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I’m Not Responding to Prednisone and I Need Advice
I was diagnosed with PMR last March. My doctor prescribed 15 mg of Prednisone and then reduced that to 12.5. There wasn’t much improvement and recently he increased the dosage to 20 mg. He also referred me to a rheumatologist with whom I have an appointment in four months. Things move slowly here.
I’m very tired all the time and I spend most of my days sitting at my computer or sleeping. The pain and fatigue make it impossible to accomplish much. I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks,
Cliff
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My rheumatologist always told me to taper only when my pain level was gone or at a low level that was acceptable. For me that was generally below a 1 on my pain scale. He also suggested I keep a daily pain log for my pain level when waking up along with the dosage for that day. Do you keep a pain log?
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1 ReactionNo pain log, but I've been trying to put together a chronology of PMR progression. I'll include info on pain, but until now, the pain has been pretty constant.
Right now I'm typing with two hands, but for most of this year I've typed with one. My left arm hasn't been working.
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2 ReactionsI keep a daily journal, weight gain/loss, BP reading that day or after a flare up, how i slept that night and what i did during the day, any mobility issues....etc. It helps measure your progress and something for you to look back on, it takes 15 minutes a day. Keep positive, we are going to win this battle
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1 ReactionHi Cliff,
I to am not responding to the Prednisone medication and my pain has increased signicantly.
I'm almost at the 2 week mark. I spoke with my liver specialists who prescribes Prednisone all the time and she told me that if you are not experiencing relief with the Prednisone after 2-3 weeks that you should reach out to your GP or Rheumatologist and report this to them. I asked my liver specialists about me taking Tylenol during the course of the day/night to help with the pain . She said that i could safely take (4) of the Tylenol extra strength 500 mg pill. I also originally confirmed this information from our Pharmacist who also told me not to take Prednisone with Advil. Apparently Advil is hard on your liver. One other thing, did your doctor prescribe anything to protect your stomach from taking Prednisone, i also take 1 pill per day Pantoprazole T40mg. I know it's tuff spending our days in pain and discomfort, the unknowing. Heck combing my hair can be an annoyance. You have to get up every morning and try and make the best of the day, even if you accomplish the smallest of tasks. Sleep is a big part of this, i know this because in the first week of being diagnosed i would stay up until 3am - 4am in the morning only because i could deal with things much better at that time, the next day i was a wreck and didn't accomplish a thing and felt like crap. All i can say is keep the faith and remember we didn't chose PMR it chose us. CHEERS
There are a number of drugs and vitamins that are contra-indicated when taking prednisone. Advil (ibuprofen) is certainly one, curcumin is another. Vit D, Yin Chiao (I had taken the latter for allergies). Good luck!
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I wonder if you don’t respond to prednisone if it might be another disease that mimics the symptoms. My positive response to Pred. was one of the determinants that mine was PMR.
Everyone, this post is 2 years old.
Let's hope that @cliffg26 successfully found the help he needed and is doing much better. Maybe he will see these comments and provide an update.
@paul767 , I think @kereno is correct. Odds are if you have not responded to prednisone it may not be PMR. Other possibilities are maliginancy, infection, hypothyroidism, or connective tissue disorder (Goldman Cecil Medicine).
When prednisone is prescribed for PMR, it alleviates symptoms pretty quickly.
Best to contact your Rheumatologist to advise.
I had PMR, then GCA, undiagnosed for a year so I know some of what you're going through, painwise: pain and disfunction on a scale of 12/10.
All the Best! I hope you can get to the bottom of this with a proper diagnosis and treatment!
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1 ReactionI'm off Prednisone but some pain symptoms that feel like PMR are coming back.
I'm taking Actemra so PMR should be controlled. I have been off Prednisone for nearly 5 years. I'm being evaluated for fibromyalgia. I'm tempted to take a small amount of Prednisone. In theory, prednisone shouldn't help fibromyalgia pain because it isn't supposed to be caused by inflammation. However, taking Prednisone to "rule out" fibromyalgia is inappropriate.
Malignancy, infection, and connective tissue disorders do have inflammation associated with them so they might all respond to Prednisone. All of these conditions might have symptoms similar to PMR.
Hypothyroidism has symptoms similar to PMR but won't respond to Prednisone. In fact, Prednisone might make hypothyroidism worse by suppressing the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
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1 ReactionIf the pain isn't responding to Prednisone ... hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia are some possibilities. In a way... you are lucky that your pain doesn't respond to Prednisone.
There are probably fewer conditions that don't respond to Prednisone compared with the ones that do. The process of elimination to make a diagnosis might be easier. It is easier to list conditions that do not respond to prednisone than to list all the ones that do.
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1 Reaction@dadcue By chance, are you taking any kind of Statins (for high cholesterol)? If so, that may be the source of muscle and joint pains. They are almost identical to PMR.