We have had just a single day of sunshine in what feels like weeks of grey skies. It was on Sunday and we decided to go to the coast.
It was one of those perfect, not too cold, calm days, perfect for crunching over pebbles and feeling the gentle warmth of the winter sun.
So thats the sunshine part of the post title, now on to the steroids.
I now have a name for the mysterious aches, pains and stiffness that I've been moaning about since late spring. It turns out I have polymyalgia rheumatica which is an auto immune disease that causes stiffness and soreness in the muscles of hips, shoulders, arms. The treatment, a steroid drug, prednisolone.
As you can imagine I don't feel very sunny about this diagnosis or the treatment and have been scaring myself silly reading about the side effects of taking steroid drugs over time. It seems that it is a condition that can disappear after a year or so but I have also read of people who have it for years. If anyone has any experience of this, I would welcome any advice.
On the plus side, within a couple of days of taking the tablets, my aches and pains just faded away. In the summer I could only walk very short distances and at the weekend I managed two or three miles, a big improvement and one that I must remember to be grateful for.
5 comments:
Happy New Year to you Willow!
Sorry to hear about your aches and pains. I know that steroids aren't great to be on for a long time but the doctors are very aware of this and they'll make sure they don't give you any adverse effects. I was on high-dose prednisolone for 2 weeks over Christmas - they are amazing pills. As long as you're feeling better and have a good, understanding doctor I'm sure they'll make sure that nothing bad comes from taking the steroids :)
Beautiful photos, have a lovely New Year.
Thanks for commenting. I expect you are right and I am over worrying. As from today I am beginning to slowly reduce the dose I am taking which must be a good thing.
Somehow I just read this post. I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I hope the meds work and that you will be pain free. It is not fun dealing with illnesses.
Thanks, Heather
Beautiful pictures as always! Glad to hear you are feeling better, although as someone who also is not a huge fan of being on any meds, I can understand your concern at taking the medication. Sometimes these things are worthwhile though if it allows us to better enjoy and live a fulfilling life free of pain. Have you been able to research or explore any alternative therapies that might do the same? Sending lots of good vibes and healing energy your way!
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