Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Be careful of advice to reduce salt.  I was by default on a low salt diet for decades, just the way we cooked.  And I recently found out I was salt deficient and feel much better now that I'm using more salt.  I have also learned that pred can upset our electrolyte balance, I never knew this before, so it probably wasn't helping.  Yes, I have been watching my blood pressure and in fact it has come down.  It got rather high, although not quite in the red zone, when I was unwittingly entering the stage of deficiency.

On the other hand, people who eat a lot of prepared and restaurant meals may indeed be getting more salt than is wise.

Yes, cooking from scratch is always the best way. And of course there is always salt in the diet from stock cubes etc. And we need a bit of salt when weather is very hot.  But on the whole people tend to eat too much salt I think and it encourages water retention too. My aunt always used to add a dessert spoon of salt to her potatoes - sooo salty!! But she did live to be nearly 99!

I've noticed a number of disturbing symptoms subsiding or completely disappearing since I began to eat a moderate (not high) amount of salt.  Morning headaches have gone and I was waking up regularly with them, with increasing frequency, over the past couple of years.  I have a little more energy, a little more stamina.  I no longer get a fluttery feeling that my heart isn't beating right - a longstanding effect which got quite bad after starting pred and only reduced back then when I added a bit of salt to my diet (although apparently not enough).  And recently I've noticed my lower legs which always got quite painful when I was at rest, so bad it might wake me up at night, has completely stopped, again after several years.  I've kept tabs on my blood pressure.  It had been low most of my adult life, but had got quite high a few months ago, and was even near the red zone when I checked a couple of times.  But now it is back to normal, again through consecutive readings.  So I can't say a little extra salt has done me any harm.  I follow the tip given me by a recent acquaintance which is to taste salt.  If it tastes good, you need more.  if it tastes disgusting, you don't.  It's not like sugar where the body doesn't know when to stop.  The body really can be trusted to know when enough salt has been consumed - provided it isn't hidden in commercially prepared foods, which we eat very little of anyway.  

All that being said, I've never added salt to my potatoes and the thought of a dessert spoonful makes me gag!  I still continue to cook with a minimum of salt, now I understand just how little, therefore I can control the amount I consume because I'm eating it directly, not hidden.  I think the secret is to carry on with low salt cooking, but return the salt shaker to the table, removed decades ago!

I love cooking and experimenting with new dishes but the steroids have taken away my sense of taste.  I always have to ask my husband what it takes like, if it needs any salt etc.  Most annoying. So salt or no salt doesn't bother me.  What does, is not tasting the food.  So I just have to enjoy it with my eyes! But glad to hear a bit of salt has improved your symptoms.