Shoulder pain and sleep

Hi Eileen,

Thank you for your reply and insight, I guess the combination of the golf and side sleeping bravery last night didn't help my view of things this morning.  I was thinking about the DOMS and exercise linked to the golf, and at the moment I guess it is fair to say that I have not yet adjusted my lifestyle and leisure activities...something I need to deal with quickly I guess.

I am 47 and have been keeping myself fit and active and until recently relatively pain free with the occasional DOMS to deal with when over exerting myself...suffice to say that over the last 6 months I haven't been doing much if anything in gyms or weight exercise.

I am about to start my 2nd week of Pred and the relief has been massive since last Monday, so a little blip with the pain this morning is understandable...I just need to make those adjustments and appreciate what I can and cannot do anymore.

Do you know of any other similar sporty individuals around their 50's that have had to come to terms with PMR that I can connect with please...it would be useful to know some more if possible please?

I think Nick may be one - there are a few other sporty guys (and gals) who have been on the forum but mostly are now off living life. Oh - nearly forgot - Michdonn skis, spent all last winter teaching sking at 80+ and has spent the summer cycling with his mates. He lives at about 2,800m as well and at Easter last year had a flare that put him in a wheelchair! On another forum there was a guy who was a firefighter and ran marathons and climbed mountains when PMR struck and put HIM in a wheelchair. 18 months later he ran a 5K (I think) and is now back running and climbing in Nepal (I think). 

I was in my early 50s when PMR struck. I wasn't particularly sporty - but i did go to the gym or step classes several times a week and in the winter I skied. The step classes became increasingly difficult so I changed classes. In the autumn I went to start training for skiing - and 2 minutes on the crosstrainer finished me off! The thigh pain was excruciating. All the other machines became harder and harder. I changed gyms to one with a pool - and did daily aquafit classes, at my level which wasn't very high to start with. I built up what I could do over a period of months and also managed Pilates and Iyengha yoga, both adapted, once I had loosened up in the pool. I should point out that at this point I had no diagnosis - so wasn't being treated with pred. I was dependent on the aquafit to make me mobile enough to do other things. I did the same with skiing, at the start of the season, early December, I did 3 very short runs - I couldn't do the same distance in one, I had to have the rest on the lift! I also couldn't ski every day, there had to be a rest day to recover. I built up very slowly and by Christmas could do several short runs. It wasn't until the end of January or even later I could manage a long run all in one - although I could do loads of short runs. And by then I could ski every day as long as I didn't do too much.

I don't know if that helps? PMR has made a big difference to my life but I was able to work around it for several years - it was something else that stopped the skiing for a couple of years and I never got back to it. I've also had PMR for 14 years so the 2 years not being able to ski did result in a lot of loss of fitness and I've not recovered it - no access to aquafit here where I live or affordable gyms with the right sort of class. The downside of living here - the locals climb mountains from childhood, in all sorts of forms, on skis, wearing running shoes, on ropes!!!!

If you are taking the right dose of pred the pain shouldn't be unbearable. If you have severe night time pain then your doctor should investigate the possibility of others forms of rheumatic disease - just in case.