1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)
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Holistic medicine approach to PMR

Posted by pargeo47 @pargeo47, Jun 15, 2024

I'm new to PMR, about 5 months, and am presently on Dr. prescribed tapering by 1 mg every 2 weeks that started at 17 mg and I am down to 12 mg, with satisfactory relief. Today, my adult daughter posed an interesting question, "Many anto-immune issues are caused by environmental or dietary factors. Have you been to a nutritionist or holistic doc to see if your PMR was caused by something external or dietary?" My question is has anyone sought help from a nutritionist or holistic physician with any degree of success?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jun 18, 2024
In reply to @saraanne "I use the Wahls protocol (Dr. Wahls is an MD formerly at Univ. of Iowa Med..." + (show)
Profile picture for saraanne @saraanne

I use the Wahls protocol (Dr. Wahls is an MD formerly at Univ. of Iowa Med School and Iowa City, V. A. hospital, with M.S.)

Her protocol involves an eating plan, meditation, exercise and eliminating sugar (except in whole fruit), gluten & dairy. The eating plan uses 9 cups of veg & fruit per day, adequate protein, certain good fats & some supplements. The 9 cups of veg & fruit are equally divided into three categories - colorful polyphenol rich (example- purple cabbage or raspberries), cruciferous (example-broccoli, asparagus) and Leafy greens (example lettuce, radicchio, spinach etc). Some foods fall in more than one group.
See Dr. Wahls’s website (terrywahls.com) for details and her inspiring story of experimenting with her own M.S. to develop this protocol. I used her book but am now seeing a nutritionist who uses the Wahls protocol with her patients.

Dr. Wahls got out of her wheelchair with this protocol and she believes it is applicable to auto-immune diseases in general. I have Giant Cell Arteritis and am tapering off prednisone. I love the protocol because it is one thing I can do that won’t hurt me. I feel empowered & and comforted. There is so much that is unknown and therefore scary to me about GCA and PNR. Here is one thing (healthy lifestyle) that is known.

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Hello @saraanne, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @pargeo47 and others. There are a couple of other older discussions on the Wahls Protocol that you and others might find helpful to read what others have shared.

-- Terry Wahls Protocol: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/terry-wahls-protocol/
-- Can you use the Dr Terry Wahls Diet for Chronic Pain?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-you-use-the-dr-terry-wahls-diet-for-chronic-pain/

Dr. Wahls does indeed have an amazing story. Reading it was one of the reasons I started eating healthier and losing some weight.

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2 replies
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pargeo47 | @pargeo47 | Jun 18, 2024
In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @saraanne, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @pargeo47 and others...." + (show)
Profile picture for John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop

Hello @saraanne, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @pargeo47 and others. There are a couple of other older discussions on the Wahls Protocol that you and others might find helpful to read what others have shared.

-- Terry Wahls Protocol: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/terry-wahls-protocol/
-- Can you use the Dr Terry Wahls Diet for Chronic Pain?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-you-use-the-dr-terry-wahls-diet-for-chronic-pain/

Dr. Wahls does indeed have an amazing story. Reading it was one of the reasons I started eating healthier and losing some weight.

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Thank you, John, for adding to this part of the thread. I've ordered Dr. Wahls' book from Amazon. Pain is an interesting motivator, isn't it. When the pain is above 7-8, there is no price (measure, step, treatment, medication, etc) too great to make that pain go away.

REPLY
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saraanne | @saraanne | Jun 18, 2024
In reply to @johnbishop "Hello @saraanne, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @pargeo47 and others...." + (show)
Profile picture for John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop

Hello @saraanne, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @pargeo47 and others. There are a couple of other older discussions on the Wahls Protocol that you and others might find helpful to read what others have shared.

-- Terry Wahls Protocol: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/terry-wahls-protocol/
-- Can you use the Dr Terry Wahls Diet for Chronic Pain?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-you-use-the-dr-terry-wahls-diet-for-chronic-pain/

Dr. Wahls does indeed have an amazing story. Reading it was one of the reasons I started eating healthier and losing some weight.

Jump to this post

Thank you @johnbishop for pointing out the existing threads on this topic and for adding your experience. Both will
help all
of us who are dealing with autoimmune situations.

REPLY
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nancy53 | @nancy53 | Jun 19, 2024

Diet, exercise, and acupuncture have all helped me through my six months of PMR. I eat a "clean" diet, with splurges every once in a while.

Swimming and Yoga have been my go tos for exercise. I've tapered from 20mg of Prednisone to 8.5mg without too much trouble.

Anything that reduces stress helps with your recovery. I limit my news exposure and try not to let the small stuff get to me.

REPLY
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Marilyn McFarland | @1942marilyne | Jun 19, 2024

I have read so much on this. Pmr is baffling. Off of prednisone and on dexamethasone 1 mg twice a day. Best I have been after 3 1/2 years. I have no answers. Just things I have tried. I know 2 people one man 7 years and one woman 10 years. They are low dose prednisone. 5 mg and 3 mg a day. I did get discouraged but this site says u r not alone.

REPLY
1 reply
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janiceem | @janiceem | Jun 19, 2024
In reply to @saraanne "I use the Wahls protocol (Dr. Wahls is an MD formerly at Univ. of Iowa Med..." + (show)
Profile picture for saraanne @saraanne

I use the Wahls protocol (Dr. Wahls is an MD formerly at Univ. of Iowa Med School and Iowa City, V. A. hospital, with M.S.)

Her protocol involves an eating plan, meditation, exercise and eliminating sugar (except in whole fruit), gluten & dairy. The eating plan uses 9 cups of veg & fruit per day, adequate protein, certain good fats & some supplements. The 9 cups of veg & fruit are equally divided into three categories - colorful polyphenol rich (example- purple cabbage or raspberries), cruciferous (example-broccoli, asparagus) and Leafy greens (example lettuce, radicchio, spinach etc). Some foods fall in more than one group.
See Dr. Wahls’s website (terrywahls.com) for details and her inspiring story of experimenting with her own M.S. to develop this protocol. I used her book but am now seeing a nutritionist who uses the Wahls protocol with her patients.

Dr. Wahls got out of her wheelchair with this protocol and she believes it is applicable to auto-immune diseases in general. I have Giant Cell Arteritis and am tapering off prednisone. I love the protocol because it is one thing I can do that won’t hurt me. I feel empowered & and comforted. There is so much that is unknown and therefore scary to me about GCA and PNR. Here is one thing (healthy lifestyle) that is known.

Jump to this post

I totally agree with you that diet makes a difference and focusing on anti-inflammatory foods is the way to go. I am a registered dietitian and contracted PMR after my second COVID vaccination. There is a lot of evidence now that supports the causal effect of the mRNA vaccines triggering auto-immune diseases. I have eaten a whole-foods, organic, primarily plant-based diet for years and I only had a mild case of PMR (I only hurt while laying in bed). I tapered off of 10 mg. of Prednisone in about a year and have been in remission for over a year now. Hope this helps others.

REPLY
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tuckerp | @tuckerp | Jun 19, 2024
In reply to @1942marilyne "I have read so much on this. Pmr is baffling. Off of prednisone and on dexamethasone..." + (show)
Profile picture for Marilyn McFarland @1942marilyne

I have read so much on this. Pmr is baffling. Off of prednisone and on dexamethasone 1 mg twice a day. Best I have been after 3 1/2 years. I have no answers. Just things I have tried. I know 2 people one man 7 years and one woman 10 years. They are low dose prednisone. 5 mg and 3 mg a day. I did get discouraged but this site says u r not alone.

Jump to this post

I would be careful. 2mg day of Dex is equivalent to close to 12mg of prednisone. You are on a much higher than maintenance dose. Some people do stay on a maintenance dose because they cant restart their cortisol. Lots of other things may be going on. You will end up treating complications from steroid use at this higher level.

REPLY
2 replies
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megz | @megz | Jun 19, 2024
In reply to @tuckerp "I would be careful. 2mg day of Dex is equivalent to close to 12mg of prednisone...." + (show)
Profile picture for tuckerp @tuckerp

I would be careful. 2mg day of Dex is equivalent to close to 12mg of prednisone. You are on a much higher than maintenance dose. Some people do stay on a maintenance dose because they cant restart their cortisol. Lots of other things may be going on. You will end up treating complications from steroid use at this higher level.

Jump to this post

2mg of dexamethozone is equivalent to 13.3mg prednisone according to the dose conversion calculator. It must be very hard to reduce dexamethozone with such small milligram tablets. Even half a 1mg dex tablet is over 3mg pred. That's quite a drop.
https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/2040/steroid-conversion-calculator

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for pargeo47
pargeo47 | @pargeo47 | Jun 19, 2024
In reply to @tuckerp "I would be careful. 2mg day of Dex is equivalent to close to 12mg of prednisone...." + (show)
Profile picture for tuckerp @tuckerp

I would be careful. 2mg day of Dex is equivalent to close to 12mg of prednisone. You are on a much higher than maintenance dose. Some people do stay on a maintenance dose because they cant restart their cortisol. Lots of other things may be going on. You will end up treating complications from steroid use at this higher level.

Jump to this post

Yes, I've done the COVID Pfizer vaccines...not all the boosters, so I suppose that could have triggered the PMR; however, it had been more than a year since I'd had a booster when it started this past January. As for reference to 2 mg of Dex (dexedrine)...I apparently missed a post on that one. The only med I'm taking for PMR is prednisone. I haven't heard of using Dex since I was in college in the late 1960's/early 70's...I took it ONCE...that was enough!

REPLY
Profile picture for tuckerp
tuckerp | @tuckerp | Jun 19, 2024
In reply to @megz "2mg of dexamethozone is equivalent to 13.3mg prednisone according to the dose conversion calculator. It must..." + (show)
Profile picture for megz @megz

2mg of dexamethozone is equivalent to 13.3mg prednisone according to the dose conversion calculator. It must be very hard to reduce dexamethozone with such small milligram tablets. Even half a 1mg dex tablet is over 3mg pred. That's quite a drop.
https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/2040/steroid-conversion-calculator

Jump to this post

yes. they make a .5 mg with score marks so you can split it. I used Dex not prednisone.

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