PMR and Excersize - Experiment in Progress
Posted , 40 users are following.
Hi Everyone!
In search for information about PMR I have come acress this site with lots of information and links. I have learne a lot and in return I would like to contribute about the topic of PMR and excersize....
Background: I am 66 years old and have suffered first attack in mid November 2015... I have been fairly active person and have done some triathlon in the past, so not being able to get out of the bed on my own was pretty shocking to me... It took about one month to diagnose PMR and I started medication (prednisone) at 15mg/day mid December.
If there is an interest, I would like to post about the progress in recovery, with special attention to excersize. I am seeng specialist every 2 weeks and complete blood work is done to monitor inflamation caused by PMR.
I would like to post what I have done thus far and future progress in (hopefully) sucessful recovery. Please let me know if there is enough interest in the subject.
14 likes, 226 replies
Joystick nick67069
Edited
I would really appreciate hearing about any progress you make. I have not long been diagnosed (1 month) and have felt a bit overwhelmed by it as I am normally a very active person (I am the same age as you), and I have maintained a good exercise regime during the pandemic and, frankly, was feeling pretty good until late February when things began to stiffen up gradually following the first Pfizer jab. Following the second, at the beginning of May, things really tightened up and I had to contact the GP. I have been diagnosed over the telephone (drs are not seeing patients here) and have been put on 15mg of Prednisolone, just reduced to 12.5 mg yesterday - so far so good. However, over the last week the left thumb joint has become extremely painful and gradually, since March, one knee has become painful and swollen so is limiting my walking. I am hoping to find exercise that will not over-strain the problems I have but will keep me moving, so any information is very, very welcome and I hope things are going well for you. Any positive news is more than welcome!
I'm also supporting the condition through good diet and some supplements - basically doing all I can. I have requested a physio appointment to see if I can get some knee exercises to try and build some strength/resilience in both knees and the dr has sent a self-referral form as she did not want to write a letter herself, so that will be a waiting game. In the meantime I hope to see an osteopath just to get some idea of the problem and what I can and can't do with it. I do wish GPs were accessible, although it's more about finding out as much information as I can to work my way through this.
I look forward to catching up with all your news.
I have just read through all the posts in this thread and I find them very helpful. As I suspected it will be an individual journey and a case of working through it in the best way I can. Thanks to everyone who posts on here - it is very helpful - especially to someone who had never heard of PMR 6 weeks ago. I had assumed that I had brought this on myself (although I don't know how) but I can see from reading the posts that it affects all sorts of people. I was relatively fit and felt really well with a good diet etc. so I realise now that it's just the luck of the draw.
I wish everyone well in their journey and will keep an eye on this forum - I find it easier to negotiate than the other one - take care everyone.
Anhaga Joystick
Posted
You were diagnosed over the telephone? This is problematic because PMR is a diagnosis of exclusion as a number of illnesses can present with PMR as a symptom. Were you sent for blood tests before the diagnosis and pred prescription? Taking the moderate dose of pred is usually the last step in the diagnostic process, so it's a good sign that it worked. But I feel you should tell your doctor about the swollen joints.
If you would like to get more responses to your concern, a more active and equally informative forum is found at HealthUnlocked, the PMRGCAuk community. Sorry, I am not allowed to post links and last time I tried the private message function here wasn't working but I think Google will help you find us over there!
nick67069 Joystick
Edited
Sorry that you had to join PMR club, but it is not all bad. Be careful especially at high pred doses not to injure yourself, because pred essentially weakens muscles and connective tissue while numbing the pain. It is easy to overdo activities. Don't try to jump back into it at the same level, start slow to find out new limits, because it is not the same. If you had any weakness or muscle imbalance, it is now exaggerated. Caution is essential. As far as exercise that would help your knee and still keep you active the choices are perhaps biking and/or swimming, but it is also important to pick an activity that you were doing before PMR, much easier then to start new one.
I also agree with comments that Anhaga made about diagnose over the phone and alternate site. This used to be much more active site, but after several "improvements" it is pretty much dead. Good luck with PMR journey. I am almost 6 years into it and at 1mg. It morphed form a big problem to inconvenience - often I forget that I have it.