Hopefully, not ANOTHER autoimmune disease!

MrsO - that ESR is fine for someone in their 60s and I think the CRP is also at a level that is acceptable although some people think it should be as low as humanly possible! That's a very nice vit D by most people's standards (last time I had mine done it was 21 and that was in the normal range!) although with the new guidelines in other countries and some places in the UK it is at the low end of the optimal range. As for the healthy eating bit - the odd indiscretion won't do much harm most of the time and let's face it: you're a long time dead!! :lol: Enjoy your brandy :coffee: - as there isn't a suitable shaped glass you'll either have to have a \"cafe corretto\" or a \"Nationality X coffee\" depending on your preference!

And what a pain - Sjogrens! Do hope not.

EileenH

Mrs O

Pam, our Secretary went through this loop with Sjogren's disease.

I will check with her, but am sure it turned out as a no no.

Get that ViT D up its too low - read the magazine article. I am in the process of buying some pure Vit D from the health shop - no additives - as I have another three weeks before the prescribed booster dose and little niggly pains are on the way back.

ESR - my GP would dance around the room - he is happy with 27.

CRP 8 - I would be dancing round the room.

OK Twin - chin up.

Mrs. O - I was told last year that I was [i:f467f411d3]probable[/i:f467f411d3] Sjogrens. That was before we moved house and I moved doctors. I was having immense problems with dry mouth and in the mornings my throat would be too dry for me to speak (I can hear Himself shouting 'Hooray' as I type that). I had all the signs, those and seriously dry eyes which were also painful at times.

Over the last few months the symptoms have abated somewhat; I still have the dry mouth (which I put down to the methotrexate; but then I put just about anything down to the metho and Pred including the fact that the ironing hasn't been done) and dry eyes but not to that extent now - they are liveable with. I have not mentioned it to my current doctor, but will have to do so if it worsens again.

The good news is that I am now on 2.5 Pred daily - something I thought I could never achieve! I wouldn't mind in the least if they said to stay on that forever as I am not looking forward to the next drop! I am going to stay there until I see the Rheumy next month and I am hoping I can start to reduce the methotrexate.

Eileen H - I've been wondering about the pain in my hips as it doesn't really seem to be related to anything else. I'm fine when I start walking but the pain begins quite quickly. I will mention it to the doctor as a separate issue now, instead of lumping it in with everything else.

Regards to all, we've been having some really lovely early Spring days down here!

Nefret

Mrs O

Sorry to hear of more problems for you !! Sounds horrid I have always hated the idea of dry eyes as I have worn contact lenses for 42 years and dry eyes would see the end to that

I do get a sore throat quite often probably because I talk too much !! I do find this blood thing strange at 22 my PMR is really active and under 10 I am OK but my Dr does think my CRP is a more accurate indicator in my case and I am 62

Have a nice brandy this evening to lubricate your throat !!

Mrs G

One of the worst things pre-diagnosis of PMR for me was dry itchy eyes as I too wore contacts. With steroids I'm back to normal! I also have a permanent sore throat and cough which is also associated with the PMR - better on steroids too. They are symptoms which appear on GCA symptom lists but rarely for PMR - hmmmm?????

Hip pain - ?bursitis? Or a muscle problem? Both can cause similar discomfort and both could be PMR-related - or not! :roll:

EileenH

Mrs O

Sorry to hear about your problems. Specialist (in general surgery) told me that my original ESR of 37 was NOT raised for a person of my age (58 at the time), as the calculation is something like your age, add 20, divide by 2 (not sure exactly) - he said although the textbooks say it should be below 20, they are not right! I also read this online at the beginning of my PMR and quizzed my GP about it - he insisted it should be below 20!! Who on earth are we supposed to believe?!

Have you been drinking enough fluid every day?

Maybe you havent been drinking enough brandy?! :?

Hope the symptoms go and you are soon feeling better.

Beev

Nefret and all........WHY oh WHY did no-body ever mention before now that we could \"OPT\" out of the ironing and blame it on the pred :o :lol: :wink:

Here's to wrinkled clothes :lol: :!:

Love, Pauline

Hello dear friends and thank you all so much for your lovely messages along with the uplifting humour.......Nefret, so that's why I don't do the ironing then!

Mrs K - I will raise the Vit D result with the GP again on my next visit.

Eileen - are you taking a Vit D supplement to raise your levels now? Do hope you've had good skiing conditions whilst your family have been with you...........and that you're not too worn out!

Mrs G - yes, those inflammatory markers certainly are a mystery. Some people's remain normal whereas mine and others always seem to have the ability to go sky high and you have even had totally different inflammatory results with both PMR episodes! I'm even wondering if my ESR is still slightly raised due to the couple of bad episodes recently with my back? Judging by Beev's comments, if the experts are giving out such conflicting so-called \"normal\" levels, then how can we hope to get our heads around it.

As for teeth, Green Granny, I've just read that my lack of saliva will have a detrimental effect on my teeth :yikes: . Horrible images come to mind of a little glass by the side of the bed containing something other than water! :roll: :lol:

Nite Nite and hope everyone who is already tucked up is having a good one! :zzz:

MrsO

Hello Beev and mrs O

Yes this ESR level is annoying me they have BP levels so why not ESR ?? My Dr certainly treat my levels as personal to me which helps !!

When i saw her last I had my sore throat bug and my ESR had gone up to 11 from 4 the last two visits so she said not to reduce for a few weeks as there were too many bugs about My CRP has been 6 to 8 I am interested to see the next lot of bloods as I am trying to get to 3 at the moment which I know causes some people problems

Another nice day off to coffee and lunch with people i used to work with

Have a good day all

Mrs G