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Symptoms Concentrated in Legs?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Mar 23 9:00am | Replies (8)Comment receiving replies
I read the updates on this forum when I wake up in the morning before I get out of bed. Today this enthesitis topic hit me right in the face so to speak. I have literally been hobbling around the last three days with heel pain. I had this once before awhile back, went to the foot Dr in my orthopedic group and got diagnosed with Haglund's deformity. I did some PT which helped somewhat. What really helped was wearing open backed clog type shoes. About a month ago I went to this Dr because I could hardly walk, the top of my foot was swollen. I assumed it was from previous OA surgery at the base of my big toe. I opted for a cortisone injection and it got better. This week it's the heel pain. He already told me heel injections are a no-no. So this will be day 4 of limping and my bag of frozen peas on my heel throughout the day. My heel is swollen, has a lump and is red. Walking is very difficult. Enthesitis or Haglund's deformity??
I have been on 3mg pred for weeks now, just started my 6th year of pmr. The last 3 months my crp has been elevated, sed rate is normal. I have tolerable morning pain, stiffness but I am fighting increasing the pred dose. Rheum will tell me to try the mtx again, am not taking mtx. I don't see rheum until May.
I see my pcp on Monday and will be making a list of questions.
I did ger up a little while ago, made chamomile tea and took tylenol.
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Maybe you are another person with multiple problems. There is no rule that says people diagnosed with PMR can't have additional problems. However, most autoimmune problems aren't treated with long term prednisone because more alternatives exist.
Enthesitis is a characteristic of various types of inflammatory arthritis but not PMR. Wait a minute though, that might change.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27384410/#:~:text=In%20patients%20with%20PMR%2C%20abnormal,addition%20to%20bursitis%20and%20synovitis.
Maybe enthesitis is a characteristic.
I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis (ReA) which is a type of inflammatory arthritis. Reactive Arthritis (ReA) isn't the same as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). I have problems with my feet as well. My achilles tendon is a target of reactive arthritis. A tendon connected to my thumb "spontaneously ruptured" so I have problems with enthesitis and my tendons in general.
My problem with ReA started when I was much younger so PMR wasn't ever considered as a potential diagnosis. By the time I was "old enough" to have PMR, my previous diagnosis of reactive arthritis caused a great deal of confusion. I was accustomed to taking prednisone to quell my flares of reactive arthritis. When I developed shoulder pain and couldn't lift my arms it was something different for me. My ReA symptoms were mostly restricted to my lower back and legs.
In any case, it took some time for my rheumatologist to sort things out. She eventually concluded I had PMR. I didn't know what PMR was at the time. I thought my diagnosis was being changed so I asked what happened to ReA? My rheumatologist said reactive arthritis didn't go away and she explained that PMR was something else. Then she said it was unfortunate but I had PMR on top of reactive arthritis.
Having more than one autoimmune disorder isn't uncommon. In fact, when a person is diagnosed with one autoimmune disorder they are more likely to develop another one.
"About 25 percent of patients with autoimmune diseases have a tendency to develop additional autoimmune diseases."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150011/#:~:text=About%2025%20percent%20of%20patients,to%20develop%20additional%20autoimmune%20diseases.
Whatever it is, I hope it gets sorted out.
Here is some additional information about enthesitis:
https://www.arthritis-health.com/types/general/what-enthesopathy-and-enthesitis