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← Return to Prednisone for over a year along with Kevzara for last 5 months
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Prednisone for over a year along with Kevzara for last 5 months
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 3 11:35am | Replies (47)Comment receiving replies
You and @pb50 have RA in common.
I was diagnosed with seronegative inflammatory arthritis at the age of 32 and then PMR was added into my mix of autoimmune disorders when I was 52. I understand how it feels when you have multiple autoimmune disorders--to say it hurts everywhere is an understatement. Prednisone made me feel better but long term use of Prednisone made things worse.
I'm now doing a monthly infusion of Actemra (tocilizumab) which is a biologic similar to Kevzara. A biologic wasn't tried until I had PMR for 12 years when I was unable to taper off Prednisone. Even after Actemra was tried, it took another year to taper off Prednisone --- that was when I started to feel better.
Have you tried splitting your Prednisone dose? I did 2/3 of my dose in the morning and 1/3 of my dose in the evening. My starting dose of Prednisone after PMR was diagnosed was 40 mg daily. I wasn't able to get anywhere near 15 mg for 10 years!
I will soon be 70 years old but the battle isn't over. PMR might be in remission thanks to Actemra. I still hurt but not as much.
Replies to "You and @pb50 have RA in common. I was diagnosed with seronegative inflammatory arthritis at the..."
Hi,
So sorry you have been dealing with this for so long. I am so worried that I will never feel good again... I have tried to split the dose but it interferes with my sleep, and I already have sleeping issues. I was hoping the Kevzara would help me taper but after getting down to 8 mg for about 3 weeks I was in pain every day. I went back up to 15 mg and got rid of the pain and now I am at 12 mg and will probably stay here for a while. It is so frustrating for me because I have always been a healthy eater and I exercise and every day I just struggle and there is so much I want to do.
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Is the hurt you still feel arthritic and only hurt when in motion ? Or does it just start aching in joints for no reason after sitting for a while ? I find sleeping is when this happens …about every 2 to 4 hrs …waking me and taking about 10 minutes to subside ( after much position readjustment )