cant sleep in any position back on back or severe pain Dx with pmr anyone else?

yes still sleeping in my recliner since June tried my tempurpedic adjustable bed but hurts to many pressure point areas such as left arm and shoulder, neck and right hip

i was like this earlier this year. pain in both hips and shoulders so sleeping very difficult. i too have oestoperosis but the only way to get rid of the pain and give me quality of life currently is the steriods, I'm only 52 so will deal with OS later although when I'm feeling ok it is easy to forget and do stuff that is silly! recently hurt my back putting a baby seat in my car. It was a reminder that i do need to be careful. I'm on 14mg again having been right up to 25 but working my way back down and thats just how it rolls. I hope you find something to give you comfort soon. x

A few more details would help - are you being treated and on pred? If so, at what dose and for how long? If not, why not?

Hip pain that stopped me sleeping comfortably on my side was due to trochanteric bursitis. It makes the outer aspect of the thigh tender, especially if you try to lie on it, and can spread to the iliopsoas bursa which will cause pain deep in the groin. Mine resolved slowly over several months when I started on pred, but only at 15mg. Had the dose been higher it might have gone quicker. It returns to some extent when I have a flare. However, oral pred isn't ideal for managing bursitis, local injections will usually achieve a better and more lasting result. There are exercises to reduce the impact of trochanteric bursitis but it is also a part of PMR and if that is active it will feed the bursitis and exercise may make it worse.

Having osteoporosis isn't a contraindication for pred - there are other ways of managing the osteoporosis that mean steroids can be used. Celebrex won't help PMR for the vast majority of patients, no NSAIDs do, and have severe implications for your stomach, as they can cause bleeding. That means doctors prescribe a PPI such as omeprazole as "stomach protection" but these drugs are also implicated in causing low bone density, just as much as pred. Celebrex also has bad effects on the heart and risk of stroke - and if the inflammation of PMR is not controlled that will add to the damage done to the cardiovascular system. Inadequately treated PMR is also more likely to progress to giant cell arteritis - and without high dose pred that puts your sight at risk.

I think you should ask your doctor to discuss the use of Celebrex long term. PMR lasts quite a while and I find the idea of the chronic use of Celebrex in PMR very worrying. I'm assuming you are in the USA? There are quite a few people using Actemra for PMR - and that should be considered for you if you really can't use steroids because of osteoporosis - but that hasn't stopped a lot of other people using them together with appropriate bone-protection drugs to reduce that aspect of pred. It isn't as bad as it may appear - my bone density had barely changed in over 7 years on pred and I didn't take any drugs for that except calcium and vit D supplements.

Sharlane, Have you tried a really soft mattress?

I have been sleeping on a bed in my house, that I had always avoided, because the mattress was too soft, (two people can't sleep together). But since PMR, I have been sleeping like a baby on a cloud.

Me too. I've always been a side sleeper and when sleeping that way began causing problems I gradually evolved to the recliner. After a while I moved back to the bed, on my back, but with pillows under my lower legs to ease the strain on the back. It helps. One problem with this was-reactivation of GERD. Managing it too evolved into nothing to eat after 7pm and maybe even a slug of antacid before bedtime.

I really look forward to eventually returning to my side however.

sharlene, at one point I could only sleep in a recliner. It was not good, but was unable to sleep in a bed at all. It passed as my PMR got under control with Prednisone. Good luck on the rest of your PMR journey. 🙂

Thanks seems prednisone is the answer. Doctor and Rheumatologist strongly advise me not to take due to severly advanced OP and recent fracture. Keep well .

Yes. Eventually physiotherapy helped and I can sleep on my side again, as long as upper leg propped up with pillow!