Over the past couple of days I have pain and stiffness in my hands despite my 3 weekly, 120 mg injections of Depo medrone. My hands are so bad that I'm finding it difficult to pick things up, open jars or even cut things up. Is this yet another thing with PMR
Hi Hilary. I think many of us have trouble with hands. My difficulties are wrists - they give way. Opening jars and milk cartons is a nightmare. I use a serated knife, even for cutting a slice of bread and cheese
The many joys of PMR.
Regards from Constance
Ye,s very often a part of PMR - I spent the best part of 5 years dropping things! Lots of people say the same - and a medical study last year showed that, yes, hands and feet can also be affected in PMR although in the past doctors would insist it didn't and it was more likely to be arthritis of some sort if your hands and feet were involved. I wonder if your injections aren't quite enough and the inflammation is still increasing?
There are actually quite a few useful items available for helping - electric can openers, grips for jar tops, knives with different shaped handles that are easier to hold and put pressure on what you are cutting - and of course having them properly sharpened also helps! There will be a shop locally which sells these sort of things so you could go and look. Occupational Health at your local hospital will tell you where it is - I visited the one in Durham which was alongside a day centre. They aren't just for the elderly and disabled, I saw all sorts of useful things - and even a nut cracker will help you open a small far by the way!
Thanks for the advice. Yes the injection has gradually run out. Before I had them every 2 weeks but have tried to last 3 weeks as suggested by rheumatologist and GP. Next one is on Wednesday. Am very stiff and painful everywhere in addition to the hands
The risk you have is that you are effectively yoyoing your dose and allowing the inflammation out of its cage. Some people find that makes it more difficult to get it under control again - it isn't just PMR, my daughter has similar problems with asthma inflammation.
Effectively, leaving it 3 weeks instead of 2 is attempting a reduction of 33% in your dose - and noone would suggest that with oral pred. Adding a day at a time might work, but not a week.
As long as the underlying autoimmune disorder is active at the same level you will need a steady dose and that is the reason for the reduction schemes in oral pred, you have to find the lowest dose that manages the symptoms to use long term. I would have thought it's a bit different with the injections - they will last so long and then wear off, once they have worn off you are effectively on zero pred. To reduce them surely you need a lower dose in the injection to see if it lasts the same length of time?
Hope you are due a shot just before the wedding!
The Rhematologist suggested every 3 weeks on 120mg for 3 months then every month for 3 months then monthly and reduce dose by 10 mg every 3 months. Obviously 3 weeks is too long at the moment.
It is - and you have an important and stressful event on the horizon! We tell people not to reduce when they've things like that to cope with and need to be as well as possible.
Interestingly Eileen I was really bad this AM with arms, legs and hands. I took some Co-codomol and a lot less pain. I understood painkillers don't work with PMR but did as I managed to walk in woods with my fiancé and dog. As you say I am organising time between injections so I have one a few days before wedding
They don't work for many people - but some say they help. The old story - everyone is different! But you can have what I call PMP+ - lots of the problem is PMR but there is something else too.
I take cocodamol too, and they help. I take a maximum of 2 per day (and only when I really would like a pain free couple of hours , because, as you know, they can become addictive). Perhaps it's psychological, but at night it really helps me.