Tiredness

I think there are many things that can lead to fatigue. You dont mention where you are with PMR but it can cause fatigue. Tapering of your prednisone makes you feel worn out. For months after I stopped prednisone I felt worn out. There is an adrenal fatigue that seems to hit a lot of us after prednisone. Many drugs can cause fatigue. I have been taking zetia for cholesterol and stopped taking it to see if it helped and I feel much better. I am terrible with stress the older I get. I think partly due to my life style doesnt have much variation in day to day. So when something does come up I feel worn out. I think exercise and diet can add to our feeling of fatigue. I was having a glass of wine most every night. That seems to add fatigue to my next morning. you or we could be missing some supplements. Hormonal changes can cause fatigue. I think just our lifestyles as we age can cause fatigue as well as the aging process. So I know your not alone.

PMR often has a companion anemia symptom. Does your CBC show any signs of problems?
I was badly anemic pre-steroids, fine during steroid treatment then mildly anemic following steroids.
Even low iron can be cause fatigue. Please discuss with your PCP if it interferes with your daily activity to ensure the the cause of your fatigue is properly identified.

For tiateacake: Yes and don’t you hate playing the password games, whether it’s a new or old app you are trying to get into? Especially when you know you are inputting the correct info! And then you end up sometimes just changing your stupid password which is probably what they wanted all along so why don’t they just save you all the frustration and just say your password is expired? This just makes my fatigue worse for sure 😂😂. And probably my blood pressure goes up too ☹️😂

to jabrown0407. Do you have a source or documentation for PMR having companion anemia symptoms? My iron and saturation is very low (iron 21 with a normal range of 37-170 and % saturation 7 with a normal range of 15-50). A pharmacist friend told me to have my iron level tested. My PA is stumped by this. There was concern that there could be some bleeding elsewhere in my body (colon) but if PMR does have a companion anemia component I am experiencing it along with great fatigue. A resource/reference would be great. Thanks.

Here's one source...
"A condition called anaemia (an-ee-me-a), which is a lack of red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body, is quite common in polymyalgia rheumatica. Your doctor may test for this. However, anaemia can also occur in other conditions."
-- Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) | Causes, symptoms, treatments
https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr/

Thank you, John. I did a quick search after I asked the question and the versus link came up. Any additional documentation would be helpful.

Iron supplements may be essential for this condition. Given that iron can cause constipation (which the Prednisone and the condition itself may cause) it is important to get a plant based supplementation. Recommended Iron supplementation for anemia is 40-70 mg. I will take 2 30 mg capsules every other day.

Please have your iron levels tested before doing anything about otc iron supplement treatments. My ferritin levels were out of sight and extra iron can cause death! per my doctor. They never found a cause, Vitamin B is also a common cause, not a problem for me. Upper GI scope, colonoscopy and a GI pill camera showed no internal bleeding. It's known as idiopathic anemia. I've seen five hematologist and they are all stumped. More tests than I care to list. Idiopathic it is.
Prednisone treatment saw my hemoglobin so back to normal but like I said when I went off Prednisone it dropped. Definitely related.

Yes. I have had my iron levels tested. Ferritin was within normal range (74 with 10-291 being normal). Iron and saturation are low. Curious about the hemoglobin response to the prednisone treatment.

I'm staying fascinated. Thanks.

There is more than one thread in the PMR Connect chat room about anemia. You might want to do a Search on anemia to review these conversations.
Also low vitamin B is a possibility. Since most of us eat an American diet it's unlikely, but worth having PA test levels. They did discover my vitamin D is low, this is common now that we have been staying out of the sun. You could request this also. Don't think it's related to PMR but having the right levels is important for overall health.
Also remember that PMR is a default diagnosis, meaning no tests able to confirm. That being true it seems to mean that most people are on a little different path to recover their health. I personally believe PMR is possibly more than one thing, just several default problems. Welcome aboard the PMR Journey Train.

My low iron level was due to being a regular blood donor which I've had to stop doing.