Polymyositis & Dermatomyositis Support Group

Polymyositis (PM) is a type of chronic inflammation of the muscles (inflammatory myopathy) related to dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis. The inflammation is predominantly of the endomysium in polymyositis, whereas dermatomyositis is characterized by primarily perimysial inflammation.

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Trevor49 09/18/2014

I'm going my family doctor today as he wants to discuss my recent glucose test. After fasting the night I was 5.8 and after drinking the orange pop and another blood test it went to 17. I have diabetes in my family but he is going to say I have it or cut down on your sugars. Everyday I wake up with sore hands/fingers and I still have shakey arms and hands. I'm taking 20mg prednisone and 8 tablets of mx. the blood test show normal muscle enyzemes (can't spell) and I think this is why the doctor plus the blood sugar is tapering down but my arms are weak and the legs come and go but I can walk. I also have ulcerative colitis and the funny thing is it hasn't acted up at all considering all the stress and test I've been going through. I haven't put on excessive weight with the prednisone as it just stays consistent even though I have been eating lots. My arms are skinny and I have lost muscle mass including my legs. I only have a little rash left on my elbows. My head still experiences some nerve issues in the back but a little better. Just asking if this is normal things with this DM
Trevor

nanny1611 09/18/2014

Hope your doctor appointment went well today. The loss of muscle mass is part of myositis, and many of us have experienced it. My father also had ulcerative colitis, and prednisone wreaked havoc on his blood sugar. Even after weaning off prednisone, he remained Type 2 diabetic. But the prednisone helped his UC, and it might be keeping both your UC and DM at bay. Let us know what your doctor says. Best wishes to you.

amberhere 09/19/2014

Hi Trevor49 - You are still quite early into DM and your DMARDS - it took me quite a while to get the symptoms relatively under control. For about a year I had sausage fingers and aches in my fingers and tops of shoulders all the time. My arms and body went skinny at first diagnosis of DM and it took about 6 - 9 months to build up my muscle again. I now try to do a lot of walking with my dog. On the good side, you will feel better - I have been one of those persons on a "trial and error" journey. At present I am on 7.5mg prednisone and 15mg MTX, Plauqenil with other tablets for high blood pressure. The MTX seems to be kicking in well now - it has taken about 6 months though.

autumm 09/20/2014

Hi Trevor. Its wise to keep a check on the diabetes as its in your family but the regular bloods run to check the MTX should alert your doctor to any problems including the diabetes. You need time and patience with all this Trevor, there is no overnight solution. You will get there but not overnight. Eight months before I felt I was turning a corner and a year to feel anywhere near ok. Best wishes. Autumm

trpt1 09/20/2014

Hi Trevor, High doses of Prednisone will make you hungry. I ate small meals of salads and plenty of green veggies low in sugar when I was on high doses of Prednisone. I became a big fan of green beans and spinach while on high doses of Prednisone. I also ran blood sugars after eating and planned carefully to avoid high sugars. Avoid soda pop, potatoes, corn, rice, breads, starches, (basically anything that tastes good - sorry!) while on high doses of Prednisone. Watch the portion sizes of meals.

Best wishes. I hope you will be able to avoid diabetes and keep it in the cage! Keep us posted.

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