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Has anyone had steroid shots in their shoulders for PMR?
Has anyone had steroid shots in their shoulders for PMR? I was diagnosed with PMR in February of this year. I started out at 40 mg and now on 1 mg. My doctor said to come back in July for annual check up and to start physical therapy. My right shoulder was hurting so bad that I decided to had an x-Ray before starting therapy, which showed arthritis, so I had a shot and it has helped for part of the shoulder. I saw my doctor last week for the first time since diagnosis and now she has me starting methotrexate as my pain continues to consume my entire body. I do not see a rheumatologist until October. Has anyone had success with steroid shots?
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I had some success as you have with one shot in the shoulder. The orthopedic cautioned me against doing any more because he said it will deteriorate the joint. The shot only worked about a week and then the pain was back. I also felt like that was not the answer since the pain was consuming most of my joints. The prednisone worked for me until the PMR burned out . That took about 6 months. I had some trouble stopping the prednisone at about 2mg but just weathered the storm. good luck
Thank you for sharing. That makes sense about having multiple shots. I am on a waiting list, and an appointment with a rheumatologist in October. Sounds like your PMR symptoms are over and hope that continues.
@tuckerp
Do you know exactly what was wrong with your shoulder?
I am having a shoulder problem and it is not pmr. I recently really aggravated whatever is wrong when I twisted a plant trying to get it out of a pot. How much can they tell is wrong from an xray? I am trying the rest and activity modification treatment for now. Have not seen a Dr yet.
@pmrsuzie I had x-rays and an MRI of my right shoulder. This was at the start of PMR. I was convinced I had an orthopedic problem. The tests showed that I had some osteoarthritis and small slap tear in my right shoulder. But he said for 70 yrs old , that was not my problem. Testing also showed some bursitis. He gave me cortisone-steroid shot and said that he would only do the one. His comment was the shots would eventually deteriorate the joint and tendons. He would do plasma injections at $500 shot. By then the PMR had moved everywhere else. All my joints were sore. 4 hours after my first prednisone I was a new man. To answer your question, they might be able to tell from an x-ray but I would say an MRI is better. Particularly as we age and try to be active it doesnt take much to tweak a muscle and those muscles take forever to get better.
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3 ReactionsHow easy we convince ourselves of something. I know something is wrong and I've convinced myself I am not having surgery. I am in the middle of hip therapy so one thing at a time. And each day it feels a little better I avoid making an appointment.