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← Return to Intimations of life after PMR
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@pkalkstein I am currently at 1.5 mg prednisone going down to 1 mg for 14 days then 0.5 mg for 14 days. I pray every day that I will be off prednisone by end July. However, I do have a pain level 5/10 left shoulder but I think it is mechanical even though i have pain in wrists/hands. I am starting to feel low grade pain right shoulder and hip. I have functionality and range of motion after the first few days of taking prednisone January 23. I try not to think about what damage prednisone has caused. Both the disease and prednisone are horrible. Wish me luck that I will be off shortly.
Replies to "@pkalkstein I am currently at 1.5 mg prednisone going down to 1 mg for 14 days..."
@dswilson913 You seem to be tapering pretty darn fast. Prednisone attacked my tendons a couple of years ago and one of my achilles tendons is not right. Sadly we don't have much choice but to carry on and hope it will end. Good luck to you!
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@dswilson913
They say PMR doesn't do any lasting damage in spite of the chronic inflammation. I found that hard to believe while I was bombarded with warnings of all the damage that long term prednisone can do.
I remember when my shoulders hurt so much that I told a physical therapist that nothing can hurt that much without doing some serious damage.
"Unlike other forms of joint inflammatory conditions, PMR does not cause progressive or permanent damage or disability to the muscles and joints."
https://www.arthritis-health.com/types/polymyalgia-rheumatica/what-polymyalgia-rheumatica.
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And ...
"It can cause inflammation and swelling of the joints, muscles and surrounding soft tissues (i.e. bursa). Thankfully, PMR does not cause permanent joint damage."
https://myfamilyphysio.com.au/polymyalgia-rheumatica/
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Personally, I seem to have a lot of residual arthritic damage. Maybe I didn't have PMR after all OR maybe it was all of the prednisone. I remember when a tendon ruptured spontaneously and that was blamed on all of the prednisone I took. My shoulders don't seem to be damaged at all. All of my damage is in my lumbar spine, and legs with some minor damage to my feet and hands. More than likely ... it was a combination of PMR with inflammatory arthritis as my rheumatologist said at the start of PMR. This was reaffirmed later by another rheumatologist who simply said I had a "full range of rheumatic conditions" and multiple autoimmune conditions.
Stay strong and I also pray that you are off prednisone by July.