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Weight based prednisone dosing
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (22)Comment receiving replies
@diegory I am going to suggest you request being referred to Physical Therapy for 4-6 weeks to see if it can make a difference. Even if it doesn't help in the short term it will be good to be in better condition prior to your back surgery, so I would see it as a no-fault action for you. If it does help, then that might buy you some time to make a better-informed decision. Unfortunately, back surgery has mixed reviews, for those it helps they consider it a miracle, for the others they wish they never had been offered it. Talk to your surgeon about the failure to provide relief stats. Success is the expected outcome, the unexpected outcome is what you need to brace for.
Just so you know I have fully recovered from bilateral rotator cuff surgery, with full range of motion in both shoulders. Recovery was a job not a hobby, required commitment to the ordered PT, no exceptions.
Replies to "@diegory I am going to suggest you request being referred to Physical Therapy for 4-6 weeks..."
@jabrown0407 I totally agree with you. Problem is that in the last 3 years I have done PT on 3 different occasions which actually provoked my sciatica & other spinal issues. I obviously still want to go as long as possible with more conservative treatments before surgery.
I did have my 1st appointment today with a spine specialist. From my imaging & what I told him, he thinks that there is more involved than just my spine & is likely something from my brain which I have suspected for a while now.
He ordered an EMG & referred me to Nuerologist all in the 1st visit, I am so glad I just changed my medical insurance....
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@jabrown0407
"Unfortunately, back surgery has mixed reviews..."
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Isn't that the truth. I WAS taking prednisone and didn't realize my lumbar spine was so bad until I had excruciating pain and symptoms caused by nerve damage. I was told by one spine surgeon that a multi level lumbar fusion would not help the damage to my nerves that was already done. Because of prednisone, I wasn't a good surgical candidate for a major spine surgery. Apparently they would need to remove so much of the "bad bone" there was concern that there wouldn't be enough "good bone" left to hold all the hardware needed to fuse my spine. Needing to be on prednisone wasn't ideal because of poor healing and risk of infection.
According to another spine surgeon it isn't about how much pain I have. If nothing is done to correct the spinal stenosis then I might end up being paralyzed with or without surgery. That surgeon didn't recommend trying to fix everything and would just do the minimum needed to create more space for my spinal cord and exiting nerve roots. Sometimes there isn't a "good option." It is hard for patients to understand that "modern medicine" can't fix everything.
What I learned was that prednisone might relieve the pain but it never fixes anything. I avoid the MRIs of my spine now because the report always says the same thing --- "urgent action required." The MRI reports have been saying that for 10 years.
It is amazing how good I feel when the inflammation is controlled. Actemra does a better job than Prednisone controlling my inflammation. A spine surgeon says "I'm a better surgical candidate" and is waiting for me to say, "I'm ready."