Posted , 9 users are following.
diagnosed with PMR 15 months ago with bilateral pain, elevated inflammatory markers and successful pain relief with Predisone. Have reduced to 7.1/2 with no problems but for the past week I have had pain in one shoulder my arm and hand. Thinking its a flare have increased to 10 mg Predisone with no success. Could it be something else? I also have GCA.
0 likes, 7 replies
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EileenH maria49950
Posted
It could be tight muscles in the shoulder/neck area which is irritating nerves into the arm. Is it just pain in your hand or are you fingers "going to sleep" at times?
PMR is almost always bilateral - but you are right that a flare can start on just one side. But if 10mg isn't helping it probably isn't that.
maria49950 EileenH
Posted
Thanks Eileen, I believe my neck may have something to do with it. My hand is very painful but not numb. I do have a ganglion near my wrist which also may account for the thumb pain. Not everything is PMR but I'm quick to jump to this conclusion. I have osteoarthritis so aches and pains part of my daily life and this may be that and not PMR.
BettyE maria49950
Posted
A little while ago I started a thread under Which Pain is Which?
I have been off Pred. for more than five years now but whenever I get another niggle I wonder if it could be a return of PMR. I must admit there have been times when I've half hoped it was because then I'd know what should be done.
Next I trawl around looking for what might account for the new pain and usually blame gardening.
So far the pain has subsided but twinges do take a to longer to resolve these days, certainly much more than a week.
Could it be something else, you ask. Well, that's the trouble; it could be all sorts of somethings. I'm very averse to pain killers, partly because I seem to react badly to them and partly because it seems to me that if you blot out the pain you are likely to aggravate the injury that might be causing it.
Hope yours subsides soon.
Joydeck maria49950
Posted
Flares I have experienced on much higher pred doses always receded more quickly. Respond to PMR pain at once is the moral.
kate50809 maria49950
Posted
It can be really difficult if you have another chronic pain problem as well. I was diagnosed in May so I haven't been on pred for very long. I am also experiencing pain from damaged nerves in my back caused by surgery many years ago. I do find that pain from this condition is taking much longer to settle since I have had PMR. In order to avoid flares and pred withdrawals I am going to follow the DSAS method of reducing so long as I can persuade my GP to prescribe enough pred. The rheumatologist told me to reduce 1mg a month. I have gone from 10mg to 9mg with no apparent problems but I am not going to risk dropping another 1mg all at once if I can help it! I don't see the rheumatologist again until November so will see what happens!
Anhaga maria49950
Posted
I have had a lot of problems with my shoulders over the past year or so. Maybe even longer with one side. But the pain seems different from PMR, much more like an injury, and responds to physio, not to pred. I believe my muscles have been weakened by pred and so indirectly it's caused by the PMR but needs to be treated differently.
kate50809 Anhaga
Posted
You somehow learn to recognise the different sorts of pain don't you? Another clue is if the pain responds to painkillers! I also agree that familiar pains that return for whatever reason take much longer to get better now I have PMR.