Anyone having flareups of PMR after stressful situation?”

I have shoulder replacement surgery scheduled for February, and maybe need to rethink it. What dose of prednisone were you on, and how did your surgeon handle it before and during surgery? I have heard some choose to give you a large amount of prednisone via IV drip. I am currently at 8 mg and about to go to 7.5. I am also taking Methotrexate and it has really helped. PMR symptoms are minimal now, but osteoarthritis is severe at times. I don’t want to rock the boat. Let us know how you are doing. I wish you the best, Lisa.

Interestingly, I’ve been off prednisone for more than a year and not really taking much else for except Celebrex, which is mostly for my osteoarthritis. When I was diagnosed by my orthopedic surgeon, he told me I had a vascular necrosis, which is when the blood supply to a bone is cut off, and the bone begins to die. He thought it was caused mostly by long-term use of prednisone, but could also have been contributed to buy old age or injury.

He asked me very pointedly whether I was planning to go back on prednisone. I said no absolutely not. He then said good because if you’re on prednisone, you have a much greater chance of getting an infection from the surgery which can cause it to fail.

So I think it’s best if you discuss your prednisone does with your surgeon and let him advise you as to whether you should wait till you type or lower or offered completely to avoid getting an infection because the immune system is suppressed by the prednisone.

I hope your surgery goes well and you feel better soon.

I’ve already asked him, and he said he has no concern as long as the dose is under 10 mg. My rheum defers to him and seems to have no opinion. I am on a wait list to consult with the university rheumatology clinic in my area (University of Washington), and we’ll see what they say. Thanks for your input.

By the way, also interestingly, my surgeon prescribed OxyContin for the pain for at least four solid days and then said I should wean off of it by skipping a dose and hopefully get off it by a week to 10 days. They were giving me it every four hours in the hospital and I kept getting slicker and sicker. My symptoms were sweating, nausea, headaches, and gasping for air. The hospital personnel personnel and the doctor kept saying that it was the residual effect of the anesthesia. When my wife came to the hospital to pick me up, she read me the side effects of OxyContin And they matched exactly the symptoms I was experiencing so I refused to take any more of it. The surgeon then prescribed tramadol, which is also an opioid narcotic. I elected to not take it either because I was so afraid of the side effects, which were listed as about the same as the OxyContin. I’ve been in quite a bit of pain as a result of only taking Celebrex and Tylenol and staying off the opioids. As a result, my ability to move and maybe do more physical therapy has been limited because of the pain which will probably prolong, but hopefully not affect my ultimate range of motion and recovery. Today (which is day five) I am feeling somewhat less stiff and in somewhat less pain so I am encouraged that I will begin making better progress. Not everybody reacts the same to prescribed medication, but I thought you’d be interested to know this in case you experience these symptoms after taking opioids. Again best of luck to you for a full and speedy recovery.