Pain in fingers and big toe joints

I have osteo arthritis as well as PMR. I think quite a lot of people do.

It sure can. i had PMR for 2 years, however as i got lower n the pred the aches and pains crept back in. I developed RA and OA, so now have to start MTX.

Two years is a relatively short time within the context of the PMR condition, and yes, the more remote joints (in the fingers and toes) are sometimes a flare point as dosage is slowly reduced.

I myself spent well over a year at around the 5mg daily dosage, and the thumb and knuckle joints were my primary indicator of whether my dosage needed adjustment each morning.

I'm now in year six and finally with only very occasional symptoms as I adjust my dosage from 2mg to 3.5mg in what has proven to be a seasonal cycle. Fall and winter have me dreaming of zero mg (though I haven't yet been able to sustain this for any length of time), while spring and summer always require more like 2.5-3.5mg for reasons that I believe are related to indoor/outdoor air quality.

I do best when I also do outdoor exercise twice every day, morning and evening (walking, running or cycling), and this is looking like a very good month so far.

Heron, before I ever had PMR I was placed on Tamoxifen as a BC adjuvent therapy. I could not walk; it caused such pain in my legs. We even tried halving the daily dose., We had to stop this medication.

My experience is similar to what Dan described. I have seen Rheumi for hand/finger issue and he attributed that to sinovitis and confirm it with ultrasound. You have most likely gone with your dose a bit too low and that is causing your issues. Treatment is to increase the dose to +5mg from where you are now for several weeks and then taper down to the level just above current dose. I have had similar issues last two summers. First time it happened I had to increase from 3mg to 8... This time was from 1.5mg to 5.

One thing to remember is that average PMR treatment last ~6 years. Just be patient, it will take time.

Thanks all, it certainly seems like the beginning of a flare. Last night in bed my arms and legs were heavy and had that all too familiar dull ache. I'll up my dose slightly and see how I get on.

Patience is required by the bucket load for the PMR journey.

Best wishes to all

I have had arthritis for decades and had two bouts of PMR so, yes, they can definitely go side by side.

I found that while on Pred. the pain of the arthritis all but disappeared but has returned since I finally got to zero Pred. six years ago.

Being active certainly helps with arthritis. Too long in a chair is very bad news and early morning is my worst time, having been still all night.

Everyone on here will sympathise with your being fed up with health issues and you have had more than your share.

Then 5mg is the dose you were looking for: the lowest dose that manages the symptoms of PMR as well as the starting dose did. The pred hasn't cured the cause of the PMR, it is managing the symptoms to allow a better quality of life until it DOES go into remission. Half of people require nearly 6 years to get off pred altogether, only a third get off pred in 2 years or less. And that means that a LOT of people need a low dose of pred for a long time. 40% are still on a low dose at wo years.

It seems you are doing the right things, but I'd like to tell you what I finally did. I didn't have PMR for 2 years, but have mild arthritis plus some balance difficulty, etc. due to PMR. I did have terrible pain in my fingers this past year, and my middle finger felt like it was burning most of the time. I went to a hand doctor who after taking Xrays, injected a cortisone med into the finger. He said it should last 3 months, but it is now almost 6 months and still good. Good luck to you!

Pain and stiffness in my hands and feet has been a major issue for me, and is still an issue now that I am trying to taper out of pred. It becomes difficult to open doors with keys fx.