← Return to PMR pain management with medical cannabis

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@jacquianddan

I'm in my late 70's and was perfectly healthy until Nov 1, 2014 I woke up with rheumatoid arthritis. Literally! Have been on a myriad of drugs, in and out of flare ups ever since. In Jan 2022 a massive flare up put me in hospital where a PET scan diagnosed PMR. Nothing prepared me for this level of debilitation. Muscle weakness and pain have curtailed my daily 4k walk, something I've done for 35 years. At present I'm taking methotrexate, prednisone, duloxatine and lyrica. With minimal relief. Have been researching CBD oil and PEA. Was interested to read the comments on CBD. Is anyone taking PEA and if so with any relief?

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Replies to "I'm in my late 70's and was perfectly healthy until Nov 1, 2014 I woke up..."

Hello @jacquianddan, Welcome to Connect. I haven't had rheumatoid arthritis but I have had PMR twice and am happy it's been in remission for the past six years. My mother had RA and I can remember how painful it was for her since there wasn't a lot of medications to help for her.

There is a discussion on PEA if you want to learn what others have shared.
-- Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) supplement: Success with Pain & Sleep?:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pea-supplement/

You might also find this discussion started by @dadcue helpful:
-- "Evolution" of Seronegative RA into PMR: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/evolution-of-seronegative-ra-into-pmr/

Hoping you find some answers...

"At present I'm taking methotrexate, prednisone, duloxatine and lyrica. With minimal relief."

I remember taking all those medications but not all of them at the same time. I probably relied on prednisone too much because I took very high doses of prednisone for a very long time.

I can only imagine what PMR on top of RA is like.

I had PMR on top of reactive arthritis (ReA) so I imagine the combination of PMR and RA is not good.

I don't have any experience with CBD oil and PEA. Now I only do a monthly infusion of a biologic called Actemra (tocilizumab). I don't seem to need prednisone anymore or any other pain medications except maybe Tylenol (acetaminophen) once in a while.

Have you ever tried a biologic to treat RA? There are many biologics suitable for RA.

There aren't too many biologics for PMR but that is beginning to change. There is one biologic called Kevzara (sarilumab) that is FDA approved for both RA and PMR.

https://rheumatology.org/patients/sarilumab-kevzara