i believe that I have this lovely illness but i am without medical insurance and the doctors won't run the tests. but i do have all the classic symptoms plus pain in the hands, stiffness in the am, and a trigger finger that won;t let go. has anyone experienced this
Pain in the hands is usually a symptom of RA.....so I was told by my GP, and the RA doctor always checked my hands and fingers for that problem. I have had a trigger finger and a cortisone shot helped that.
thanks for the reply my blood work shows no ra, ra factor normal. I am scheduled for a cortisone shot next month. I have diabetes so I cannot just take predisone, and the doctors won;t let me have it....i am stuck
I am sorry! How come, you have to wait until next month for a cortisone shot?? Any GP can give you one on short notice.
i have no insurance. i have to rely on a clinic and i am at thier mercy.....
Lynn, where do you live......UK or USA?
i live in the good old usa the land of the free and the insuranceless
I was told just yesterday by a consultant who does PMR research that they have just done a study that finds PMR DOES lead to hand symptoms! Like we said! Having a negative rheumatoid factor does not mean you haven't got RA - it is often negative early in RA and some patients never develop it. I had awful hand and foot pain and lots of people complain of the clumsiness PMR called and the feeling of walking on sharp pebbles.
Why on earth can't you have pred? It is cheap so at least won't break your bank. It just means keeping your blood sugars at the right level MAY be more difficult and require a bit more monitoring and great discipline when it comes to not eating carbs. There are plenty of patients on the UK forums with PMR and diabetes who are on pred. Some were diabetic before developing PMR, others did become diabetic probably because of the way pred can affect carb metabolism - but it doesn't happen in all patients by any means.
lynn, there are many patients on steroids for PMR/GCA in spite of also being on medication for diabetes. It just has to be monitored and managed.
Whilst PMR can affect the hands and fingers, trigger fingers are experienced by many people who do not have PMR. I have experienced trigger thumb, but it was long after my PMR/GCA and steroid days. I didn't have any treatment for it and it resolved naturally(this was on the advice of my pharmacist who had experienced it himself), although patience is needed as it can last a few months.
Do you wake up with stiffness in the mornings that makes it difficult for you to get out of bed and which then eases later during the day? Classic PMR pain appears in the front of the thighs, around the hip girdle making it difficult to walk and in your arms making it difficult to raise them, although some peoplemay only be affected in one of those areas. You need to have two specific blood tests which can show markers of inflammation, namely ESR and CRP, although around a quarter of patients diagnosed with PMR do not have raised markers.
Have you looked into ACA? (Obomacare)
Lynn, I live in the US too. There is Obamacare but not well organized yet.
Urgent Care is available, and they could prescribe Prednisone --- yes, it is cheap. They need to take you even if you don't have Insurance....if you are in a lot of pain the ER cannot refuse you.
Like Eileen said that PMR can effect the hands --- I noticed it recently myself, but was not sure.
It's tough. I am still in pain in the hip girdle area.....had a difficult time getting out of bed.
Keep us posted. All the best to you. Erika
Lynn, I live in the US too. There is Obamacare but not well organized yet.
Urgent Care is available, and they could prescribe Prednisone --- yes, it is cheap. They need to take you even if you don't have Insurance....if you are in a lot of pain the ER cannot refuse you.
Like Eileen said that PMR can effect the hands --- I noticed it recently myself, but was not sure.
It's tough. I am still in pain in the hip girdle area.....had a difficult time getting out of bed.
Keep us posted. All the best to you. Erika
I have an ache in my wrist and used to have cramp, when I was in the first few weeks on preds. It usually wore off after a few hours from taking them, and I found (via this forum) the answer, for me, was to try magnesium tabs. I still have a bit of an ache daily but the cramps have gone - started Prednislone in June 2014 on 25mg and now down to 10mg. Hope this helps.
Hi Lynn08234 i do think it can affect your hands like any other part of your body i am trying to paint my dinning room by doing one small patch a day ,and when i say small i mean small it will take me weeks to do but i'm determined the arm and hand i am using are very achy hope you get a diagnosis soon Linda541
I have PMR which started in the typical locations -- hips and shoulders -- but has more recently spread to my hands. On many days, my hands hurt a lot first thing in the morning; on other days, like yesterday, they don't hurt at all.
I have been on Pred three or four months. At first, it got rid of the symptoms completely, but now I am tapering from 15mg to 14 and now to 13 even though th pain is returning. My local GP doesn't have a clue.