Connect
← Return to Extended release oxycodone-long-term use?
Discussion
Extended release oxycodone-long-term use?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Aug 14, 2022 | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
Hi. I am new to the world of PMR and it's horrible....In the 90's I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Sjogren's disease, osteo arthritis and basically managed my pain with hydrocodone and tramadol with no side effects, and plaquenil. These meds kept me working in a very crazy busy all consuming career. In 2015 I was diagnosed with RA. We doubled the placquenil and added 3 mg. of prednisone because I got infections when we tried methotrexate. Things settled...I started having problems with my knees and eventually had to go on disability. Last year I went through a big downsizing and sold a house and moved to DE from DC area. They've was hard on me physically.and I noticed a big increase in my symptoms. Because of the issues with pain meds as my pain increased the meds did not change. I have tried oxycodone but.it makes me loopy so I prefer hydocodone which has no side effects for me. I started to have a new type of pain.in new places and eventually.I could not use my hands. I went to my new rheumatologist thinking it was RA but she thought PMR. So I was.put on 20 mg. of pred. Then had to start reducing. When I got to ten.things went south, but the focus seems to be on reduction of the pred. I am struggling to learn about how to manage. The thing I realized is I am not.functioning very well with this. It's very different than my other conditions. I am waiting for labs to see.sed rate etc. I am on 12.5 pred but my pain is bad. So I will go back up. I would think med decisions would be made on pain...no? So on what can help with pain for me was 800 motrin. It's not amazing but it has helped a bit...3 x day. If your husband can't take oxygen he might try hydrocodone instead. That has been the best for my knees. Since I have been on it since the 90's and my PMR pain was so bad I can't say what it could do for PMR.
.but I believe trying things is good. So way too much info there but I wanted to tell you about the meds...and see if anyone has advice for me on the decisions.on b reducing the dose...when and why. For 30 years I managed these conditions in a way to function. This is different....I am a bit lost. Any advice or info is welcome! Thank you for reading.this. take care
Replies to "Hi. I am new to the world of PMR and it's horrible....In the 90's I was..."
I'm in a very similar situation to you, with past diagnoses of fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia, Hashimoto's, thunderclap headache, and a periodic fever syndrome. I had an extremely busy life teaching at a boarding school but was ultimately forced to go on disability. Then PMR hit on May 22 of this year. Unlike most people here, however, the PMR was only alleviated at 40mg prednisone, which is where I am now. The goal is for me to get down 35mg in a month, then 30 after that, but it will be slow and being on such a high dose makes me very nervous. In my experience, oxycodone does little for PMR pain; I take it (and gabapentin) for other conditions. Truly the only thing that has helped is prednisone. I think every body is different, reacts to meds differently, and recovers at different paces. Trial and error certainly plays a big role in all this. These conditions are just brutal. I hope you find relief.
Connect
Hello @njtodctode, Welcome to Connect. It does sound like your rheumatologist is right about it being PMR. I think one thing all of us have learned with our PMR struggle and tapering down on prednisone is that you definitely need to listen to your body. If the 20 mg prednisone pretty much eliminated your aches and pain within a few hours and keeps you pain free all day, that is pretty much how PMR is diagnosed. Tapering slowly is the name of the game with PMR.
There is another discussion you might find helpful:
-- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/
When did your rheumatologist diagnose the PMR and start you on prednisone?