The doctor has increased my pred to 20 mg after having side of face pain and that took care of that. Been on the 20 for three weeks now so just wondering why the jaw pain. Thanks for any advise you can give.
If the jaw pain occurs after chewing and goes away when you stop then it could be something called claudication pain and that can be a sign of GCA (giant cell arteritis). About 1 in 6 patients with a diagnosis of PMR go on to develop GCA, the PMR symptoms are also a symptom of GCA and the cause of both is probably similar. People don't usually complain of clicking so that might just be coincidence. However, if the pain returns, you get any visual symptoms of any sort or a bad headache go to the doctor immediately - if you can't see your GP within a couple of hours go to A&E. It could indicate GCA and it needs a higher dose of pred if it is affecting your eyes.
I agree with EileenH and I will follow her taper recommendations! Guidelines are "general" and everyone here is an individual! I followed my ruhmatoligist's taper directions exactly and had a relapse last week, then I found the following recommendation in " BSR and BHPR Guidelines for the management of giant cell arteritis". If my rhumatoligist had warned me I could have prevented the relapse,
Headache: treat with the previous higher glucocorti- costeroid dosage." I should have gone back to 17.5mg when my headaches started to return.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Marykay, here are the General signs and symptoms of giant cell arteritis which include:
Persistent, severe head pain and tenderness, usually in your temple area
Vision loss or double vision
Scalp tenderness — it may hurt to comb your hair or even to lay your head on a pillow, especially where the arteries are inflamed
Jaw pain (jaw claudication) when you chew or open your mouth wide
Sudden, permanent loss of vision in one eye
Fever
Unexplained weight loss
At the top of the page you will find a tab labeled "Professional Reference". You will find information on GCA and PMR by selecting the "G" or "P".
i had jaw clicking. but when i stopped taking alundronic acid the clicking stopped
as did my teeth tingling when i brushed. or had hot/cold drinks. i never had sesitive teeth before taking alundronic acid. i am now down to 6mg from 20, 13 months ago. and the only pain i have is little bit in my buttocks which i can cope with , just hoping it dont get any worse as i lower the pred