and make the other supply go further but avoid too much risk of a sore stomach.

    I feel sorry for anyone on a high dose who has to take 8 or more at a time - one feels the powers that be should try it for themselves!

    cheers all,

    EileenH

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