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Is this a possible relapse to PMR or something entirely different??
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Apr 9 3:23pm | Replies (9)Comment receiving replies
My PMR has been in remission for six years and I'm always thinking about it coming back when I have extra joint pain. Recently my shoulders have had a lot of pain and found out it's related to my degenerative arthritis and rotator cuff pain. I had some PT and learned a few new exercises that help strengthen the muscles and tendons in the rotator cuff area which have helped if I don't over do it. I've also found the Voltaren or other generic pain gels with lidocaine help when the shoulders are hurting. I've also used the pain patches on the shoulders which help.
You might want to discuss the pain with your doctor or rheumatologist as @seniormed mentioned since there are a lot of conditions that can mimic PMR pain.
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"There are a lot of conditions that can mimic PMR pain."
There are a lot of conditions that respond rapidly to prednisone too!
PMR pain isn't the only condition that responds rapidly to prednisone. I can think of at least 5 other conditions in my own experience that had nothing to do with PMR but the pain was relieved quickly after I increased my prednisone dose.
When "systemic inflammation" is the problem ... pretty much any kind of pain will respond quickly to prednisone. The systemic inflammation and widespread pain wasn't all PMR but it made it easier to say it was a PMR flare to justify why I increased my prednisone dose.. This is especially true when PMR is a person's only diagnosis and nothing else is explored and/or considered.
I would play it safe and not blame PMR for everything. Most of the time I would tell my rheumatologist that things would hurt for no reason at all. Fortunately, my rheumatologist still believed me even when she didn't know why things hurt or couldn't come up with any rational reason for the pain..