Is there any meds besides prednisone that helps with the pain of PMR?
Very short answer NO! Read other posts on this site - you will find many ask the same question, but if you really have PMR nothing else helps. Others try with pain killers, diets, so called natural remedies but, in the end, unless you want to run the risk of GCA, nothing else will help you.
Good luck with your journey. I hope you are one of the lucky ones who deal with this pesky illness in a very short time.
What were your ESR and CRP results?
No, the only drugs that relieve the inflammation in PMR and GCA are corticosteroids. That includes prednisone, prednisolone, methyprednisolone. Occasionally hydrocortisone may be used.
By reducing the inflammation, the pain is relieved. In the case of GCA it reduces the swelling in the walls of the arteries that may stop the blood flow to the optic nerve which damages it, sometimes so much that the patient loses their sight.
If you believe in natural medicine, my doctor prescribed curamin and bromelain. I tried it with questionable results. I believe it somewhat reduced the inflamation and made much of the pain go away but nothing like prednisone which for me makes all the pain go away.
Follow this link to another part of this site and read the 'pinned information.
http://www.patient.co.uk/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-website-addresses-and-resources-35316
Thank you. I've been told by dr that steroids are the only meds, but just wanted to ask.
Thank you. This is what I thought, but was hoping someone else may have figured something else out.
Thank you. I have tried them, but it didn't help.
Further to Daniels's comment, I believe there are things we can do or substances we can take, which help us maintain the level of health pred gives us. Maybe this will clarify: years ago I had itchy skin which would break out in red patches. The prescribed treatment was hydrocortisone ointment. Whenever I discontinued the ointment the skin would flare up, usually even worse than at the beginning. Eventually I learned I had to decrease the hydrocortisone gradually, and at the same time start to use other means of keeping my skin well moisturized and healthy. It took a while. What turned things around for me was being given a bottle of an oil from a plant I'm not allowed to name on the forum, pressed from its seeds with no psychoactive ingredients. And now I use a rather expensive cream from the pharmacy, a naturopath told me she thought the helpful ingredient was shea butter. I no longer need the hydrocortisone, except if I let my dry skin get away from me a single application will stop any itching, and more diligent application of the alternative sorts the problem.
I've viewed prednisone the same way. It is the only thing which will clear up the inflammation, but there are other things which can help maintain the new health pred has given me. It's not quite as easy as finding a suitable skin cream, but I do believe that some of the things people claim have anti-inflammatory properties really can help us.
Of course we also have to do a few other things - get enough rest and avoid stress, as well as eat healthily and get appropriate exercise, outdoors when possible - to continue the skin analogy, it's the equivalent of protecting skin from the weather and using substances which keep it in healthy balance.
Double Base Cream of Double Base Gel.
I don't even know what that is. I use something called Impruv. I think the pharmacist uses it as a base for some of his compounds so maybe it's similar?
But which discussion in particular?
Doublebase products are emollients - no added stuff and used extensively for eczema. They've been mentioned repeatedly on the forums - surprised you haven't heard of them before.
I have, but I've never seen it here, nor tried to get it. I don't have exzema, just dry skin (which I think my dr failed to recognize, too simple a solution).
That is what the Doublebase is so good for - dry skin.
People in the USA have bought it on Amazon - if you have Prime it doesn't cost for delivery. But we talk about it a) for the people in the UK and b) because if you look the products up you can show the info to your pharmacist and ask for an equivalent.
Personally my favourite is one or other of the Neutrogena Norwegian formula products - they do a brilliant job!
Just looked it up. Made of liquid paraffin and isopropyl myristate. It was developed as a soap alternative and shouldn't be left on the skin. Might as well stick to h--- oil and shea butter! But might consider it as a soap alternative. DoubleBase available on Amazon apparently.
Depends on the product - some are designed to be left on the skin, to be applied after a shower...
Our comments crossed. I'm not keen on internet shopping, not for things like this. Just me. I tried almost everything the pharmacy had on offer, and it was only Impruv which worked. As I said, it contains shea butter, and using that separately is also effective but it's a bit messy all by itself. It was a problem which I've solved, I only used the account to show one way of approaching the prednisone/alternatives issue. 