← Return to Advice/experience about going back on Prednisone

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@ksidorov

I was diagnosed with PMR about 4 years ago. Weaned off Pred last December, even though my shoulders were in pain (like you say, manageable). Met with Ortho doc who gave me an injection of cortisone in my right shoulder, which helped. Did PT for a few weeks but the pain is now getting worse and seems to be in my elbows as well. Met with my PCP yesterday and my c-reactive is back up to 21. Dammit. So the question is - is Pred the only recourse I have to get back on the pain mgmt wagon? If so, what dose should I restart on? Hard not to cry some days.

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Replies to "I was diagnosed with PMR about 4 years ago. Weaned off Pred last December, even though..."

See post by @wilmingtonemperor immediately above your post. Maybe he will give you more details about Kevzara.

Hello @ksidorov Perhaps also ask about any ongoing trials ? if yours is a bona fide relapse you might be eligible . The conversation re: Clinical Trials has a link to an 1L17 trial from Novartis - but appears to be recruiting from limited cities and CANADA.

" pain is now getting worse in shoulders ..." May I ask if your pain is the same as you experienced in your initial onset . For me , i describe it more as stiffness and not wanting to raise my arms above my head. It is also referred to as "gel Phenomenon"
Why did your orthopeadists trat your pain without checking blood work , may i ask ?

" Morning stiffness and the gel phenomenon – Gelling, or stiffness with inactivity, is a hallmark of synovitis in the systemic rheumatic diseases in general, but in PMR, this phenomenon can be notably severe. Morning stiffness in PMR is invariable; its absence excludes a diagnosis of PMR." this is from : https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-of-polymyalgia-rheumatica

here is the link to the trial :
for the IL17 pathway in PMR : https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05767034
AIN457
Cosentyx®
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Immunology
Phase 3
2026
IL17A inhibitor (Anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibody)