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Discouraged

Posted , 17 users are following.

djwillms
djwillms

I was diagnosed with PMR in December, 2015 and started on 40 mg prednisone which rapidly tapered to 20 over two weeks.  The pain resolved rapidly, miraculously.  My ESR went from >100 to 30 in a week and CRP from 7.5 to 2.3.  In the following months I continued to taper but whenenver I drop below 7 mg of pred I have a flare.  My ESR and CRP have stayed very slightly elevated with minimal increases during flares.  This summer my Rheumatologist recommended trying Methotrexate to which I reluctantly agreed.  After four months, my ESR and CRP have actually increased significantly and for the first time my kidney function is slightly decreased.  (I was at 6 mg pred but increased after the labs to 10 mg.)  I will be going off of Methotrexate--thank God:  It made me sick for a couple of days every week--but I don't know what other concoction will be suggested next.  My labs for RA have been negative, but I do have some joint pain and swelling.

The week before my last labs, I was under a great deal of stress.  Could that have contributed to the bump up in both CRP and ESR?  I had an illogical hope that I would be well in a year but no such luck.  This is my first year of retirement and while I appreciate not having to go to work, being this sick is a bummer.  

And if being sick isn't bad enough, as a citizen of the US, I have to listen to the crazy ^%$#&^ Republican presidential candidates day in and day out

Suggestions?  Words of wisdom?  Hugs?  Emigration strategies?

 

2 likes, 43 replies

43 Replies

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  • faye______00403
    faye______00403 djwillms

    Posted

    I'm dealing with PMR like everyone else on this site and as an

    American citizen of the U.S. I have the right to turn off my TV.....

    Wish we could end the pain of PMR with a flip of the switch.....

    Aren't they all an embarassment?    I'm hoping that on our ballot

    there is a category that says......NONE OF THE ABOVE

    • Flutterbie57
      Flutterbie57 faye______00403

      Posted

      LOL (lots of laughs). NONE OF THE ABOVE would be appropriate for a lot of countries at the moment. (I am outside the US). 
    • faye______00403
      faye______00403 Flutterbie57

      Posted

      Thanks for keeping a little humor in our world of PMR which is

      a awful journey most of the time.....

    • LayneTX
      LayneTX faye______00403

      Posted

      No they are NOT an embarrassment, shame on you, they are people trying to care for America! 

      i agree this is not the place to discuss politics, but I get so upset when people bash people for trying to care. There's enough hatred in the world as is...and stress...we are trying to not be stressed especially as PMR people.  Be kind. 

  • djwillms
    djwillms

    Posted

    ***December 2014!

     

  • Anhaga
    Anhaga djwillms

    Posted

    You can be happy that there is a Trudeau leading your neighbour to the north now, instead of a Harper.  Let's hope this is not turning into a scene rather like those little houses that worked on the principle of a barometer.  When the weather was going to be nice, the little woman would come out, if bad the little man.  Surely to goodness our two countries can manage to have progressive leaders at the same time!lol

    Nore to the point, I agree with those who say you should stay at 7 for longer to give your body time to adjust to the dose, then make the next step very slowly.  Good luck!

    • djwillms
      djwillms Anhaga

      Posted

      Thanks.  I think I need to be more assertive in the course of my treatment.
  • philoso4
    philoso4 djwillms

    Posted

    PMR is bad enough. Let's please leave political opinions out of it. Many people believe that their own political opinion is the only one that is rational. But there's almost never more than a few percentage points difference in the vote.
    • djwillms
      djwillms philoso4

      Posted

      I regretted going political as soon as I did it--however it all contributes to one's emotional environment,  I find. I will be more careful in future to stick to physical complaints.
    • julian.
      julian. djwillms

      Posted

      don't regret it. I haven't a clue about the policies. I just can't help laughing at the public behaviour required for political celebrity through contemporary media. Better than stand up comedy (for me). Nearly as good as the Goons and Monty Python (though its hard to imagine anything better). Even my GP laughs sometimes - I know it hurts but try describing the contortions required to put on a t-shirt pre pmr diagnosis. I blame it on the pred highs - there has to be some benefit from the side effects.
  • FlipDover_Aust
    FlipDover_Aust djwillms

    Posted

    I too, was diagnosed in Dec 14, and I've not been able to get under 11mg - which I did about 3 weeks ago and I'm now having a major flare.

    My CRP has not budged in all that time. Interestingly my ESR was never elevated. Sigh....

    Your recently elvated rates could be due to anything.... although it does seem to coincide with your drug regime....

    I'm always up for a hugs...and would love to have you move to Australia, we are the land of plenty! (unless you arrive on a refugee boat then you will be turned away).........

    Our most recent previous Prime Minister was possibly an even bigger idiot than all your republicans put together.... thankfully he was ousted by his own party a few weeks ago - what an embarrassment he was.

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