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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
In 1998 I was diagnosed with Palindromic Rheumatism and I started taking Plaquinol. My rheumatologist said it could eventually turn into RA, which it did, but it took a while. I added Methotrexate few years later and other than fatigue and a flare once in a while I was doing great. I started to have some more issue an and my doctor put me on Humira and that lasted about 15 years or longer, I can’t even remember. When I had the sudden onset bilateral shoulder pain in February 2023 I started at the a sports medicine doctor, who sent me to my neurologist, who then sent me my neurologist. She thought I was too young for PMR and I had a slew of tests for other autoimmune diseases, including lupus. The only test that was out of range was my CCP antibody which was over 250 and should be under 20, but I was also on Humira and prednisone at the time. She took me off Humira and I started ENBREL for a short time but it didn’t help. She then started me on Kevzara because it’s approved for RA and PMR. I also have inherited high cholesterol and one of the side effects of Kevzara is increased cholesterol.
Replies to "In 1998 I was diagnosed with Palindromic Rheumatism and I started taking Plaquinol. My rheumatologist said..."
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I don't know very much about RA but it can cause bilateral shoulder pain.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/rheumatoid-arthritis-shoulders-5075449
For what it is worth, you are somewhat young to have developed PMR. I was diagnosed with PMR at the age of 52 so PMR is possible at a younger age.
I developed bilateral shoulder pain that I had never experienced before. When I was 32, I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis which is similar to RA but not the same as RA. When PMR was diagnosed, my rheumatologist thought at first that I was having a flare of Reactive Arthritis. All of the pain tends to blend together but there were subtle differences between PMR and Reactive Arthritis.
I was perplexed when I was diagnosed with PMR, I asked my rheumatologist what happened to Reactive Arthritis. She said it was unfortunate but I had PMR in addition to Reactive Arthritis. It can attest to the fact that people can have more than one autoimmune disorders. I think it is common to have more than one.
Things will get more complicated if you have both PMR and RA. It might be nearly impossible to tell what is causing your pain. You need to be very detail oriented and be able to describe exactly what kind of pain you are experiencing to your doctor.
I think flares of RA respond to prednisone the same as PMR does so that isn't a diagnostic criteria for PMR. However, besides Prednisone and Kevzara, there aren't too many options for PMR. You might be better off treating RA because you will have more options to try.