1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)
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Why does alcohol relieve my symptoms the next day?

Posted by superfly999 @superfly999, 3 days ago

I'm down to 5mg of Prednisone coming down from 15mg over the last 6 months. I have noticed the PMR symptoms gradually coming back commensurate with each Prednisone reduction, but so far it has been tolerable -- some stiffness in the hands and pain in the left shoulder in the mornings --but these all seem to resolve by noon.

But I have observed something interesting...

I have a celebratory martini each Friday after work at home followed by a glass of red wine at Friday dinner out with my wife. I know, I know, alcohol is bad. But here's the thing.....

I have NO stiffness in my hands or shoulders the next day!

This is not a one-time observation, it is a reliably repeatable pattern. Every Saturday morning after a few drinks Friday night, I wake up to NO hand/wrist/shoulder stiffness/pain.

This is totally counter-intuitive to me. Alcohol is supposed to be inflammatory, but a few drinks eliminate my PMR symptoms the next day.

Why?

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ggarrepy | @ggarrepy | 1 day ago
In reply to @cyndiefromnc "Okay...this is probably not good for many to hear. I AM NOT encouraging alcohol, but...I am..." + (show)
Profile picture for cyndiefromnc @cyndiefromnc

Okay...this is probably not good for many to hear. I AM NOT encouraging alcohol, but...I am 14 months in. Down to 2mg. I never gave up white wine. I'm anxious, probably should be on an anti-depressant but instead I average a glass of white wine a day. It definitely calms me. Maybe I average a little under a glass, since I started prednisone. I track my activity, wine, diet, and pain. The wine has not affected my pain at all.
To be honest, neither has the diet. I have had a few days when I said the heck with everything and ate anything. It did nothing.
The only thing that has affected me is the lowering of prednisone. It caused a little extra pain that lesssened after a few weeks. I always have some pain but I run/walk/lift daily.
Now that I'm so low, I'm fighting dull but annoying headaches. Not GCA so far. Numbers still down.
Good luck.
I gave up much for PMR. But there is no deal on 3 things: a glass of white wine, coffee, and running. Period. I hope I don't have to eventually give up those.

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@cyndiefromnc Yup! Those are my three, except not running but aqua aerobics. Occasional glass of wine and coffee and, I’ll add home made sourdough toast. On my 3 rd month at 10 mg. Started with 12.5 so not too high.

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kjoed53 | @kjoed53 | 1 day ago
In reply to @cwbf "I am mystified. For what its worth my PCP and my board certified rheumatologist both told..." + (show)
Profile picture for cwbf @cwbf

I am mystified. For what its worth my PCP and my board certified rheumatologist both told me that there are no studies that show alcohol adversely affects a PMR patient whether on prednisone or kevzara or both, as I now am. Yet there are many comments that say alcohol is bad for a PMR patient. At age 83 I find that even the smallest amount of alcohol inhibits sleep and leaves me fatigued the next day. I attribute that to the effects of aging not PMR. As a result I seldom drink but when I do its red wine and while I am tired the next day, I do not experience any unusual aches or pains characteristic of PMR.

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@cwbf
Look for red wine without added sulfites and see if that makes a difference. Sulfites are naturally occurring in red wine but sometimes they add more and that could be contributing to your sleep issues.

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cwbf | @cwbf | 1 day ago
In reply to @kjoed53 "@cwbf Look for red wine without added sulfites and see if that makes a difference. Sulfites..." + (show)
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@cwbf
Look for red wine without added sulfites and see if that makes a difference. Sulfites are naturally occurring in red wine but sometimes they add more and that could be contributing to your sleep issues.

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@kjoed53 Thank you. I hope that turns out to be the answer.....

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kjoed53 | @kjoed53 | 1 day ago
In reply to @cwbf "@kjoed53 Thank you. I hope that turns out to be the answer....." + (show)
Profile picture for cwbf @cwbf

@kjoed53 Thank you. I hope that turns out to be the answer.....

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@cwbf
If you have trouble finding which ones don't add sulfites, some say so on the label, but I would think that organic wines would not have added sulfites, then again you never know.

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