Skin infections while on Prednisone

It sounds like your husband has a good doctor team and it's good that he will also get some extra help when the primary care doctor from Emory joins the local doctor staffing. I'm sure that will bring some continuity of care from Emory into the local primary health care. It's kind of puzzling that the rheumatologist is never concerned and the dermatologist is concerned. It would be nice if you could get them to talk to each other about why the dermatologist is concerned. Thank you for sharing the story. I'm hoping they are able to get to the bottom of it if it's not just PMR.

John

Wanted to let you know that this morning I took 1mg of prednisone. I have never been able to get under 2mg so we will see. I made this decision bc I noticed several,(what it appears to be), fat pockets at the base of my neck. I went to see a PA,(my rheumatoid Dr, I can't get in to see that quickly), anyway, he said it appeared to be fatty pockets and wants me to go get a sonagram. I was a little worried. I never got the moonface, but did some research and this appears to be a side effect of the prednisone. Have any of ya'll noticed any fatty pockets around the neck area?
Well after researching, and finding that others taking prednisone have experienced this, I am going to cancel the sonagram, bc I am convinced w the research that they are fatty pockets and will go away once I'm off of the prednisone. I may have to take more pain (tramadol medication to manage, but after this has happened I am more determined than ever to get off of this prednisone. I'm not saying I will be successful, but I am going to try it.
I have added some of the best, (meaning expensive), omega complex fish oil to my diet. I saw it advertised and researched it. They say that you have to take the right fish oil supplement. This one is from the fish in the waters of New Zealand and I ordered it online. Anyway, I don't know if this is useful info for any of you, but I'm thinking after 1 wk, it is helping, (or it's all in my mind).
I hope you all have a good day. Your feedback and sharing is always welcome.
Barbara Rene'

Hello Barbara Rene’ (@barbararene) - I've heard of moonface being one of the side effects of being on prednisone. I was on prednisone for 3 years starting at 20 mg dosage for my polymyalgia rheumatica and was finally able to taper off in 2010. Unfortunately my PMR flared up again last year in August and I started back on 20 mg dose. I'm currently at 6 mg and trying to go down 1 mg a month but I've been going back and forth between 5 mg's and 6 mg's so it's great to hear are almost off of it. You may want to try going down at 1/2 mg at a time instead of one to see if that helps.

Omega 3 and 6 are pretty important in cellular health and I'm not able to eat fish but I can take fish oil. For the omega 3, I found a really good quality fish oil that actually has a slight lemon flavor that works for me Carlson Liquid Fish Oil. I take 2 tsp in the morning and 2 tsp in the evening. I also take 1-1/2 oz of Manitoba Harvest Organic Hemp Oil which contains omega 3 and omega 6.

Good luck on tapering off of the prednisone. Just keep at it!

John

Thanks John. I hope you can return to no prednisone soon, just like we all do. Such a great drug, just wish it didn't have those nasty side effects.

One funny story I can share with you - I'm 74 and my wife is 73. Besides being much better looking than I am and in better health, she looks a lot younger than me. I used to laugh when I saw her doing exaggerated vowel facial exercises when she was in her 30s. I don't know if it made any difference for her because she hasn't done them in many years as far as I know but it does sound reasonable that if you can exercise the muscles in the face it will help. I did a quick search and found a site with a video on the facial exercises - it will give you a good laugh if nothing else:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fitness/2011/01/cheeks_of_steel.html
John

This is great and I will try it! My cheeks have started to become puffy so the exercise might help. I see the rheumatologist tomorrow with the results of my recent bloodwork so am keeping my fingers crossed that she might reduce the prednasone from 10mg

Well I have been on 1mg of prednisone for 1 week. So much pain! I want to go back up to 3mg but at this rate I am never going to get off of the prednisone. Plus the negative comment of my Dr, saying you will probably have to take prednisone the rest of your life! I would like to prove her wrong.
What a thing to say to a PMR pt.
I wonder if for some, the PMR never goes into remission and you will always have it?
Even on a low dose (never been above 5mg), I have developed fatty fluid pockets at the base of my neck. I have read that this is a side effect and won't go away until the prednisone has stopped.
Any feedback?
Barbararene

Hello Barbararene, sorry you are in so much pain. I've got no medical training or background but I'm pretty sure PMR is different with each patient. My first time with PMR lasted 3 years before going into remission. Was gone for 6 years and just came back again last year and I'm back on prednisone and going through the tapering off fun. I've tried several different approaches to tapering off of the prednisone (one from the rheumatologist and one from my primary care doctor). The last 6 months or so I was going back and forth between 1 mg and 1/2 mg dose until I could finally stop taking it. I have one friend who was diagnosed with PMR the same time as I was the first time and his PMR is still in remission so there is hope.

I wasn't aware of that particular side effect but see that John Hopkins Vasculitis Center lists this as a side effect and says it usually goes away after you taper below 10 mg prednisone dosage.
https://www.hopkinsvasculitis.org/vasculitis-treatments/prednisone/
Don't give up! Keep working on tapering off and when you are really hurting go back to the previous dosage.

John

Thanks John.
I know your not a medical Dr, but it's good to bounce this stuff off of each other. I'm going to try to stay on 1 mg for another week and just take a little tramadol.
I think a good question, that I don't have the answer to is, since prednisone works on the inflammation, and you aren't taking the prednisone and your body has a high inflammation level, (we know inflammation is not good for the body). I wonder if the body is better and safer w the controlled prednisone for the inflammation or if the inflammation wo the prednisone is any worse of a danger.
(not the best wording on that).
I recently tried to Cryo Therapy. It is where you get in a tank of freezing temperatures. (you can google it)
suppose to be good for inflammation. Didn't help at all.
I prob should try the food elimination, but am not excited about that. There is a book out that talks about food to eliminate for PMR.
It's like everything I eat, no peppers, no tomatoes, no dairy, no coffee, no red wine. Geeze I don't know about that!

I may have mislead you a little. Last year my PMR came out of remission and I'm back on prednisone since March of last year. I started back at the 20 mg dose and am now at 6 mg. My rheumatologist explained PMR as arthritis all over the body and said the pain comes from inflammation in the joints and tissues which the prednisone helps with (I think). I think food elimination might be an excellent approach. Some others I know through my closed Facebook neuropathy group and all sorts of other autoimmune health concerns and a lot of them push the keto diet. Along with that others have mentioned that the "nightshade" vegetables are bad news for inflammation. Of course that means I would have to give up stuff I really love - spicy peppers, tomatoes and more. It might be worth while trying it for a month and seeing how it works for you. I have worked a lot of stuff out of my diet but still struggle with sugar and bread. I have cut it out by about 90% though.

John