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Flare not settling. Fluid retention

Posted , 8 users are following.

Kassiebeetle
Kassiebeetle

Pain in thighs and shoulders not settling with increased pred. Gone from 12 mgms up to 15mgms Specialist orders. I get increased shortness of breath, wheezing and endless sleepless nights from pred side effects.Max 3 hours sleep. At present I feel terrible both from PMR and the pred side effects. Question has anyone been put onto a diuretic? Has this helped? I don't have any significant ankle swelling but where I do notice it is around my eyelids. Any help would be appreciated. I have been taken off the MTX . cheers. Kath

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  • EileenH
    EileenH Kassiebeetle

    Posted

    You have to be careful using diuretics with pred - they can both lead to increased loss of potassium through the kidneys and some doctors won't mix them at all. What may help a lot is cutting salt in your diet - not just added salt but also foods that have a high salt content. Cutting carbs also helps water retention - believe it or not.

    • Kassiebeetle
      Kassiebeetle EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks Eileen. My kidney function was off last week so I guess diuretics are off the table given what you have said. I think I might take 25 mgms pred for a few days and see if things improve with the higher dose. I have been very careful with doseage reduction 1/2mgm every 3-4 weeks. Just can't understand what has caused the flare. Will check salt content of food as well.

      Thanks again. Kath

    • EileenH
      EileenH Kassiebeetle

      Posted

      I flare for no apparent reason - it is the underlying ongoing autoimmune cause of the PMR and who knows what upsets it!
    • Kassiebeetle
      Kassiebeetle EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks.I know why we have flares. Not enough parsnips????How is the holiday going?

    • EileenH
      EileenH Kassiebeetle

      Posted

      I looked at parsnips in the shop the other day and reluctantly decided I hadn't time to eat the whole pack before leaving for our holiday!! A pleasure deferred is a pleasure gained lol

      We leave on Monday - providing the forecast snow doesn't get in the way! If it is as bad as they are suggesting we will go to the airport the very long way round, avoiding all mountains!

    • Kassiebeetle
      Kassiebeetle EileenH

      Posted

      You are not going to believe this. I am staying at a friends and she cooked a roast dinner. There were these veges on the plate that looked a bit different. I tucked into them along with a good serving of gravy and wouldn't you know it was Parsnip. Yukky. One bite was all I could take. Talk about divine retribution. Is there a parsnip god who saw my previous comments and decided to teach me a lesson???

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga Kassiebeetle

      Posted

      We love roasted parsnips, having scorned them until about ten years ago.  Roasted with other vegetables, including onion and garlic, in olive oil with a spritz of balsamic vinegar and maybe a few fresh herbs.   Mmmmm.
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