Muscles don't seem able to repair themselves.

yes. I pursued something wrong with my shoulders prior to my diagnosis. took several months to make all those appointments and a trip to emergency. I finally self diagnosed myself and convinced my Rhumy. I went to Mayo Phoenix for my Rheumatologist. Dr. Michael Pham. He was great. Basically ran every test that could be ran and told me what it wasnt. But steroids worked. I was on them 6 months and off. 2 years ago. I have had two small flares which I treated with a 5 day pack and they were gone. But as I was saying being 72 does not necessarily leave me pain free. But I feel good.

@bradninchgirl, I am just wanting you to understand that you cannot be "Cured of PMR". You can be in remission, but PMR is not like a bacterial infection that can be cured it is chronic. It will return because it never left, you simply have beat it down and your immune system is strong enough to keep it at bay. That said, it is not surprising that your muscles are sore. Please do not push and over work your muscles, that will cause your inflammatory markers to elevate. Elevated markers can contribute to a PMR flare. Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks for your wise words. it's been hard going from a physically strong very active person to someone who creeps along like the old woman she is. One of my problems right now is the people around me only see the healthy looking person that I still look but don't understand that I am not. Thank you for keeping me grounded on the reality of PMR.

I fell in the yard a few weeks ago and my husband had a very hard time helping me up. It must have been an hilarious sight watching our attempts to get me off the ground, I had to laugh. When I looked up I saw my cat on the deck watching and I swear he was laughing. Not everything is a downer.

I am 81 years old and have been battling PMR for over 6 years with non stop steroids. I have lost muscle mass and now attend PT classes to help build up my strength. I was always very strong in upper and lower body strength. The only problem is that when I come home from PT and wake up the next morning I am in more pain than when I went there. Has anyone else experienced this or am I doing something wrong. I am fighting having to use a cane (which I sometimes have to) or walker.

I only have one word reply "DITTO". Your story is pretty much the same as mine. I have just had a scary incident in the garden, I reached down to pull a weed and my thighs couldn't push me up. Thank goodness my Ed was near by to help me. I am scared that I will not be able to manage looking after a house and yard for much longer. I am trying hard to keep my home as moving to assisted living is out of the question for me. Apart from the fact that I would hate it, I have 5 cats that I love like children and I don't see such a facility allowing that many. I'm lucky my Ed understands pain although he does often say buck up cissy pants but with a big smile.

That's what I'm afraid of . I have fallen twice alone where my entire body shook because my muscles just couldn't push me up off the floor. I waited almost an hour and tried not to panic until I finally found the strength to get up. That's why I started PT but so far I am in more pain than ever!

@rosemargaret I would take PT slowly. Very slowly. Tell your therapist that your PMR thrives off of inflammation and you need to go slow and steady. Exercise elevates inflammation in your body and you definitely don't want a PMR flare from taking PT.

I started back to PT earlier this years and my therapist cut me back to one visit a week, allowed me to do only as many reps of an exercise as I felt up to and it did wonders. I made more progress faster as a result. I am compliant about exercising at home and that helps a lot. I maybe only did 3-5 reps of one exercise at a time, but I spread them out during the day instead of doing them all at once and that helped a lot. I suspect your therapist knows little about PMR.

Listen to your body, it is speaking to you, control the Flare. When PMR flares your body is yelling at you.

I also used ice both at home and at therapy. It helps bring fresh oxygenated blood to the area in addition to helping to reduce the pain.

They discovered a torn meniscus, with surgery later this summer. This taught me to not assume all pain is PMR pain. Again, listen to your body and don't be afraid to go to doctors and advocate for yourself.

I have been fighting PMR for 5 years and just now in remission. A bout of Covid set PMR off like nothing else I have had. That was just a year ago. I have the same problem of looking great yet feeling horrid. It comes with the PMR territory. It is humbling for sure. I just think of the many people who have spent their entire lives with this yoke of looking fine but being sick. I tell people my first 75 years were fantastic, the next 5 not so much.

many smart watches and cell phones offer fall detection. I have been considering one, though I am still resistant to carrying a phone with me all the time.