Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Cortisone tablets

[Bobsummit]

Hi Everyone

I have been diagnosed with Polymialgia Rheumatica and my treatment is 3 5mg tablets daily of cortisone. To counter their negative effect I have been started on injections daily of insulin starting at 6 and now up to 22 today (previously I was on metformine 850 taken 3 times a day).

There appears to be little or no info on cortisone tablets, on longer duration, rather than one off injections I have been taking them daily for two months now and have no idea how long I will have to continue. My Doctor doesn't seem to be too worried about readings of 14, or even above, later in the day but happy with regular 6 - 8 in the mornings.

I was told to increase the dose every few days when I started in early December, on 6 units of insulin. My daily blood level readings are no different from today with 22 units. Raising the dose has had little or no effect on the outcome with one major exception - the severe pain and lack of mobility has substantially diminished.

Does anyone out there in cyberspace have the same problem with tablets rather than injections

Bob

 

[alaska]

Re: Polymialgia Rheumatica and Cortisone tablets

Hi Bob

Is this information here helpful?
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Polymyalgia-rheumatica/Pages/Treatment.aspx

Prednisolone works by blocking the effects of certain chemicals that are responsible for kick-starting the process of inflammation inside your body. It is taken orally. Most people will be prescribed several tablets, once a day.

It is likely that you will be prescribed about four 5mg prednisolone tablets initially, and the dosage will be gradually reduced every one to two months.

You may need to take prednisolone for at least two years to prevent the symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica returning. There should be a marked improvement in symptoms within a few days of starting treatment.

Do not stop taking your steroid medication unless your GP says that it is safe for you to do so. This is because suddenly stopping steroid treatment can make you feel very ill.

I gather Cortisone and Prednisolone (mentioned in the link) are more or less the the same thing.

The NHS list increased blood sugar levels as a side effect of the treatment.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi Bob I was on long term Pred treatment for a lung condition and it was the cortisone which actually caused my diabetes - a well know side effect - but on diagnosis I was put on insulin treatment and advised on diet especially portion control and by basically eating about a third of what I had previously eaten - pred makes you ravenously hungry - and cutting back on the carbs I managed to get my HbA1c down into the 5%'s within 3 or 4 months and also managed to loose 4 stone so yes prenisolone will make your blood glucose shoot up off the scale but it can be managed.

I was started on 10 units of Humalulin I at night to keep my bg down over night and 10 units of Humumlin S before meals, by trial and error I found the best time to inject my short acting insulin was about 35 minutes before eating but you may find a slightly different timing suits you better.

I found it daunting at first but soon got the hang of it, after about a week I had increased my dosage to 12 units across the board and then over the next few month gradually reduced it as I sorted out my diet through loads of testing pre and post mealtimes. Once I got the hung of how much to inject to cover a particular meal - carb wise - my bg levels soon started to drop.

Hope this in some way helps :thumbup:

 

[Lynmi]

Hi Bob,

I cant comment about the effect of your combined med. but my Mum sufferes from Polymialgia Rheumatica and has had to take steriods to treat it since she was diagnosed. that was 12 years ago now. so unfortunatly it maybe that you have to have the treatment for a long time yet.

Lyn

 

[Bobsummit]

Thankyou Alaska, Lyn and Sid

Thanks for your quick response

I will take in all the info as fast as my tiny brain can manage. It is daunting, especially the technical stuff - measurements/units etc.

Bob

 

[Etty]

Statins are associated with muscle pain, have you been taking those?