Hi All, and thanks for all the wonderful insight, some gained by your pain and suffering :-(.
My first trip to the Rhuemy got me on 800 mg of ibuprofen 3 times per day because of the diabetes and due to the fact that I was only able to see the Physicians Assistant and she would not prescribe pred because of insulin resistance. I never took that amount but used NSAID to stay sane until I was able to see the RA two weeks later. She prescribed 10 mg of pred which greatly helped, but I was still fighting the PMR symptoms, though to a lesser degree.
My sugars did spike as forecast and my most recent A1C was 8.0 (target <7.0). However much of that included high results associated with the stress of the pain and some travel. I test 9x per day and am on insulin pump therapy so I can make corrections real time. I am still a work in progress trying to get the sugar in control.
I went to really low carbs on my diet as several in the group suggested and that is helping.
I saw the RA on Wednesday. I asked for an increase in pred and--as predicted she said she would put me on methotrexate. Thanks to my knowledge gained from this group, I said "no".
She increased my pred to 14 mg per day. I am now in much better shape in terms of the symptoms and able to exercise moderately. Stay tuned.
Rich in South Texas
Hang in there Rich, not an easy journey and more difficult with diabetes. Watch your diet, you know what ok to eat. Stay active, positive and try to smile, I believe it helps. One diabetic type 2 to another.☺️
Hi Rich, what is the Ibuprofen for? It does very little for PMR. It is also not a very good idea to take it with Pred. I am glad you are now feeling better with the higher Pred dose.
Hi Rich, glad you're Feeling better.
Edward in North Texas
Good to hear!
Did the ibuprofen make any difference? For most of us it does nothing for the PMR pain - even though theoretically it should.
Thank you sir. Still smiling
Hi. I knew the ibuprofen would be minimally effective, but the PA would not prescribe pred due to the diabetes. I don't take the ib now that I'm on pred.
Hi Eileen. I think it helped a little, but I still had a great deal of pain.
Just wondered - because if it HAD made a difference it might have suggested it wasn't "just" PMR.
It's annoying they are so scared of pred. A friend was told to use ibuprofen for PMR and after just 3 doses was in the ED with a gastric bleed.
Good Rich, I know your pain believe me. Try and stay positive.☺️
My GP, who is an awesome and intuitive doc, said that most docs are trained to see pred as poison....just sayin’.....
Oh I know - but it is because they are being taught based on history, how it was used in the first few years after it was discovered and since large doses achieved miracles that was what they used. And of course high doses led to all sorts of problems. Used carefully in the right place it is a wonder-drug. And after 60 years there isn't a lot still to learn about it. On the other hand, new drugs are sold to them by the drug companies as wonder drugs when they are still new - and then all the downsides are still to be found out about. Just in the time I have been involved with this the bisphosphonates and PPIs have been realised to be less than fantastic. But the doctors haven't quite caught up!!
I took 800 mgs Ibuprofen a day for a year before PMR diagnosis. It made the pain just bearable. Because of that, an ulcer appeared over a year later and again, a year after that. I am still recovering, lots of meds and no alcohol, caffeine, chocolate. Kombucha and brownies prevail.
The thought of taking that dose of ibuprofen daily for a year just sends shivers down my spine! No wonder you developed an ulcer.
Hi Peggy, nasty stuff that Ibuprofen!