pmr flare up after holiday
Posted , 10 users are following.
I was diagnosed with pmr last October after having symptoms for 2 months. I am a very fit and active person, my passion is hillwalking and climbing and the diagnosis was a big shock to me. However I reacted really well to a starting dose of 15mg of Pred and was able to (cautiously at first) resume my activities. Since then I have managed to decrease slowly,with no major issues, to 8mg using the wonderful dsns regime and continue to enjoy my passion. Then in July I went on holiday to the French Alps and decided to remain on 8mg whilst there as I knew I'd be more active and didn't want any problems. It all went very well, I did an activity every day, including a 17 hour overnight ascent of a big summit. No extra Pred needed. On return to the UK I started to have shoulder, neck and knee pain, which lasted for 2 weeks. I kept to 8mg and tried to carry on with my usual activities but the pain remained. Thinking this might be a flare up of symptoms I made the decision to increase the Pred to 10mg and this seems to have had a good effect. Just wondered if anyone has any ideas as to why I was ok in France but started to have problems on my return home. I'm 58 years old, work full time as a nurse and (as you have read) I am very active and train hard to enjoy my passion.
0 likes, 13 replies
EileenH helen22026
Posted
I would suspect that your big climb, albeit with an overnight, in combo with the rest of the activity may have simply been a step too far. Some experts have thought for some time that physical stress can also trigger PMR or a flare of it. I'm sure you know how muscle contraction and relaxation works - and you will over the holiday have come very close to DOMS developing even if it didn't. You may have felt OK at the time but the inflammation make have taken some days to mount up enough for you to notice it as a flare.
helen22026 EileenH
Posted
Thanks Eileen, you confirmed pretty much what I suspected anyway. I knew that I was going to do a lot on holiday and expected some repercussion from that but didn't expect to have to go up with the Pred. Oh well you can't have everything and at least I had a great deal of fun in France. The increase to 10mg seems to be ok so I'll stay on it for a week or two then see how I feel. Back to normal activity level anyway.
Michdonn helen22026
Posted
Hi Helen fellow over active person. I am afraid just a push to far. As an 80 year old I should know better, but like you I have a tendency to push a bit too far and end up suffering for it. I don't know the remedy, if you find out please let me know. Think positive you get back on track as I will, try to smile, we will get through this! ??
helen22026 Michdonn
Posted
Thanks Michdonn, your attitude is so like mine and I want to be climbing mountains for as long as I possibly can (there's a lot of them out there!). I'm sure things will settle down, have been able to resume normal activities now. Have fun!
Michdonn helen22026
Posted
Anhaga helen22026
Posted
Being on holiday, even a physically active one, can help, because you're doing something you love. I did absolutely everything when on holiday in the spring, leaving my husband in the dust. At home if I've had an early morning walk I'm wiped until mid afternoon. Go figure. Is any illness partly a state of mind? I don't know.
helen22026 Anhaga
Posted
Thanks Anhaga, it is very strange how good I felt in France even though I was pushing myself far harder than I do normally without any noticeable side effects. I agree with Eileen that things may have been building up and came to a head on my return home. I'm afraid I'll never be a person who does light exercise but I'm normally ok after training, just a few normal aches and pains like anyone else. Anyway 10mg seems to have done the trick so back to normality for a while.
susan41679 helen22026
Posted
helen22026 susan41679
Posted
Thanks Susan, I think you've done really well to drop from 20mg to 8.5mg in such a short time. Pleased that your trainers are back on, at least you can start to resume some activity, allbeit at a slower pace. I'm now back to my usual level of training, walking and gym 5-6 days each week and climbing and hillwalking on weekends off. Enjoy what you can do, it will get better.
EileenH helen22026
Posted
Just a comment - it really does make a difference when you have a rest day between exercise days. I know it is difficult when you are on holiday and every day counts - we see it all the time here on the ski runs with people skiing all day and every day because they "have to get the most out of it". But the result is often nasty accidents because of tired muscles that don't respond as expected and a hospital full of the halt and maim!!!!
helen22026 EileenH
Posted
Thanks Eileen, I fully appreciate what you say and I would probably give the same advice. However I felt absolutely fine on holiday, was waiting for the crash to come but it didn't (until I returned home). If I had needed a rest day I would have taken it, believe me! Some days were much lighter in respect of what I did, eg. a few easy climbs, so I wasn't continuously bashing my body. I suppose I'm lucky in the sense that I'm able to exercise at a much more intense level than most with pmr.
EileenH helen22026
Posted
It wasn't just for you - it was for anyone looking in who thinks that if they can do it, why can't I???? I don't see it as much on this forum but on the other one you often find people feeling they are doing something wrong because they can't keep up with others. No they aren't - we are all different! And effectively you did rest - having light days rather than every day being the same high intensity.
helen22026 EileenH
Posted
Thanks Eileen, yes we are all different and the disease affects everyone completely differently. I've read a lot of posts on this forum and have realised that and certainly would not encourage anyone to try to do what I do.