Sharp pain in hands on certain movements. PMR-related?

Welcome @amvp, I imagine you will probably get your answer with the blood test results tomorrow. There are quite a few conditions that have symptoms similar to PMR and normally the definitive diagnosis that you have PMR is the pain will go away when you are on the correct dose of the steroids. I did have some hand pain with both occurrences of my PMR but don't remember it being a stabbing pain. There is another similar discussion you might find helpful:
--- Is it PMR (and/) or Osteoarthritis?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/is-it-pmr-and-or-osteoarthritis/

I certainly had a lot of pain in hands with PMR too, and any hand movement caused sharp pain. Even after prednisolone, pain in the two lower joints of the thumb and along the outside of the hand near the wrist persisted for some time. What do you mean by the "salt cellar" of your hands? Where is that?

Thank you very much. In fact the blood tests showed no inflammatory markers so I suppose the joint pains are not likely to be from a single systemic cause after all. Best wishes.

Hello and thank you. I misremembered the name of the area on the back of the hand beneath the base of the thumb: it is known as the snuff box…the salt cellars are near the collar bones!
Thank you for replying. In fact, my blood results showed no inflammatory markers, so it is ‘back to the drawing board’. Best wishes.

My hands and wrists just started, after 10 months. I didn't know it was a symptom of PMR until I read this:
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-of-polymyalgia-rheumatica

Hello. I recently joined this forum and it's been such a great resource. I've only been dealing with this debilitating condition for a little over 2 months (feels like a lifetime). I WAS a healthy and active 66 yo. Once I get this into remission (or better yet, kick it to the curb) I'll never take that for granted again. I work on my computer for many hours a day and was so grateful that my hands and wrists were not affected. Well that all changed today. I'm experiencing a tsunami of symptoms since yesterday - both increased steroid side effects and about a 6-7 on the pain scale for shoulders, arms, hips, groin (the usual suspects). BUT today I also have pain/stiffness in my neck, lower back, forearms and wrists. Going to increase my Medrol for now and hope it all calms down.

Welcome @sandysomers, My PMR is in remission but I can relate to the time early on when it felt like I had been dealing with it a lifetime. It can be very debilitating. I only took prednisone for my two occurrences of PMR but from what I have read medrol or methylprednisolone is a little stronger than prednisone so hopefully it won't take much of an increase in your dose. There is another discussion you might find helpful.
-- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/.

It sounds like you might be keeping a daily log of your pain and symptoms and medrol dosage which is a great tool to help when you are tapering off of steroids. Have you made any lifestyle type changes to try and help with the PMR?

Thank you @johnbishop. How long did it take for your PMR to go into remission each time?
Hope you don't have another occurrence. EDIT - never mind the questions, I just found the intro section. I'm hopeful that mine will not take 2 years to go in remission.

Initially I was started on 20mg of Prednisone and it only helped for a day so I was put on Medrol 48mg, stepping down 8mg every two days until I reached 8mg/day. I have not been able to stick to the taper but was doing pretty well on 8mg for about a week until this major setback. Thank you for the link you sent...I don't believe I've seen that thread yet.

The PMR halted my activity for about 2 months but this past week I started short walks (no more than 2-3 miles), rode my stationary bike and did some very mild stretching. Then the major flare hit and today I struggled to move and barely managed a walk around the block. Is there a discussion on suggested lifestyle type changes? I guess I should spend more time navigating the forum.

Thanks again.

My first time with PMR lasted 3 and half years with the last six months going back and forth between 1/2 mg and 1 mg prednisone until I could finally taper off. It stayed in remission for 6 years and then I started again on 20 mg and it only took 1 and half years to taper off. I've been in remission going on 6 years again so I'm hoping it doesn't come back. I think my second occurrence was shorter due to some lifestyle changes I made, eating healthier, more exercise and losing some weight. I try to ride my stationary bike which is actually a recumbent cross trainer (Teeter FreeStep). The search function at the top of the window searches all of Connect and not just discussion titles so you might find that quite helpful if you are trying to find more specific information. Good luck on your PMR journey!

My PMR started in the “heel” of both hands - the side opposite the thumb & below the wrist. It was quite painful for a few weeks before the other areas flared. My rheumatologist told me I was the 2nd case he’d spoken to recently whose PMR had started there. I’ve also had bursitis of both knees recently & read that 100% of PMR sufferers have bursitis in at least one area of their body with this condition. All pretty debilitating & life changing until it’s under control. Good luck with your diagnosis - have to say it sounds classic PMR.