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After "recovering" from PMR, still decreased strength/stamina
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: May 15 2:28pm | Replies (26)Comment receiving replies
Hi
I'm male, 74 years old and had very difficult symptoms for many years without a diagnosis. Recently had a huge increase in some of my symptoms which, through blood tests, suggest PMR. So now on prednisone and not feeling much better with some new symptoms making me feel worse.
I have the same problem with my hands, veins and thin crepy skin. But I have dry, sensitive skin all over anyway. My hands can look like yours in the photo when they've been down by my side for a while which, to me, suggests that gravity is simply moving more blood down into the veins in my hands. Often they can look very swollen. I do have arthritis in my shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands. However, when my arms are elevated or horizontal for a while they look much better, almost youthful again. No redness, veins look normal again and skin looks smoother. The difference between the two is incredible. If I took photos of my hands when they are so different in appearance you wouldn't think they belonged to the same person. I don't think it's from prednisone as they've been like this for quite a few years. Plus, my wife has developed exactly the same thing and she's never taken prednisone. She also has problems with arthritic shoulders, spine and neck issues and, like me, finds it difficult to raise her arms much above her head. Again, with her I can see it's probably a problem with blood circulation and gravity. We're both losing strength and muscle mass on our arms too.
The thin skin I'm beginning to realize is a lack of collagen production as we age which is fairly normal but which is also very much linked to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases affecting not only skin but muscles, tendons and other parts of the body in some cases with some pretty serious problems that can arise from it. I've put some links below. There's a lot more of course online about collagen and collagen deficiency.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23089-collagen
https://www.careinsurance.com/blog/health-insurance-articles/collagen-deficiency-the-reason-behind-your-skin-lacks-elasticity
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24342-collagen-vascular-disease
Replies to "Hi I'm male, 74 years old and had very difficult symptoms for many years without a..."
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Some auto-immune and connective tissue inflammation can be related to reduced collagen in the body. The appearance of my hands and skin doesn't change with blood circulation or gravity. I get plenty of natural collagen from a diet rich in animal protein and low in carbs/sugars, so there's not much more can be done about it if it is collagen related. The change in skin thinning was fairly sudden and only started after the PMR and prednisolone did, so I think it is less related to ageing, though there may be a little of that.
I'd warn against the idea that collagen supplements will help. In my case, I'm almost certain that hydrolysed marine collagen powder prompted my initial PMR onset with the PMR suddenly starting 5 days after I started taking it. Hydrolysed collagen is not collagen in its natural form. It is altered collagen which contains a lot of hydroxyproline which converts to oxalates during digestion. Oxalates combine with calcium in the body and can cause problems with kidneys, and calcium oxalate crystals can also deposit in and around joints causing pain. So I stay away from processed collagen supplements and also high oxalate foods.