I am using dsns to get to 5 mg. pred. onset of pmr was sept. 2015. lately i have been tired and sore, moving slow (as i put it) and not able to as much as i did my first couple years. figured it is the adrenals being sluggish. however, i am experiencing lower abdominal pain after exercising--and my ability to exercise isnt very much. a little walking every day, some days i can do my little pmr exercises suggested at the front of this forum, sometimes i cant. i do what i can. lately i have lower pelvic pain that i havent had before--its not like the pain i had at the onset of pmr--that was in my groin and down into my legs. this pain is relieved with icing, and follows movement. its not everyday. it seems to me that i read on one of the forums that others have had it (please tell me that you have!) and that it had to do with the general weakening of the muscles due to pmr.dr. google says that my pelvic floor is going to collapse. im turning to all of you for solace. i want to know whether anyone else has ever experienced this. thank you.
Kegel exercises are for strengthening the pelvic floor, aren’t they? And they can be done anywhere, anytime.
yes, thanks for the reminder. i do them maybe every other day. sometimes i think they might make things worse so i rest a day or two, then try them again. ive read it will take awhile (months) for them to strengthen weak muscles. hard to be patient!
You have had it checked out by the doctor? Just to be sure there is nothing nasty causing it?
no because its not tummy or intestinal or anything like that, it feels muscle related and gets better with rest, worse with movement. just figured its something to do with pmr muscle weakness.
There is some interaction between dose of pred and ability to exercise / muscle pain. From my own experience, I felt the best at 6mg and then as I reduced pred my ability to push my muscles was reduced. I have no issue while I exercise, but I feel exhausted after and need to take a nap. Maybe it is age, but can’t imagine that 1 year makes that much difference.
As far as Kegel exercise, they recommend 3 sets of 10 each day, so if you want to improve, that is what will take. But please pay visit to a doctor to make sure that there is nothing else going on.
Below 6mg you are looking at returning adrenal function …
I am at 3mg currently and feeling OK, so I would assume that adrenals are fine; was talking about how I felt as I was reducing the dose in the past.
Apparently you can’t assume that! A lady on the other forum (can’t remember if she uses here too) was at 2mg and felt fine. However, her doctor insisted on a synacthen test - she has no adrenal function at all!!
so you must always have the test no matter what?
interesting… I hope that I dont have to deal with that… getting ready to dip below 3 soon…
An endocrinologist expressed the opinion to one of our charity people that it would be a very good idea if everyone were tested. Then you do get a lot of doctors who think it doesn’t happen at all - our local guy was surprised when I told him how many people I knew on the forums whose adrenal function was non-existent.
EILEEN, is that test very accurate?
If the person is doing well, clinically, at 2 mgm I wonder about the accuracy of the test or an inadvertent specimen switch in the lab. Errors are not impossible.
It is accurate in that it is looking at a response to a stimulation test and there are grades of response in every case. I imagine too that it was repeated if there was any question since it was so definite.
But someone published a link to an article from Imperial College (I think) where they said that it is likely that for normal day to day functioning 2mg is probably adequate. Where it isn’t safe is if the patient is exposed to stress of any sort - infection, trauma, illness, emotional stress. Even when on 5mg or more, patients with poor adrenal function are told to double the dose for “sick days”. It isn’t for every day you need to worry - it is for the exceptional situation, And personally - I’d rather take 5mg pred for the rest of my life than risk an Addisonian crisis!