Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: Overproduction Of Cortisol


Apr 25, 2010

A few thoughts and questions after reading Penelope Leach on not leaving babies to cry and not subjecting them to over rigid routines. Well, I'm on her side entirely. Why add to the sum total of human misery? Bossy I may be but I'm not a control freak and some of these child experts are really scary.

But that is by the way. For PMR/ GCA sufferers I thought the interesting part was her information on the effect on the brain of overproduction of cortisol. I expect most of us are past the developing brain stage which is so vital in babies but we'd like to preserve what we have. I can certainly vouch that the 78 year old brain is definitely NOT unaffected as I have posted elsewhere. ( No Prednisolone )

Mrs. Leach also mentions that cortisol is an easy hormone (? ) to monitor through saliva tests. Given that unwanted reaction to prednisolone is not unusual, I wonder is anyone has ever been interested enough to run some tests. Maybe some of us who are not very big are over prescribed. Maybe we could benefit from taking the drug other than at breakfast. Eileen H's Alternate Day Therapy looks interesting.

I'm willing to donate some saliva and take the swabs and record the results. God forbid! I am not medically qualified. As a long time teacher I just hate to think of all the wasted evidence that could be freely available. I must say that I have always found vets much more open to and ready to share information but I guess they have more time for which we willingly pay than NHS doctors who are rationed to 10 minutes a patient. This is not a criticism of NHS or doctors, just a belated recognition of how right my old headmistress was in 1947 when she said "This will not work; it takes no account of human nature. She was an expert on human nature. Of course, she was not entirely right. It DOES work very often but it is abused and therefor has never been able to develop its full potential.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: FRUIT

I love fruit and eat plenty,also i have Manuka honey,  my question is as we have to be aware of diabetes should we be aware how much we eat, does our body process natural sugar in a different way to processed sugars.Just a thought, been awake and up since 5.30( and was hungry so thought have some fruit before breakfast then thought am i having too much)

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica :: Could I Have Shingles?

I've been experiencing some aches and pains over the past few days, it started off with aching in my wrists up to my elbows, now my joints in my legs and ankles are aching, also a bit of a stiff/ sore neck and top of spine is sore. In general my whole body is aching, feels sore to touch, throbbing and from time to time can get sharp pains. I don't have any rash as yet.

I have been in contact with chickenpox lately so didn't know if Id caught anything from that at.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And Shingles

I was thinking about PMR and although I am very nearly stable on 10 mg Prednisolone it is a knife edge dose. I still have many side effects from 4 years use of the steroid. In some kind of order they are:-

Muscle wastage, fatigue, lassitude, thinning of skin, easy bruising, cuts which take an unusually long time to heal, glaucoma, dry eye, exacerbated and premature cataracts which necessitated operations on both eyes to replace the lenses, virtual permanent stiffness and loss of motion in neck, constant shoulder and back pain, balance problems and now a recent discovery which I believe to be bronchiectasis. The last manifested itself with a slight productive cough I have had for about a year, with a shortness of breath which is steadily getting worse. Initial exam by GP showed no ‘crackle’, X-ray was ‘normal’ blood ‘normal’, whatever that is. Have seen this GP who gave me a course of amoxicillin (5 days) which did nothing. Then just left me to get on with things, no follow up, nothing. Not sure what to do next. I can see any one of the other doctors at this particular practice and am thinking to see one of them soon; well at least I can try for an appointment, currently 2 weeks!

Now the latest manifestation…..Shingles. Or to give it its proper title

Herpes Varicella-Zoster.  A particularly painful affliction caused by the chicken pox I must have had as a child. It has affected the left side of my scalp, my left forehead, eye and face; I am not a pretty sight! By the time I knew what it was it was too late for any anti viral medication so will just have to let it take its course. Existing on Paracetamol, Codeine, Neurontin and the occasional Tramadol. All of these analgesics are for a short time only, don’t want to get hooked. Managed to see a doctor reasonably quickly about my eye who sent me to the eye unit at my local hospital, ophthalmologist examined the eye and gave me the all clear, phew!

On top of all this I have the daddy of all flares I put the cause of this down to the trauma of my new affliction. My immune system is compromised due to the daily use of 10mg. Prednisolone which I have increased to 15 mg. for a short time. It appears that any kind of trauma either emotional or physical will set off a flare.

I wondered what causes a flare in other sufferers from PMR/GCA and do they do as I do and increase the dosage of steroid and try to rest? Or is there a magical cure I should know about?

Long ramble I know but strangely feel better for writing it, apologies if you think I’m wasting your time, or a hypochondriac. (I’m not).

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And Chickenpox

To my knowledge I have never had chicken pox. I have been taking Pred for three years and am now down to 3mgs from 15. My granddaughter is with me with chickenpox. Should I be worried please?

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: 40s Been Diagnosed With PMR?

I was told years ago i haf fibromyalgia but now my blood work shows a high sed rate

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And Exercises?

Background: I am 66 years old and have suffered first attack in mid November 2015... I have been fairly active person and have done some triathlon in the past, so not being able to get out of the bed on my own was pretty shocking to me... It took about one month to diagnose PMR and I started medication (prednisone) at 15 mg/day mid December. 

If there is an interest, I would like to post about the progress in recovery, with special attention to exercise. I am seeing specialist every 2 weeks and complete blood work is done to monitor inflammation caused by PMR.

I would like to post what I have done thus far and future progress in (hopefully) successful recovery.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica :: Anyone Tried Q10 Supplements

Has anyone tried Q10 supplements, and are they alright to take with pred.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica With Low ESR Results?

I have recently had blood tests again and have a low esr. I have symptoms of pmr and discussed these with my gp. I begged her for prednisolone and she reluctantly agreed but only one week. I felt great! I was walking normally, getting out of bed for the whole day where I was bed bound a lot before, just felt so wonderful having so little pain in my hips and shoulders. My blood tests came back normal and she said she cant give me any more and is referring me to rheumatology again. The pain has come back, my hips are crippling me my shoulders are so so painful again and nothing else has worked, just the prednisolone. My orthopaedic specialist may give me one more injection in ten days, vpbut that will be the third and he said 3 is the max so I should have relief for 3 weeks, if previous injections are to go by but after that.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica - Breathlessness

For the last week or so, I have been getting short of breath, and very dizzy, feel like I am losing my balance, and my heart is racing.  I have never had panic attacks, and this seem to start strangely enough when I have been reading....and then the weird feeling lasts the rest of the day.

Is it  possible it`s the 11 mg pred I`m on? (have been for 4 years) Just can`t pin down what`s causing it!  My blood pressure is ok....not diabetic...

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Adrenal Insufficiency :: Low Morning Cortisol, High Afternoon Cortisol

First off, I am a 30 year old female, and I've had an array of crazy symptoms for years and have gone undiagnosed (well, misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome).  I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, PCOS, Endometriosis, and autonomic dysfunction.  My symptoms range from debilitating fatigue, hormonal symptoms, dizziness and fainting, and inability to keep a pregnancy.  Over the years, I have had consistently low levels of cortisol, but now things are changing.  My 8:00 am cortisol level is 2.1, and my 1:00pm is 21.  It went from low to high in my results.  They were suspecting secondary adrenal insufficiency before due to the consistently low levels, but with that new afternoon level, I am really confused.  Also, I have extreme fatigue in the early morning (have to drag myself out of bed) but I get a giant boost of energy at night and have trouble getting to sleep.  My NP thought the cortisol levels could explain that, and she gave me a prescription for Cortef in the morning and sent me to the Vitamin store to pick up Phosphorylated Serine and Adrenal Adaptogens to control the nighttime level.  She didn't address why this could be happening, and I was worried about taking the Cortef with those high afternoon levels, so I recently switched to an endocrinologist who repeated the afternoon test.  I've just looked at the results online and it is high again.  I'm so confused.  

These are the exact results shown on my endo's site:  
MAY 19: 3p ACTH   19 NL; CORTISOL 21.1  ; 21 HYX AB NEG; RENIN 3.48 NL; ALDO 12 NL; NA 139 NL; DHEA-S 153 NL

I will say, I do have INTENSE dehydration and sodium loss that has caused me to become a neurological patient as well, and I down 2-3 32 oz Powerades a day and consume probably 10-15 times the normal sodium consumption levels as my neurologists have suggested in order to keep my from getting dizzy and passing out all the time, so that may explain why my sodium level looks fine.  But that cortisol... how could it start the morning off low and end up high later in the day?  Does anyone else have any experience with this?

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: Severe Bruising On My Arm

I have severe bruising on my arm.  Whole right arm.  Super ugly.  I've been diagnosed with pmr for three years. Could be down to 5 mg. However, had major insect  sting and hives and reaction.  So, went back up to  40/20/10 mg prednisone for 12 days per Doctor. . Doctor gave me steroid shot, too.  Please tell me that this new super dose of prednisone may have caused all this major bruising?  If so, maybe can tolerate for a month or more?

 

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica Flare Fever?

I have had PMR since March.  Today I feel like I have a fever and "hot flashes". Could this be a PMR "flare"...or just a coincidental illness.

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Can anyone tell me if you have fainting feelings with GCA...

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica - Prednisolone And Alcohol

Can anyone tell me if its ok to drink alcohol while taking PREDNISOLONE.

I like a beer at the weekend or to share a bottle of wine, but, can't find any thing in the Prednisolone paperwork that suggests not drinking.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica :: Alcohol And Prednisone

Is it ok to have an occasional glass of wine while taking this stuff? I had one the other night and got a terrible headache. I am on a couple other meds too.

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Polymyalgia Rheumatica And Swollen Glands

I think I have a super bad case of swollen glands. I am currently in Florida visiting my parents and have no insurance coverage down here. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on maybe what I could take for the pain? I am on 15mg pred..90 mg of Celexa...500mg Vit C supplements and 100mg. of Trazodone. I called my Rheumy today and of course no return phone call..I'm just nervous about taking anything with the Pred.

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