← Return to 3 1/2 years of chronic pain~ Still looking for solutions~please help

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@tuckerp

I hope you get help. PMR can also lead to GCA. Swelling of your temporal artery that can cause blindness. Many believe COVID started their PMR. Mine started 2 weeks after the vaccine. Who knows? Doctors have no idea. Stress most likely. My ESR and Sed Rate were not elevated . My HS-CRP was elevated but the Dr would not attribute that to PMR. Point is many do not have any markers. Pain will usually start in one place but moves throughout the body. I could barely move anything by time I started steroids. Xrays and MRI's will show some bursitis. PMR is not considered a muscle wasting disease but lack of activity can be. Be careful of cortisone shots. My orthopedic Dr told me they will eat up the joint. I used dexamethasone as my steroid. Relief in about 4 hrs. You need to start with a fairly high dose to see if it works but quickly taper to where the pain is just manageable. Then continue to try to decrease dosage. The steroids can be worse than the PMR. But they give your life back. I have no experience with newer drugs such as Kevzara. I was able to wean off Dex in 6 months. I have had 2 small flares. but basically pain free the last 2 years. I saw Michael Pham at Phoenix Mayo. John has sent plenty of links but here is another.
Good Luck Mike.
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/polymyalgia-rheumatica#:~:text=Polymyalgia%20rheumatica%20(PMR)%20is%20an,%2C%20and%2For%20pelvic%20girdle.

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Replies to "I hope you get help. PMR can also lead to GCA. Swelling of your temporal artery..."

Hello Mike,
Thank you so much for all of your information. I'm so glad that you were specific on the medical tests and symptoms. My ESR and said rate were also not elevated, as well as my CRP. Only my CK.

Glad you have been able to find some relief and that you were able to wean off Dex.

Would be nice to be able to go to Mayo for sure. Doesn't look like that's going to happen for me though after three denials. Waiting 11 months to see my neuromuscular department at UNM. Ugh.

Thanks again and good luck to you on your journey!
Kate 😊