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← Return to PMR and Methotrexate
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Thank you for the suggestion. I had read it before.
I am pretty sure I had PMR for sure. I was off the Prednisone for 4 months when the C reactive Proteins and sedimentation rates went up.
I did not have any issues with my feet or hands with PMR.
I was also assessed for Giant cell. It is a special scan of my blood vessels. There are only a half of dozen or so of these scanners in Canada.
They found only inflammation that would suggest RA.
I have a Rheumotologist here in Victoria and another one in Vancouver.
The methotrexate is working well. Just nausea and tiredness for side affects.
Being on the prednisone turned me into an angry person i.e. changed my personality and I was suicidal.
I also put on a lot of weight in the year and half I was placed on it.
Actually, I am grateful, it is RA as the methotrexate is easier to take. Apparently late onset RA is more difficult to diagnose. I wish you well.
Replies to "Thank you for the suggestion. I had read it before. I am pretty sure I had..."
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I just remember how hard it was for me to accept that I had more than one autoimmune condition. I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis (ReA) at least 20 years before PMR was diagnosed. My very first question that I asked when PMR was diagnosed was, "What happened to ReA?"
I didn't think a person could have more than one autoimmune condition until my rheumatologist informed me that ReA didn't go away. Now I have PMR in addition to ReA. Over the years ReA was mostly forgotten. My rheumatologist said she was treating "systemic inflammation" but PMR was my "primary diagnosis" with a "history of ReA."
My rheumatologist believes that I had a partial response to Methotrexate when it was tried. Partial or not ... everything was still hurting plus my liver didn't like Methotrexate.
After PMR was treated with Actemra it became clear that ReA didn't go away. I had a flare of uveitis which is associated with ReA and not PMR. My rheumatologist said Actemra clearly worked for PMR but it might not work for ReA and uveitis.
I was on Humira which is a TNF-inhibitor used for inflammatory arthritis. Humira didn't seem to work for PMR. Since Actemra got me off Prednisone, I elected to take Actemra instead of Humira. My dose of Actemra has been tweaked numerous times. Now Actemra seems to work for all of my autoimmune problems or "systemic inflammation" as my rheumatologist prefers to call everything.
Both Actemra and Kevzara were originally treatments for RA but I don't have RA ... thank God.
Do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in the context of the Pilgrims --- English settlers who established the Plymouth Colony in North America in 1620, arriving on the Mayflower and settling in what is now Massachusetts?
Many countries only celebrate the "harvest season." I'm not sure what Canada does but Happy Thanksgiving!