Use of a sauna with PMR

I have GCA. I haven’t been diagnosed with PMR, but I suspect it. I take saunas and it does help with pain and I haven’t noticed any negative effects from it.

@curlyqlinda1, There are times when I wished I had a sauna. There have been some members with PMR who have commented on using a sauna in other discussions. Here's a link to that shows the comments while you wait for members to respond - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/comments/?search=PMR%20+sauna.
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@richer, Welcome to Connect. Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with GCA. When my PMR was active my primary care doctor and my rheumatologist were always watching for symptoms of GCA which is more serious. There are quite a few discussions on GCA if you want to scan through them - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=GCA. Have you started a treatment for the GCA?

I was recently on vacation and had access to a sauna. After sitting in one I felt like a new person, really helped with pain and stiffness. I have a hot tub at home and that helps as well but does not work as well as a sauna

Thanks, John. I had never heard of either disease until I lost vision in my right eye. At most I’ve had mild symptoms for GCA and inflammation markers were only mildly elevated. The ER docs thought I’d had a stroke, but the ophthalmologist recommended temporal biopsy, which came back positive for GCA. I’ve been tracking other symptoms regarding PMR for my next meeting with my rheumatologist. I’m tapering down on prednisone and I take once weekly actemra injections.