I read this site every day and have learned a lot. Would appreciate some input. I have had pmr for a couple of years and finally diagnosed in Nov 09. Started on 10mg ... down to 7 1/2mg ... down to 5mg for 2 months and now 4mg for 2 months. For about the last month, some where between 1pm and 4pm, I get extremely nervous ... anxious ... my hands start to hurt. Then I have these sweats. I was in the car today and it hit me. I stopped at McDonals's and got a quarter pounder and by the time I got home I was ravenous. I took a xanax and then a glass of wine. My hands were really shaking.
Is this a hypoglycemic reaction? ... anxiety? ... related to pmr? ... related to pred? I am confused. I have tried to prevent this by eating about 12:30 to no avail.
Thanks for your help.
PattyAnn
Hi PattyAnn!
Welcome! Did you have this problem with the PMR before you started treatment? I used to have awful palpitations (which I put down to my age!) and spent the afternoons wanting something to eat, even though I'd just had lunch: carbohydrate, preferably sweet, but didn't really know WHAT. And I normally just don't do sweet or eating between meals: plain choc, preferably over 70% cocoa solids is my weakness, with a glass of wine (I know, wierd or what?). As soon as I started taking the steroids both those things disappeared overnight. Back to normal, satisfied with a salad until the next meal, no need to say \"Be still my beating heart\".
I'm down to 13.5mg every 2 days - fine, no probs. At 13mg there is a bit of racy heart and I'm hungrier plus other symptoms are back.
Strange - anyone else had anything like it?
EileenH
Hallo Patty Ann and Eileen
I know these horrid sensations only too well.Patty Ann, you might want to read my post yesterday under PMR Taking no Medication and also from 25th April under Cortisol. This raised no cheers from anyone so I was heartened in a way (sorry! ) to read how you, too, had felt the same.
Vets would not give the same dose to a Shire and a Shetland nor a Great Dane and a Yorkie but we are all lumped together and I
cannot but wonder if some of our adverse reactions could be alleviated by more precise prescribing. Ideas anyone?
Hi PattyAnn. Sorry to hear how horrible you've been feeling at times, I haven't experienced this (although I do often crave a McDonald's :burger: !) but I'm not on as low a dose as you yet - just got down to 9mgs.
Hi BettyE. Love your 'Shire or Shetland - Great Dane or Yorkie' comparison! I'd definitely be the Shire or Great Dane!! But what you're saying makes sense. My Grandson is steroid dependent and his dose is matched to his weight along with other things.
Hi EileenH. I spent the first 62 years of my life feeling hungry and eating for England. Within two days of starting on steroids I lost my appetite (and a considerable amount of weight). Now, as I reduce slowly (down to 9mgs this week) I have started to get those hunger pangs again. It seems that you and I are doing things back to front! And by the way, very good quality dark chocolate :choc: and a glass of red wine :redwine: my idea of sheer bliss. Take care everyone. I'm off to Spain very early in the morning so will be 'off air' for a couple of weeks.
Lizzie Ellen
Hi LizzieEllen - I was going to say I'd obviously found a soulmate at last until I registered the McDonalds bit. How can you woman - they are disgusting. I have to be absolutely desperate to cross the threshold - between Newcastle and Edinburgh we stop at Berwick where there is a Morrisons next to a McDs - always Morrisons (and they're not may favourite supermarket either).
Happy Spain - hope the weather improves!
EileenH
Aha Eileen, I said I often crave for one, didn't say I'd ever eaten one :lol: Just looked at the weather for my part of Spain and its tipping down with rain today but from tomorrow on it appears to be wall to wall sunshine 8) . Here's hoping. Trust the weather's improving in the Tyrol.
Kind Regards
Lizzie Ellen
Hello PattyAnn, Eileen and Betty
I suffer from occasional palpitations probably due to arrythmia (irregular heartbeat). However, oddly these have become very much more pronounced on each occasion that I have had to increase the steroids during a flare-up. I have found that avoiding alcohol, coffee (apart from my favourite occasional decaffeinated cappucino when eating out), and drinking only decaffeinated tea has reduced the problem.
As to your question PattyAnn as to whether your shakes, sweats etc could be related to PMR, Pred or sugar levels, on one occasion when my husband was pushing me from the rheumatologist to the blood/urine test area I suddenly started to shake and became tearful. This was during my first year of undiagnosed PMR and being bed and wheelchair-bound. The lovely nurses who were tending me for the urine test suggested I had my sugar levels tested which was done there and then and which revealed very low sugar. They immediately gave me some biscuits and a drink and I quickly recovered with the advice to never leave it more than a couple of hours without eating something. Now almost 4 years later I have recently had my first diabetes check since starting steroids over 3 years ago and it was normal. In my case therefore it would appear to have been PMR-related and not steroids. At around the same time I became anaemic but this also resolved itself. So I feel that we blame a lot of symptoms on the steroids but, in fact, many of them could be related to PMR itself.
Do hope this is of some help PattyAnn and you soon start to feel better.
MrsO
Hi all
I have only been diagnosed for a month and still on 30 mg steroids a day
I had the major sweats before steroids but these have subsided a bit but now I get the shakes just like having a low blood sugar and could eat for England not Mc ds' though I think the steroids increase the hunger as many medications do hence they say watch you weight I do like my wine too but I think my taste buds have changed as I doesn't taste the same so I've gone onto crabbies ginger beer
I must say since being on steroids my house and garden have had a blitz I have so much energy and realise how ill I must have been before
Koukla
Hello Koukla and welcome to the forum but sorry to hear of yet another sufferer in our 'club'. Yes high dose steroids do give you a 'high' and, hopefully, you will be able to reduce down very soon, blood tests permitting. When you do reduce, the shakes may possibly reduce too but take it easy for a few days until your body adjusts to the new dose as the steroids are only masking the PMR not curing it. Meanwhile perhaps a glucose test would be a good idea. Do let us know how you get on.
Very best wishes.
MrsO
Don't suppose the sweats are related to your age?? I had dreadful sweats at night before and after my diagnosis. I was 54 at diagnosis and am 56 now. They have tailed off quite a bit, but at around the 7,8,9 and 10mg of steroid I was in a terrible state, getting up and coming down to the fridge for an ice pack where I was feeling so hot! Two or three nighty changes as well.
I think the anxiety and panicky feeling are related to the PMR, and when changing steroid doses, it does become more intense until you have adjusted. As someone says on almost every PMR experience, you learn to understand your own body and what is happening to it. Thyroid oer activity can also cause shakes, sweats and anxiety - you feel as though you are motoring at 10mph! It also causes hunger, and I suppose the only good thing with this type of thyroid problem is, you can eat for England and still lose weight!! Seriously, some thryoid problems are also auto-immune so might be worth checking.