Tiredness from PMG or the Preds??

Hi Julian,

I have had PMR for 12 years now. During this time I have constantly taken predisolone due to regular relapses. I have found that when I relapse I can suffer fatigue. From my experience, I would say the fatigue you suffering is most probably caused by PMR. You don’t say how much predisolone you are taking. It is really important to ensure you are taking enough predisolone to deal with the symptoms of the PMR. Good luck with finding the cause of your fatigue.

I have fatigue too--it's mind boggling.  My guess:  pred.  I've had pmr since August. 2016 and am currently almost at 6 mg., using dsns.  The fatigue is constant, sometimes more pronounced than others.  

 

Unfortunately all part of this autoimmune disease. Fatigue as far as I know is one of the most common symptoms and can be quite overwhelming at times - especially during a flare. This is not controlled (or I am pretty sure 'caused' by prednisone - only the inflammatory aspects are- and even if everything else feels OK fatigue is a reminder that PMR is still hanging on.  I find it come and goes and pacing is vital (not overdoing things) to avoid the worst of it.

I agree. I can cope with the pain, but not the fatigue! And mentally I feel so bright and well, just fed up with the exhaustion.

my GP did say t imagine I was a lithium battery that simply runs out of energy, so I have to sit down and recharge.

Either - or both.

PMR itself is the outward expression of an autoimmune disorder. They generally cause your immune system to attack body tissues and damage them - which leaves you feeling as if you have flu due to the damage caused. As long as the a/i disorder is active there is likely to be fatigue as a result. 

Some people experience fatigue as a side effect of pred - except maybe at higher doses when the manic effect overrides the fatigue - until you hit the brick wall. 

I had PMR without pred for over 5 years - so I can tell you from personal experience: PMR causes fatigue! I still suffer some fatigue but it is rarely as bad as then. There are a few people who didn't suffer fatigue with PMR/GCA but DID suffer it once they were on pred.

Once you are below about 7mg another factor comes into play: your adrenal glands have to make a staged return to work and produce cortisol to top up the amount of pred you are taking which is now less than the physiological dose of steroid your body requires to function properly. Going slowly here allows that to happen  - go too fast and if your adrenal function lags behind then you can become quite ill. It isn't JUST the adrenal glands - it is the entire HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal system) that has to sort itself out and get back into balance. Every time you reduce the dose - it has to settle down again.

This March will be 2 years since I was diagnosed with PMR. Have tried tapering multiple times and still stuck at 10mg.

Presently at an out of town family wedding. This afternoon everyone is running around having fun waiting for the wedding tonight. I am "stuck" in my room resting because I don't have the energy to join them and would never make it to tonight if I don't rest. Totally s*cks but doing what I have to in order to survive.

My GP took me of the prednisolone at the end of November, only a year after I was diagnosed and I'm still dreadfully tired and weak. I think I should still be on a steroid and still do have PMR so I think it must be the PMR that makes us so weak and tired.