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PMR flare -Shoulder and neck pain..and headaches
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 14 3:53pm | Replies (25)Comment receiving replies
I'm relatively new to this. I've had symptoms since last fall, finally got an appointment w/ a rheumatologist a month ago, have been on 12 mg. methylprednisolone since. The pain in my legs is much better and I can move better; wasn't able to get out of a chair or walk without a cane before. BUT: 1. I'm exhausted. I can do maybe one thing a day, then I hit the wall. 2. Does stress make PMR worse? Seems to. 3. Is irritable bowel part of this? Or can it be from the steroid? 4. Today had awful pressure in my shoulders and neck, as if something was constricting them or someone wss standing on them. Also was short of breath, fuzzy in the head, and had a feeling something really bad was happening. I laid down and it passed, but it took an hour or so. Is this what PMR shoulder pain feels like?
Thanks. I don't know whom to ask, I've never known anyone w/ PMR, tho' my mother had lupus and my daughter has Ehlers-Danlos vasculitis.
Replies to "I'm relatively new to this. I've had symptoms since last fall, finally got an appointment w/..."
You have come to the right place. So many of us understand what you are going through. I haven't met anyone else who has had PMR either, although I suspect my mother might have had it, but there was no understanding or tests for it back in the 50s. I don't want to discourage you but at 5 years total and 18 months in remission, I still have noticeable pain in my neck and shoulders. Don't feel bad about the exhaustion and don't be hard on your self. Cut jobs up into bits size pieces and think of them as jigsaw puzzles, you don't have to do all of the work right away. Now is the time to break out all those books and programs you love and take it easy but try and do at least a couple of gentle exercises a day. The distraction helps.
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When is your next doctor's appointment? Those things need to be raised with them. Two things:
1. Do you always take the prednisone after food to protect the stomach lining?
2. Do you drink extra water as recommended with prednisone?
Regardless of what is going on, those two things can only help. Talk your symptoms over with your doctor. There could even be an interaction happening with one of your other meds that needs attention.