Prednisone plantar

48F, 4’11”, 130 pounds Non-smoker, occasionally drink beer (maybe 3 pints per week at the most?)
Hashimoto’s (1x daily: Armour thyroid 60mg & Unithroid 50mcg) Psoriatic Arthritis (2x daily: Otezla 30mg)* Hemochromatosis (iron panel levels currently normal, last checked 07May2024) Endometriosis (laparoscopy decades ago, currently asymptomatic) Exercise-induced asthma (albuterol inhaler as needed) Vitamin D (1x weekly: 50000IU)
*Medrol injection 09May2024 *Diclofenac, started 09May2024 (2x daily: 75mg)
I am currently in a PsA flare and have been for a few months. My doc first put me on a short course of prednisone. While that got rid of most of my pain, my left middle finger continued to be painful and swollen. A short time after the course of prednisone was finished, I was dealing with a lot of stressful events and my PsA flare got worse (fingers in both hands (especially left middle finger), toes in both feet, right knee, right hip, plantar fasciitis). My doc then prescribed a single Medrol injection (in my arm) and oral diclofenac. I guess I should mention that this is my first time ever taking diclofenac.
I got the Medrol shot on 09May2024 and started the diclofenac the same day. I have been taking the diclofenac without issue until last night. A few hours after dinner, my throat started to feel funny and then I got a sensation similar to my exercise-induced asthma. I did have farro for the first time in my life with dinner, so I assumed it could be that even though I’ve never had any reactions to wheat before. Well today, a few hours after taking my dose of medications (Otezla & diclofenac), I experienced the same sensation (I did not consume farro today).
I did some googling (not the best, I know) and learned that NSAIDs are contraindicated in people with asthma; however, I have never had an issue taking NSAIDs (Ibuprofen, Naproxen). As a little experiment, I decided to take two puffs of my inhaler and within 15 minutes, the sensation went away.
Could this indicate some sort of reaction to the diclofenac even though I’ve been taking it for a week without issue? Could it be something else? I’ve never experienced asthma outside of exercising. I’m a little hesitant to take it tonight for fear that any reaction could get worse. Should I just not take it tonight? Could I just take ibuprofen instead? I’m reaching out here now since I won’t be able to reach my doctor until Monday.

I came to this sub tonight about an unrelated issue and learn that joint pain is a common peri-/menopause symptom? WHY DON’T I KNOW THIS? I’m a NURSE and have never heard this, and I have been chasing down periods of severe unilateral hip pain (now resolved, MRI showed nothing), severe bilateral arthritis in hands/arms/shoulder blades (resolved with prednisone taper) … no lupus or RA markers, but chronically elevated CRP (not ultra high, about 10-20, varying). Come to find out this inflammation marker (CRP) is often high in menopause?!
Recently I had really terrible bilateral plantar fasciitis (not a runner) and have now learned this, too, may be related to menopausal hormone changes?
Now I GET why women are SO angry about lack of education on female-specific problems amongst physicians. I’m a 53-year-old female, why have none of my (male) ortho specialists or my PCP talked about the role of female hormones (lowering with age) as related to inflammation and subsequent joint pain?!? My pain has been so bad at times, and these guys just shrugged and made me feel like a liar 😡
To be fair, my female OB/GYN has not discussed any of this with me, either … that might be her not wanting me to experience symptoms through suggestion, and she is not aware of my musculoskeletal issues, but still …

tw pain and mention of (prescription) medication (might make someone ppl uncomfortable)
it happened out of nowhere like 2am friday into saturday and i didnt sleep at all, I tried ibuprofen at 5am w no relief
went to er at 8am left at 10am,
tried the doctor's suggestions bc she insisted it was like a muscle pinch and I did like epsom salt bath & rolling on frozen water bottle
and the pain got so much worse I could NOT walk without crying so like 6pm i went back to ER crying my eyes out, had a huge breakdown because i kept tensing and sucking air in jerking around and almost puking from the pain, readmitted,
they gave me oxycodone but the nurse seemed kinda like she didn't believe me and was like "what else do you want us to do for you..." but I was literally jerking around. jerking shaking crying from the fucking pain
but then the 1st doctor left and switched shifts with an older dude
And he looked at the bump for like 1 minute, asked me a bunch of questions about my shoes and how I walk,
told me it looked like plantar fasciitis, got an ultrasound machine and showed me like the liquid(?) pockets in my foot and said that was likely causing pain
I was just so angry I spent hrs the first time around in pain and went home like I paid for a lyft the first time bc I didn't wanna inconvenience anybody in the house and it costed so much money and I racked up charges making it wait for me at CVS.
But the first doctor saw me like jerking around in pain and gave me like a "🤨 um ok.." whereas the dude later just diagnosed it immediately I was like are you guys kidding me rn... I know they did their best but I've never visited the ER twice in one day.
Anyone else ever experienced this pain/issue?
Honestly not sure if its PF because it doesnt really match what I've googled but so far the medication they have me on (tapered prednisone) seems to be helping the fluid bump
edit for more context:
I think I have a referal for a podiatrist (?) and I have to check with a bunch of doctors or follow up once i'm back home and figure it out. I believe the swelling liquid may be (edema) but if not idk. It's located on like the inner part of my right foot where the curve from top to bottom of foot is (around the middle, arch area, but on the "outside")
someone said this is an overuse injury so it "must not be what I have"
but I have felt pain in this area on both feet after running or occasionally a twinge of pain for maybe 10-20 seconds in the same spot for several months but overlooked it. The doctor said I mustve done something on friday that was just the final straw for my foot. I also walk sort of funny/turned inwards on the right (afflicted) foot as well

Over the past few years I have been dealing with alot of tendon issues and then started getting what my dermatologist called psoriasis. It was such a small patch on the base of my neck but also in inner ear canal. The psoriasis will come and go but mostly its a non issue, the pain however is pointing them into the direction of PSA. Im due for more blood work, but here is what ive been suffering with:

• osteoarthritis in my neck
• labrum tear and rotator cuff tendonitis, 1 year of PT and steroid injections with little improvement
• tendonitis in knees
• occasionally my wrist will get tweaky but that one never last too long
• recently my right hand has been on and off tight and sore
• today was diagnosed with Achilles tendonitis and plantar faciitus in both feet
• anemia, which was temporarily fixed but now i fear is back as the palpitations and and fatigue has gotten way worse
• disturbed sleep as im trying to get comfortable while in pain
• the oddest one, is a cool rushing sensation up and down my legs. Although not painful, is uncomfortable.

Im a 37 f and I am feeling completely defeated. I got fooled because I had a good four months or so. I really wasn’t feeling much pain and I thought wow all of my problems seem to be disappearing. It must be because I’m working out a lot more I started Jazzercise three times a week recently just added in pickle ball, in addition to some light walking and light weights. Now I’m hit with Achilles tendinitis and plantar fasciitis and being told that I have to cease all activity for at least a month and then start over small again. All these injuries leave me feeling depressed obviously dealing with pain all day every day is exhausting, but I found some joy in working out and now that’s being stripped away from me. My rheumatologist told me the next step if things got bad again, would be to take a trial dose of prednisone, which I am not keen on but I just don’t know what else to do. I really do not like taking drugs and would love to do everything I can in my power to heal naturally, but it just seems like my body has other plans for me.
If you’ve made it this far into my sob story thanks for listening, I guess I’m just looking for words of encouragement, or anyone else that’s been dealing with similar injuries and how they dealt it and with their emotional state. I am a stay at home mom looking after a five and seven-year-old and I want to be there for them as much as I can in the future, but the threat of taking biologics and harming other parts of my body in the process….I just don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel here. I do a lot of complaining to my husband, but I can tell it’s falling on deaf ears, when he finally does listen he just makes outlandish suggestions like maybe you need to start running to get your strength back up. My family doesn’t really believe in autoimmune diseases as there’s no way to really prove them, So keep telling me this is just part of getting older…:(

I have searched and searched which is why I am reaching out to the group. My story below:
In January this year, I had what I thought was my first gout flare. After a few work trips that were very stressful, filled with late nights and early mornings, drinking, eating, exercising while exhausted, etc. I found myself in agonizing pain to the point where I could not walk. Skipped out on the last day of a meeting and grabbed the next flight home to get into orthopedic urgent care. Xrays and general eval - Dr says he thinks it is gout - no breaks or fractures. Gets me on prednisone (50mg) and everything gets better within a few days. I felt good enough to go for a run the next week and then pain came back. This pain is not anything like the initial onset which I considered to be gout. It is a dull throbbing and can get to a point where I am hobbling when walking. It is constant at this point and for clarity, this is all at my second toe of right foot (toe right next to big toe).
Went back to a podiatrist who pulled synovial fluid to test for crystals, gave me a cortisone shot (2mg dexamethasone) and took blood for uric acid levels. No crystals detected, 6.3mg/dl and the cortisone shot did nothing. Foot stayed swollen which I associated to all the needles that were in my area of pain.
10 days later I am still in pain and the original podiatrist is out on vacation. I scheduled with another podiatrist who requested another xray, blood and general eval. Of course, nothing on the xray. UA level was 6.9mg/dl. He put me on the Medrol dose pack (methylprednisolone). Within a few hours of taking the first 2 pills, my foot was feeling better and walking was easy. My last pill was on Tuesday of last week and my foot was hurting by that evening. Called the Dr and I not have an appointment for an MRI on Monday.
My history - 42 years old, healthy, runner, cyclist. My dad had gout starting in early 30s. Stressful work environment. Generally opposed to taking medication unless absolutely necessary.
Please let me know what you think or if you have any questions that I need to clarify. I am thinking this may be capsulitis (most likely) or a plantar plate tear. I still cannot figure out why no crystals and UA in range despite no changes to diet, imbibing in alcohol, etc. Thanks in advance for your help.

24F insertional Achilles tendinitis pain 2020-present
[History] I already have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis (2019 & healed) and currently L/R insertional Achilles tendinitis (2020, not healed).
Pain started in both heels 2020 when I started running and doing triathlons. Used to be tight calves and painful heels but now it’s just heel pain when I walk (cannot fathom running until I ever heal). Some days it’s when I get out of bed, some when at rest (feels like a spasm or like something crawling if that makes sense), and ALWAYS feels like a bruise all the time/after walking or doing anything exercise related and when I press on it. (Pain at inner heel and horseshoe around heel).
• visited orthopedic 2021 (diagnosis) • quit running • did 10 weeks of PT (no help) • visited chiropractor (graston, dry needling -helped a bit for calf tightness) • visited podiatrist 2022 (did shockwave therapy x3 rounds, naproxen, meloxicam, no help) • visited another orthopedic 2023 (referred to rheum) • visited rheum (bloodwork, prednisone taper - didn’t help) • now 2024 and still dealing with pain! :(
Other things I’ve done: • ice • stretching • strength training • massage/muscle scraping on my own • magnesium (oral and spray) • turmeric
[Imaging, etc] • Have had Xray, MRI done. MRI shows minor retrocalcaneal bursitis and joint effusion. • bloodwork for rheumatoids etc are negative/normal
The 2023 orthopedic said my Achilles looks healthy, the rheum said it’s odd it’s bilateral and I have inflammation. I don’t understand the bursitis as that’s not where my pain is.
[Questions] Does anyone have any observations or advice on what I can do or do differently? I’m going to get an ultrasound to verify if it’s enthesitis or somehow this will tell me if it’s degenerative or permanent. It always feels like a deep pain. I just want to be able to run again :(
Or has anyone tried these treatments? • prp • ultrasound therapy • cold laser • arthroscopy / removal of tissue (idk if this is me but wondering) • mls laser • any other suggestions?
*a big thank you if you read all of this! Appreciate it!

Hi all,
I wanted to post about my journey with the hope that maybe some of the information will help somebody on here. I suppose I'm also posting for myself as a milestone. I'll try to be as concise as possible.
Myself: 41 year old male. Very active prior (mountain biker, weight training, healthy lifestyle overall).
Symptoms: Began as stabbing pain in arch of right foot March 2023 (later learned that was unrelated - lateral plantar nerve entrapment issue). This was accompanied by a constant twitching in the arches of both feet. Very noticeable at rest. I ignored it, and gradually things got worse. Twitching started moving up my body, and began noticing horrible stiffness and cramps in my calves (mainly right foot). I also began noticing pain in my feet. Almost like stinging and weakness. I was having issues with my knees as well. Just overall pain. A lot of fear too. I started worrying all the time about it. Google made it much worse. At my low point, I would say suicide was on the table. Things were worst from Sept 2023 - Dec 2023.
I began seeing doctors around August. My opinion - they're a double edged sword. I think I was prescribed a lot of medication that made everything worse, and given very bad medical advice. That said, my neurologist started to point the ship in the right direction.
Medication and supplements I was told to take: Gabapentin, Ketorolac, Prednisone, muscle relaxers, steroid injections, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin D, E, B12 complex, lions mane. I'm sure there are a couple I'm forgetting. I was in a fog taking all of this, and nothing helped.
I was off work for about three months. I finally started having tests performed.
Tests: EMG, MRIs (3 total), bloodwork, x-rays. All were clear. I believe these are necessary to rule out all the "big bad" disorders. If they're clear, you need to accept it.
Procedures done: Steroid injections to feet, epidural in back. I did have a couple of mildly herniated discs and some spinal column narrowing. The back injection did help address my lower lumbar issues.
My neurologist was the first one to tell me to stop taking all of medication. I forget what he said exactly, but it was something along the lines of "Are you actually in pain? Why don't you try stopping the medication and see how you feel?". I had given up a few things along the way (alcohol Oct 2, 2023 and medical marijuana Nov 2023). I stopped all medication in December. Over a period of a few weeks, the fog started to lift and I noticed the pain going away. What I was left with was the constant body twitching, and brutal calf stiffness and cramping. I was reading a lot on here, and wasn't really sure what to do or where to start. I had been filling a journal with daily symptoms (probably 100 pages filled). I read through there and decided I was going to clear the deck and gradually start trying different treatments to see if I could figure out the combination that worked for me.
Unfortunately, I don't believe medical professionals can really "fix" you. They don't know, and they can certainly make it worse. I accepted that it was up to me. My approach was "fuck it. I can't make it much worse".
Through trial and error, below is what worked for me:
Acupuncture - Specifically for the calf stiffness. I noticed after the first treatment the next day, my calf felt looser. I had 2 treatments, and each time it felt better. I had stretched for months with no luck. To the point that I had injured my ankles stretching.
Stretching - Yeah, I know what I just said. However, once they loosened up with acupuncture, I found that calf stretching really helped just keep me loose and it feels great. I stretch in the morning and when I get home from work.
Lexapro (5mg in AM) - I began trying to pinpoint when my twitching felt worse. I noticed in December that when I was getting worked up about trying to return to work, things got bad. twitching ramped up, as did the body pain (feet, legs, torso, arms, face, everything). I had read on here about anxiety being a possible cause. I spoke to my Dr and we started a low dose. It really did help. I'd say about two weeks in, I started to notice.
Booze - I don't really drink anymore, and I used to get drunk literally every weekend. I had some drinks on xmas eve with my wife. Booze made everything worse and I noticed I felt more depressed after I drank. The euphoria of drinking was still there, but it's not worth everything that comes along.
Weed - I stopped using this too. I noticed in Dec 2023 that when I got high, it amplified my underlying mood. If I was anxious, it had the volume turned way up. Twitching ramped up, same with pain.
Tizanidine (2mg bed time) - The times I notice twitching now are moments of stillness. When I'm laying in bed, dead sober...I take 2mg about 1hr before bed. It helps me get to sleep and relaxes my body.
Melatonin with magnesium (30 minutes before bed) - Same thing, helps me get to sleep and stay asleep. I'm usually asleep for 6-8hrs each night.
Karma - I'm not sure how to explain this, but what helped me mentally was being a better person. I was so bitter and hate filled for months about this. It was a disease itself. I hated people that could just live their lives and felt like mine had been stolen from me. I don't recall when I made up my mind to break out of it, but I began randomly just doing "a right thing". Being better gives me a weird high and helps to get me out of my own head. It doesn't have to be anything major, hold a god damn door for someone, make casual polite conversation, whatever. Little things throughout the day. I found it improved my overall mood and it feels good to have people smile at you.
Activity - starting small, just walking around the house. Then, walking in my yard. Then picking up sticks. It took a long time. I hiked about 3 miles in the snow last weekend. It was a slow build, but I would say this was getting a piece of my identity back. BFS takes who you are from you (mentally and physically). I was an active person, getting a piece of you back goes a long way.
Forgetting - Not focusing on the twitching. Distractions initially helped with this. Activity (walking, shopping, writing, video games, movies). It's almost like if you focus on breathing, it makes it harder to breath on your own without thinking. This sucked and took a long time to do. I'll now go hours a day without thinking about twitching. I notice if my mind drifts to it, I feel a twitch or two.
So how is everything today? It's the best I've felt since this whole ordeal started. My life has returned. Each day seems like the twitching is less and I'm forgetting it more and more. It's a horrible thing, and it can fill you with hopelessness. And there is a real fear that you're on your own. There isn't a pill or treatment that fixes you. God that scared me so much. I would breakdown crying, asking God why. All I can say is that you are the fix, you can win, your answer is within you waiting to be discovered.
I wish you all well on your journeys.
Cheers,
Chad
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Hi, 38 y.o. female here. A little backstory:
I started experiencing pain in my lower back in my mid-20s. I didn't have a primary physician, so I went to an urgent care that diagnosed me with inflammation in my SI joints. I was given Meloxicam and some stretches to do at home. After several weeks of pain, a few more trips back to urgent care, and a few trips to the chiropractor with no relief, I gave up and it eventually went away.
At that point, I decided that going to the doctor was a waste of time and money. Even though I've had several flares since then, I've never spoken to my doctor about them (until today which I will speak to a little later).
In 2021, I developed plantar fasciitis and started having SI joint flares more consistently.
Fast forward to 2023 - I had a couple of flares in the spring and summer, then in August I had a really bad flare that never fully went away like they had in the past and my left hip was affected this time. Some days were completely debilitating and others were more tolerable, but I had enough pain that I avoided specific exercises and had to kind of walk myself up from a bending position by pushing up off my thighs any time I was bent over.
Around November, I was on a huge health and holistic kick and went to an integrated medicine type doctor about my SI joint pain. I paid him $162 for him to tell me to stretch my hamstrings, which I do regularly with no relief.
On December 21, I started feeling this horrible pain in the lower part of my spine that makes sitting and laying down excruciating. Sitting on the couch isn't even possible at this point, so I sit in my office chair but is still painful. When I lay in bed, it feels like there's a metal rod in my back and it makes it impossible to get comfortable resulting in very little sleep.
I finally gave in and went to my primary doctor's office today (my primary was booked so I had to see an NP). I finally opened up about my long history of SI joint pain, how I had been flared since August, and how I developed the new pain over holiday break. I told her that my ultimate goal for coming was to rule out any autoimmune diseases (AS and RA primarily) and she looked at me like I was a freaking idiot.
She told me that she wouldn't offer testing but would talk to my primary. I was very angry because I've been in pain off and on for so long and when I finally opened up, she treated me like I had no idea what I was talking about. She prescribed me prednisone and a muscle relaxer and sent me on my way.
She called me back while I was picking up my prescription and said that my primary doctor said to move forward with the blood work for autoimmune testing. It was a relief at the time but now I'm doubting myself and thinking maybe I am just a dumbass that doesn't know anything. I feel like maybe my primary is just trying to appease me rather than agree with me. Wouldn't she suggest some imaging if she thought it was AS?
What are your thoughts? Are my symptoms in line with AS or am I overthinking after Googling my symptoms? Has anyone with AS experienced anything like this?

Anyone have any experience like this? I started humira in August, and finally tapered off 6 months of Prednisone in September. Quickly got into remission and was good for like a month.
Starting in end of October / early November, my body started feeling worse and worse by the week. I was just feeling sore and beat up, so I stopped working out (was previously working out 3 or so times a week).
My knees are to the point where I can't sit cross legged or one leg over the other anymore. My (already kinda shitty) plantar fascitis seems so much worse despite PT. I did some shoulder stretching 5 weeks ago and, while my PT thinks I did a stretch that I probably shouldn't have done, I'm still in pretty intense pain from my shoulder through my hand despite daily PT for my shoulders.
It's like I'm getting injured from nothing and my body isn't healing. My GI is telling me it's not from prolonged steroid use or humira, since this seemed to have started a month or two after humira / Prednisone end. I was never like this before. PCP is perplexed and can't find anything in labs. Calprotectin blood test came back almost 0, so no inflammation markers there. Going to take months to get into rheumatologist or endocrinologist (which is where my PCP referred me to).
Am I crazy to think this is the humira?

Hi everyone,
Im a 27 year old female with plantar fasciitis. I went to a podiatrist and i was prescribed 10mg of prednisone for the next two weeks.
I am really concerned about side effects; i have seen people post about how they have suffered and it seems really bad?
My pain isnt bad right now- i am just following the stretches i was told to do for my foot.
Thank you everyone

Male 30 years old, 6"2/260lbs. Currently taking metoprolol, fenofibrate, lisinopril, atorvastatin. Pain started roughly 3 years ago as a burning/soreness after long walks or standing for a few hours. It has now progressed to a very debilitating issue. I cannot stand/walk for more than 10/15 mins without having to sit down due to bilateral burning feeling on feet. Pain is only slowly reduced by taking weight completely off of my feet. The longer I am standing, the worse it gets. I have seen many doctors and specialists. -Different shoes/custom orthotics -emg showed bilateral pinched nerve -foot injection for tarsal tunnel -foot injection for plantar fasciitis -physical therapy for tarsal tunnel 45 days -physical therapy for plantar fasciitis 30 days -x-ray of pelvis -epidural injection at l5,s1 -spinal mri showed minor spinal stenosis/arthritis -tried prednisone, (1800mg) gabapentin, nsaids, diclofenac sodium, lyrica -new podiatrist ordered 12 visits to physical therapy, more insoles, new shoes -doppler ultrasound showed good circulation -off atorvastatin for 30 days NO RELIEF FROM ANY ATTEMPTS. Sorry for the long post, if you have any questions please ask. I am very desperate for answers.

She said she needs to wear her foot brace (I'm assuming a walking boot) on vacation because her foot hurts. I'm assuming she has plantar fasciitis. It's common in over weight people. I'm sure it is very painful but she said she hopes she didn't break her foot while walking to the mall. I got a hairline fracture in my foot by walking but I was on high doses of prednisone at the time. She's in so much pain she's holding back her tears as she shoves Pringles in her mouth, talking with her mouth full and drinking soda the whole live. If she was in that much pain she wouldn't have gone live. https://www.youtube.com/live/XoCv3oGi8oE?feature=share

First: I hope everyone is having a good start to the week.
I've had plantar fasciitis in my left foot since August 2016, and my right since 2018. Some days are tolerable, and some are so brutal that the only relief I get is by starting a round of Prednisone, going to the podiatrist for cortisone shots, or ibuprofen. I do all the stretching, rolling my heels on a frozen water bottle, custom insoles that never worked, etc.
Over the past few months, I've decided to go in and see about getting surgery, as I don't want my heels to be in pain for the rest of my life. My podiatrist said she had plantar fasciitis, and got it while pregnant with twins. She said it went away after having kids, and losing weight. She also said if I cut sugar out, that they might feel better, as sugar can cause inflammation.
Now, I LOVE sweets, and always have, and probably always will. That being said, I always told myself that I want to drop some excess pounds, so I've drastically cut back on sweets and pop (I only had a glass of pop at dinner, but now just water). I've lost 13 pounds, but I wasn't expecting the extra 13 lbs to greatly help! Over the past few weeks, my heels have felt a little better every day, and if they continue to feel like this, I probably won't seek out surgery.
I don't know if it's the lesser amount of sugar, the weight loss, both, or if it's just all mental, but I just wanted to put out there what seems to be helping with my situation.
Thanks for reading, and please tell if yours has improved by doing the same.

Hey All,
33M and recently diagnosed by MRI/Ultrasound, tiny patch of suspected P on inner thigh and CRP/ESR normal could do with some advice/experience from you guys.
Looking back I've allways had tendon problems, I'm very active but always get little niggles, plantar fasciitis, heal pain, costochontritis etc. But about 3 years ago started getting more troubling symptoms:
- Swollen finger (injected 3 times over last few years by PT)
- Quad tendon pain, that has this year progressed to being unable to squat past level, need arms to get up off chaisofa etc and can't ride a bike without pain..
- Feet very painful if i've been walking a lot.
- tired a lot of the time, I remember before I was under diagnosis about a year ago constantly;y looking online for reasons I might be tired!
At the moment I would say pain wise I'm a 5/10 without ibuprofen, I don't really have pain at rest apart from the finger, but with movement I do.
The worrying thing is the progression, at the start of the year I could still ride a bike without any restricting pain and was doing BJJ; if it continues at this rate I might not be able to walk properly in a year.
I have been given a pred taper, which side effects were awful on 20mg so i'm just doing 5mg a day and has bought pain down to 2/10 and can do a full ROM squat unweighted with only slight discomfort.
Now onto my dilemma. I maybe in a fortunate position where I can "skip" traditional DMARDS and go straight to Biologics (Enbrel has been recommended if I would like). I am looking to start a family within the next 12 months and obviously would be a no-no with Methotrexate or Sulfasasaline.
I really like the idea of just blasting it with a biologic and being normal again, as the prednisone is really showing me how I haven't been normal for a long, long time. But I am scared of the potential severe side affects of them.
Should I give the sulfasasaline a go? and postpone things? or should I just go straight in with Biologics? I feel like based on some posts here my symptoms arent bad enough to warrant it, but my understanding is there is a chance I will "freeze" the progression in it's current state, which is relatively minor and in the long term that maybe a better strategy, but alas I also don't want to kill myself with a severe AE.
Sorry for the long post and thank you if you have been reading. Just interested in peoples perspectives.

Hey All,
33M and recently diagnosed by MRI/Ultrasound, tiny patch of suspected P on inner thigh and CRP/ESR normal could do with some advice/experience from you guys.
Looking back I've allways had tendon problems, I'm very active but always get little niggles, plantar fasciitis, heal pain, costochontritis etc. But about 3 years ago started getting more troubling symptoms:
- Swollen finger (injected 3 times over last few years by PT)
- Quad tendon pain, that has this year progressed to being unable to squat past level, need arms to get up off chaisofa etc and can't ride a bike without pain..
- Feet very painful if i've been walking a lot.
- tired a lot of the time, I remember before I was under diagnosis about a year ago constantly;y looking online for reasons I might be tired!
At the moment I would say pain wise I'm a 5/10 without ibuprofen, I don't really have pain at rest apart from the finger, but with movement I do.
The worrying thing is the progression, at the start of the year I could still ride a bike without any restricting pain and was doing BJJ; if it continues at this rate I might not be able to walk properly in a year.
I have been given a pred taper, which side effects were awful on 20mg so i'm just doing 5mg a day and has bought pain down to 2/10 and can do a full ROM squat unweighted with only slight discomfort.
Now onto my dilemma. I maybe in a fortunate position where I can "skip" traditional DMARDS and go straight to Biologics (Enbrel has been recommended if I would like). I am looking to start a family within the next 12 months and obviously would be a no-no with Methotrexate or Sulfasasaline.
I really like the idea of just blasting it with a biologic and being normal again, as the prednisone is really showing me how I haven't been normal for a long, long time. But I am scared of the potential severe side affects of them.
Should I give the sulfasasaline a go? and postpone things? or should I just go straight in with Biologics? I feel like based on some posts here my symptoms arent bad enough to warrant it, but my understanding is there is a chance I will "freeze" the progression in it's current state, which is relatively minor and in the long term that maybe a better strategy, but alas I also don't want to kill myself with a severe AE.
Sorry for the long post and thank you if you have been reading. Just interested in peoples perspectives.

On the Wednesday before Easter I started getting pain in my left knee. I thought it was from something I had done at the gym. But about 2 days later the exact same pain spread to the right knee. Then about 2 days after that the same type of pain spread to the Achilles tendons. Then a day or two after that the heels of my feet. Then again a day or two later the rest of the bottom of the feet. It then spread to my right shoulder. Then to my right wrist. Then it started on both sides of the neck radiating towards the shoulders. Basically joint and bone pain, but the back and neck feels more muscular. The pain is at it's worst in the morning and then after about 6 or 7 hours it calms and feels like a constant aching "growing" pain (kinda like from when your feet were growing when you were a kid except...everywhere). It extremely limits movement, difficult to walk up and down curbs or stairs and on slanted surfaces, can't bend, hard to get dressed. In the morning It's excruciating to stand on my feet and I have hardly any movement in my knees, and the muscles right around the knees feel like there's sand in them when I try to bend.
My new primary care physician is treating the pain as if they were individual issues. (Haven't had a lot of medical issues before, so mostly used urgent care or telehealth). She suspects plantar fasciitis and thinks the wrist pain is from a bulged disc in my cervical spine.
But it makes no sense to me that the exact same type of pain would spread everywhere suddenly like this all at the same time with no acute traumatic event.
I've done four MRIs and multiple blood tests. I'm 37M about 170lbs relatively active, and after numerous telehealth doctor visits they didn't think it was arthritis because of how rapid the pain has migrated (and no family history). They told me to establish primary care through health insurance...which I did...but I really don't trust this lady who wants to send me to a podiatrist...
MRI findings state: "Intermediate T2 marrow signal in the distal femur, proximal tibia and fibula with mottled appearance of the osseous structures. These findings are suspicious for marrow signal abnormalities. The differential diagnosis would include inflammatory, infectious processes, metabolic abnormalities versus neoplastic. No evidence of cortical destruction." (Knee)
And
"Diffuse mottled appearance of the examined portion of the distal tibia. fibula, the tarsal and metatarsal bones to some extent with intermediate T2 signal. These findings are suspicious for bone marrow abnormalities" (foot)
The bone marrow "abnormalities" in multiple parts of the body freak me out.
Blood results show 8x the normal range of the "C-reactive protein." (68.0 H)
Elevated complement C-3 and C-4 (C3 is 314 where range should be 90-180/C4 is not as bad, 57 when range is 10/40
Albumin is slightly low (3.4 when range is 3.8-4.8); alpha 1 and 2 globumin is slightly elevated; hemoglobin and RBC are just slightly below normal range.
"SED RATE BY MODIFIED WESTERGREN" says 51H which the range says it should be less than or equal to 15mm/h...I don't know what this means.
They also did an autoimmune blood panel all of these tests were negative or "in range":
(ANA AUTOIMMUNE PROFILE) ANTI-NUCLEAR ANTIBODIES ANA PATTERN (REPORTED AS TITER) HOMOGENEOUS SPECKLED DENSE EINE SPECK1ED CENTROMERE COARSE SPECKIED DISCRETE NUCIEAR DOTS NUCLEOLAR NUCLEAR MEMBRANE CYTO. RETICULAR (MITO ) SJOGREN'S SS-A ANTTBODY SJOGREN'S SS-B ANTIBODY SMITH (Sm) ANTIBODY RNP ANTIBODY SCL-70 ANTIBODY Jo-1 ANTIBODY CENTROMERE B ANTIBODY RIBOSOMAI P ANTIBODY CHROMATIN ANTIBODY THYROID PEROXIDASE AB RHEUMATOID FACTOR, QUANT
It feels like my new primary care physician is missing the bigger picture... But I'm no doctor. If it was just plantar fasciitis the other pain and other test results just don't make sense to me, and it doesn't explain the knee pain at all, which is where it started and my PCP seems to be completely overlooking the knee MRI in order to fit her "diagnosis."
Pain has gotten very slightly better with Prednisone (from telehealth) but she didn't renew the prescription, said it wasn't meant for long term use. And we're still no closer to an answer. She scheduled a follow up visit in a month...and I'm a little concerned. This is having a huge effect on normal daily life activities, pain is near constant...and it seems like a month wait with no answers and no working meds is very odd. I have no issue going to a podiatrist...but I feel like we're just wasting time and money running down a rabbit hole that just feels completely incorrect.
Any ideas what this might be?

So last year I reached my heaviest I had ever been. I had a day where my BP spiked to 175/90 and I had a headache. My doctor put me on several BP meds and I had bad reactions to most of them except Lostarn which I have been taking for almost a year now at 25mg, 2x daily.
In January this year, I decided to get my shit together and started a keto/low carb diet + Intermittent Fasting (one meal a day) + hour of exercise daily.
I have lost about 65lbs since late last year and have started to feel better, but my doctor gave me a 6 day course of Methylprednisone back in early March for painful plantar fasciitis. After the 3rd day of the prednisone, my Apple Watch started alerting me that my heart rate was dropping below 40bpm, especially during sleeping.
My normal resting heart rate was usually in the mid 50s - 60s.
I stopped taking the prednisone right away, but its been about 2 months and my heart rate drops down int he mid to low 40s while I am sleeping and is often in the upper 40s-50s while sitting at the computer for work.
I had been checking my blood pressure regularly and also decided to drop my Losartan to 1X daily instead of 2 because that was my doctors original prescription and my BP seems to be holding in the 120s/80s on just 1, so I ruled out being over medicated on that.
I am concerned about how low my heart rate has been since the prednisone. My hands are often cold and sometimes I feel slightly dizzy.
The only thing left that I am not sure of is if I am having an electrolyte imbalance from eating one meal a day, low carb., but I was also told not to take electrolytes with Losartan.
My doctor seems a bit too relaxed about this whole situation that has me worried. I am looking for someone to offer some perspective since trying to google anything of this all leads to pages about Heart failure, pacemakers, and thing that are causing me to panic a bit.

Hi all,
I'm flaring and dealing with inflammation of hip bursas (trochanteric) and plantar fasciitis. Can't walk without serious pain, and physical therapy, ibuprofen and icing have not been helping. My doctor is also tapering me off prednisone after about two years of fluctuating doses between 10 mg and 3 mg (mostly hovering around 5 mg/day). We can't increase my Cellcept anymore because it tanks my WBC, and the doc doesn't want to add a brand new drug before I leave the country for two weeks.
I've got a once-in-a-lifetime vacation scheduled at the end of May and starting to panic. Hoping to get a cortisone shot in my left foot (the worst one) in mid-may, followed by bilateral shots in my hips the following week.
Never done cortisone injections in joints before. Can anyone share their experiences? Advice?
Hoping the shots will allow me to do all the walking in Europe that I have planned, but scared I'll be stuck hobbling along with a cane or sending my family off without me.
*edited because I realized I signed my freaking name like this was an email to a personal friend. Hello, brain fog! Sigh.

About 2 months ago I began having awful, excruciating pain in the joints on my small toes and the ball of my foot right under those joints, and the top of my foot. One doctor told me it was Plantar Fasciitis (it’s not). And one doctor told me it was gout, and prescribed me Prednisone. It helped a little, but not much. This lasted nonstop for about 3 weeks. Constant pain. And then one day, it just went away. Now, I wake up this morning and it’s back, but in my other foot! Same exact place. Small toes, and the ball of my foot. Is this gout? I’ve tried drinking a ton of water, cherry juice, among other things google suggested and nothing is helping. Any ideas?

Hi!
I am 33F ,124 lbs, European now living in the US. Relevant immediate history: I’ve had mono at 12. Sibling has autoimmune disease (CIDP).
Up until 2021 I was in perfect health. I eat well and am an active person. I don’t drink nor smoke.
In July 2021 I started developing a recurrent mid low back pain that would wake me up at night. Walking to the bathroom usually allowed me to go back to sleep. I then developed anterior upper thigh pain after a hike. Now I can’t walk more than 4 miles before this pain starts to set in. I’ve had months long bouts of rib and upper spinal pain (right on my T5 vertebrae). I also had bouts of neck pain and just recently tore my tricep just by shoveling a bit (nothing demanding for an apparently healthy person like me though?). I have plantar fasciitis and big toe joint pain in my left foot primarily.
I also suffer from a very, very flaky scalp that makes it super awkward to be outside because no matter how much I wash I always have these flakes peeling off. My scalp luckily doesn’t itch and it’s not red but has a few scabs and peels these white flakes. I also had an episode of paresthesia in both my upper thighs last year and another one that started in my feet and spread up to my legs in December.
Most recently, I started suffering from tinnitus and it’s really bringing me to my knees because there’s nothing I could do to relieve it and my work revolves around audio so it IS a big deal for me… I also started suffering from dizziness and mild vertigo. The tinnitus alternates between a distinct sound at around 4-3k Hz to a very widespread “shrill” sensation that literally drains me because it makes me tired just by having to constantly listening to it.
My period is also quite irregular and I have had THE WORST PMS lately. It didn’t use to be like this at all…
I’ve had countless tests and visits with specialists but nothing turned up. A couple of specialist (rheumatologist and ENT) were VERY dismissive towards my symptoms though so not sure those sides were investigated properly.
I took prednisone and Advil and also have been in physical therapy for 6 months now but my back and leg stuff don’t seem to get any better. If anything, I keep piling up these really weird symptoms that make NO sense to me.
Does anyone here see a thread? Any recognizable pattern? I’m really lost. I was perfectly healthy up until July 2021…and these weird symptoms just keep adding up.
I know it’s not possible to get diagnosed here but if I could have an idea of what to do/where to look that would help because my GP is either unavailable for months or keeps sending me to PT and nothing else.
Thank you!!
TL;DR : weird joint/neurological symptoms slowly adding over the last 3 years. Recently started having tinnitus. Not sure what could possibly be going on.