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Using pain relievers

Posted , 13 users are following.

sherri74011
sherri74011

This may be a silly question but just wondering if others use supplemental pain relievers when needed. I'm fairly new to my PMR diagnosis and the prednisone has greatly reduced my aches and pains in my legs and shoulders. I had bilateral frozen shoulders which after quite a bit of physical therapy are doing great.

I'm a dog groomer and my back has been aching for the last couple of weeks. I find that acetaminophen relieves the pain, where ibuprofen doesn't seem to touch it.

I do have osteopenia in my lower back and I'm taking calcium and other suppliments but just wondering if others have to supplement for pain relief or am I cheating in some way .thank you

0 likes, 42 replies

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  • susan29426
    susan29426 sherri74011

    Posted

    No such thing as cheating. We're all trying to muddle through this with whatever works. Ibuprofin and acetaminophen can irritate the stomach, and this effect is heightened by prednisone - so please be very restrained. I use ibuprofin about once every two months on a full stomach, and it really helps my pain. Have read here that it won't touch PMR pain, but I have lots of other pain in various areas and it helps. In order to sleep, I take a combination of tylenol and codeine most nights. Obviously a slippery slope, and I have to be very careful not to overdo, and to stay transparent with my doctors and husband. Not recommending it, just sharing my personal experience.

    • mimi1950
      mimi1950 susan29426

      Posted

      I have just been diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer .I took ibuprofen for pain from a broken pelvis only about 3 or 4 times when I was desperate, not having any paracetamol/ acetomenophen on hand.Apperently, prednisone alone rarely causes ulcers but in combination with NSAIDs , it does.I was taking Omeplazol but it didn't prevent the ulcer.

    • EileenH
      EileenH mimi1950

      Posted

      Mimi - you're just falling apart girl!!!! wink sad rolleyes 

    • mimi1950
      mimi1950 EileenH

      Posted

      I know ! I had be been feeling malaise, abdominal pain, chills, nausea, loss of appetite night sweats and extreme fatigue and thought it was related to Prednisone tapering

      .The abdominal pain has subsided with the treatment for the ulcer but all the other symptoms are still with me .Im beginning to think I've developed another autoimmune disease or the PMR was misdiagnosed!

    • EileenH
      EileenH mimi1950

      Posted

      At least it is an ulcer and nothing worse. They are sure though I assume? There are a/i disorders that involve the gut,
    • mimi1950
      mimi1950 EileenH

      Posted

      I had an endoscopy and I do feel better as far as the pain (LUQ) after only one week from treatment. I still feel malaise though and extremely cold and sleepy.Ill have to go to the GP again and get a referral to an endocrinologist , maybe ill get lucky again and get a decent one. So far, when I've complained of hypothyroid symptoms, thinking they had something to do with the pituitary apoplexy I suffered about 9 years ago, they just say that my TSH is normal.All I know is something happened lately that is affecting my quality of life tremendously .I had been quite happy with my response to the steroids, (before the pelvic fracture) having to pace myself so as not to get the PMR symptoms from over- activity, now I only wish I needed to pace myself .

      Im thinking maybe be I've developed another autoimmune disease.

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee mimi1950

      Posted

      Mimi an endoscopy is not a treatment it is a procedure or a way of getting into your body to do something. For example they will use endoscopy to tie your tubes, or look around to see what's going on inside. So do you know what procedure they did? Also as for your thyroid test I found that I had to ask to see an endocrinologist because my GP felt that a level of 5 was low enough on my thyroid test and I knew it wasn't and I knew I would feel better if I could get it lower. Now that I'm with an endocrinologist we try to keep it under 3. My last test I was at 1.5 which is excellent and I feel good at that level. So I would demand to know the results of your test and go from there.

    • mimi1950
      mimi1950 amkoffee

      Posted

      I meant that they did an endoscopy to diagnose the ulcer ..The treatment has been with PPIs.

      Thank you for your advice re thyroid test. I've made an appointment with the endocrinologist ..It isn't till mid May, though.

  • pam7653
    pam7653 sherri74011

    Posted

    I can't take Ibuprofen anymore as it causes stomach issues. I can take prescribed Naproxen 500mg. This doesn't bother me for some reason. I always take it on a full stomach.

  • ptolemy
    ptolemy sherri74011

    Posted

    If the pain relief is not for PMR that is fine, but you should not use NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen with pred because of stomach problems. Pred is the only thing that works effectively for PMR. I do take Tramadol which is quite strong for other aches and pains. A lot of people take paracetamol and co-codamol. 
    • sherri74011
      sherri74011 ptolemy

      Posted

      I have tramadol but it also doesn't seem to relieve my back pain, and I can get away with taking just one Tylenol and make it thru my morning. Thank you

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga sherri74011

      Posted

      I think as long as your dose of tylenol is kept low ( taking the maximum allowable dose for any length of time can damage liver) you should be okay.  But are you getting physio to help your back?  If you do get physio make sure your therapist knows about the PMR so you are given the right kind of treatment, nothing that will stress your PMR/pred weakened muscles.  Also you may be able to get other therapies from a physiotherapist, like dry needling to relieve muscle spasm.
  • amkoffee
    amkoffee sherri74011

    Posted

    Sherri I have had lower back pain for 13 years and so I am on opiates for that pain and it did nothing for the PMR pain so my guess is that the pain your having in your back that is being relieved by the Tylenol and ibuprofen is not PMR pain but is coming from another source. That might be something you'll want to look into. Since I've had PMR I have had a number of joints with osteoarthritis turn ugly. I asked my rheumatologist why this is and she said it just happens sometimes with PMR. So it might be that your back has developed arthritis in it. That would explain why the ibuprofen works so well. But ibuprofen is really hard on the stomach and in fact the first year that my back was bad I took Aleve and now I suffer from acid reflux. So you might want to talk to your rheumatologist about your back pain and she might be able to give you something that won't hurt your stomach as much.

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