I haven't written for quite some time, but another issue has recently "cropped up". So, I was weaned down to 1 mg of Prednisone over a year and my pain came back. My doctor knows about my dislike of prednisone so she proposed that I take 10 mg. for 2 days (to "jolt" my system, I think were her words). She asked me if I remembered at what dosage during my weaning did I feel I could function the way I wanted to function with an acceptable pain level. I told her 5 mg. I have been taking this "maintenance dose" since then and I have my life back ! I can swim, do aerobics, yoga, garden, etc. YAY ! I do have some pain in my hip flexors and neck/shoulder area but it's definitely NOT like it was over a year ago ! She told me to be prepared to be on the 5 mg dose for a "while." Next appointment she hit me with the downside - prednisone is NOT good for bones. I have osteopenia anyway and she wants me to start taking the generic form of Fosamax because of the prednisone. I am a 70 year old small boned, white, caucasian woman - but VERY active (do lots of weight bearing exercise and eat a good diet). I have networked with friends and googled it to death. The doctor told me my bone density scans (every two years over the course of 16 years) show bone loss in my hips & spine of 22%. I picked up the script today still not sure I'm going to start taking it. One of the side effects is bone pain - sheez ... I've been suffering from bone (joint) pain (as you all know) for the past year and a half : ( I guess the only positive is if I have bone pain, I can quit the Fosamax, cold turkey (according to the pharmacist I talked to). Has anyone out there had this situation or know anything about bisphosphonates & PMR? Another conundrum with PMR & bisphosponates is, how do you know if your bone pain is from the Fosamax or the PMR coming back?
Thank you for reading this lengthy post !!