1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

Has anyone had surgery while still on prednisone?

Posted by jimp @boo3, Jun 21 6:40pm

Scheduled for laparoscopic surgery in August. Haven’t heard back from surgeon with this question so I will reach out to the group. Read. That 5 mg is suggested dosage to be on before surgery. I am on 14mg at moment and don’t see that a possible. Just trying to make a educated decision and as this is not emergency surgery but important I prefer not rescheduling but 5mg seems “painful”

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jimp | @boo3 | 5 days ago
In reply to @sciencewoman "I delayed knee replacement surgery last summer on the advice of my rheumatologist. I was on..." + (show)
@sciencewoman

I delayed knee replacement surgery last summer on the advice of my rheumatologist. I was on 15 mg. prednisone at the time. I was also advised that 5 mg. is ideal, but my orthopedic surgeon was less concerned than my rheumatologist. The reason I was given was the increased risk of infection on higher prednisone; they said my surgery healing would actually be enhanced by the prednisone helping with inflammation. I had the surgery in March when I was on 5 mg. No issues at all -- the new knee is doing well. My rheumatologist also warned of a potential flare after the surgery, which did happen. My sed and c-reactive rates both rose for a couple months after surgery.

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Thanks for info. All information helps with the journey

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Mike | @dadcue | 5 days ago

I had multiple surgeries on Prednisone. The first one was to repair a "spontaneous" rupture of the tendon connecting my left thumb. The tendon rupture was blamed on Prednisone but the hand surgeon didn't see any evidence to explain why the tendon ruptured.

I had both knees replaced a few years later when I was 62. That was 10 years into my PMR journey and I was still taking 25 mg of Prednisone. I was told that I needed a knee replacement at the age of 30 but I had to wait until I was at least 60 years old. The orthopedic surgeon took every precaution imaginable. I even had hourly post operative visits by an endocrinologist until she was convinced I wasn't going to have an adrenal crisis.

My knee replacements resulted in a 10 mg reduction in my Prednisone dose a few months later. I don't know how wise the Prednisone dose reduction was because that was when trigeminal neuralgia decided to be refractory. The neurosurgeon was amazed that I had endured trigeminal neuralgia for so many years. He was incredulous that I was only taking Prednisone to control the pain caused by trigeminal neuralgia. In any case brain surgery solved the problem and I was able to reduce my Prednisone dose some more.

The only surgeon that was reluctant to do surgery was the spine surgeon who was going to fuse my entire lumbar spine. He said I wasn't a good candidate for major spine surgery because of all the Prednisone I have taken over the years. I didn't know what to do but the pain needed to stop. I took 100 mg of Prednisone and the pain stopped and surgery was postponed. A lumbar fusion is still pending.

Now that I'm off Prednisone the spine surgeon says the fusion can be done whenever I'm ready. I should do the lumbar fusion but I'm afraid.

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jimp | @boo3 | 5 days ago

Want to thank all who have posted and shared regarding surgery and their prednisone dosage. I am grateful to all for your sharing as it does help relieve concerns regard the issue

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randersonccc | @randersonccc | 5 days ago
In reply to @boo3 "Same planned here. Was not happy that had to be intubated, but only way they can..." + (show)
@boo3

Same planned here. Was not happy that had to be intubated, but only way they can do the surgery laparoscopically. I do appreciate your sharing. First surgery since I was 25 (lots of years ago) and dealing with the PMR. Thanks for the info. Very thankful for the information

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Best wishes - you’ll be fine.

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