Hip pain
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi I just wondered if anyone could set my mind at rest. I have had GCA and PMR for nearly 3yrs now. I started on 40g prednisolone and have now got down, to 131/2gr I have done this very slowly and for the past few months have come down by 1/2 doses. I now find that I am having really bad pain in my left leg, hip joint. but none in my right. Do other people find this as my doc says you always get the pain in pairs (?). I am only 64 and reasonable active considering the PMR. Can I have a bit of feed back please.
1 like, 16 replies
mrsmop Mousemum
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I have been experiencing a lot of pain recently and my Dermatologist [he prescribed the steroids for me] thinks that the steroids are actually causing my Polymyalgia. I have dropped from 5mg to 3mg, also very slowly and haven't actually noticed any difference in the level of pain. My pain became worse in about December, which was when I reached 5mg
EileenH mrsmop
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Many doctors like patients to remain at 5mg for several months before continuing their reduction. The body normally makes about 7mg itself but stops while we are taking a higher dose than that and it takes a while for the whole system to settle down and get it right again. Marking time at 5mg for a while seems to help the body adjust.
The most likely reason for pain is either you drop in too big steps or too far - but there is no reason to believe the pain is caused by the pred. What is more likely is that you have another problem, maybe osteoarthritis, that was masked by the higher doses but is now coming to the surface.
Nefret Mousemum
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I've got OA in my right knee and left hip, have you been checked for this? There could be other reasons for the problem such as a lower back problem (giving rise
to referred pain) or a soft tissue injury causing the same.
If it is really interfering with your quality of life perhaps you should see your doctor again and ask for more tests?
Mousemum Nefret
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EileenH Mousemum
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Sorry I'm a bit late, you'll have been to the doc by now - but I was off to Innsbruck before breakfast this morning!
Nefret has given you the outline of the reduction that has been being suggested for a while, slower than the Bristol group suggested. Something very similar is being tried by a consultant in the northeast - he too is finding it works to both avoid steroid reduction pain (the body objecting to you offering it a lower dose of pred) and allowing you to identify the lowest dose of pred that works for you more accurately.
Nefret Mousemum
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If at any time you feel it is too much you can have more than one week at the same dose/s without breaking the chain. Once you get to taking the new dose for 7 days, you can either stay at that dose for a week or so before commencing the next round, or if you feel ok then you just begin as before. Takes a little longer but has very good results for some patients who find it difficult to reduce. Once you get to 5mg it's a different ball game and is usually carried out in 0.5mg reductions.
What you should never, ever do is force reductions. Just leads to more problems in the end. If you don't feel well enough or stable enough to reduce then just don't. Wait a while till the situation stabilises and you feel confident enough to go on.
Mousemum Nefret
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Mousemum Nefret
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EileenH Mousemum
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Mousemum EileenH
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MrsO-UK_Surrey Mousemum
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I think we tend to get the pain "in pairs" in the early days of our illness, but I did experience the odd occasion later in treatment where just one limb would be affected - on such occasions, I often considered the pain to be more related to steroid-induced muscle pain rather than increasing inflammation due to a flare.
EileenH MrsO-UK_Surrey
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Mousemum MrsO-UK_Surrey
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Nefret Mousemum
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MrsO-UK_Surrey Nefret
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Something else that may help is a product called Flexiseq which is fairly new on to the market and specifically developed to combat joint pain associated with osteoarthritis. It is a pain relieving gel based on nanostructures called Sequessome-vesicles which are apparently able to cross the skin to target sites of pain and stiffness. It is available from pharmacies although isn't cheap. MrsK who posts on here recommended it some time ago after finding it worked well for her.
It may well be that the pain will improve as you get down lower on the steroids. I had awful knee problems in the latter stages of my steroid treatment which continued for quite a long time after going into remission but there has been a steady improvement recently (hope I haven't spoken too soon!)
If you haven't had a Vitamin D blood test to rule out any deficiency, then do ask for one. Such deficiency can lead to pain in similar areas to that of PMR, and a short course of high dose Vit. D3 is all that is needed to get levels up to normal.
Mousemum MrsO-UK_Surrey
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