Polymyalgia Rheumatica treatment options

Okay, just about ready to give up. On 17.5 Prednisone down from 20 started in April. Prednisone has brought on diabetic symptoms which has made me exhausted. I wanted to try Prednisone and for two months it was absolutely wonderful. I tapered to 15 and had to start again at 20. Maybe I was better off when I got cortisone shots in back, shoulder or hands whenever I needed them—every 4-6 months. Sorry I started Prednisone but I needed relief and wanted to try it. How can I ever get off it? Too many side effects. I have a good doctor but can't get an appointment with a rheumatologist .

Also showed immediate improvement; 80% immediate improvement sounds right. Now in month 7 (currently at 10mg prednisone) and riding with some frequency, about 100 miles per week. Still stiff in am, feel better after ride, but pain still present in later afternoon and evenings. Imagine that lack of exercise would make this considerably worse.

Understand declining my prednisone (started at 20 in Feb, now at 10) prescription will last about 12 months. Will decline by ~1 mg per month. Was told that this was optimal long-term treatment. Only comment here is that 60mg sounds remarkably high and would remove most inflammation immediately. Good luck to your husband.

Hello @bix53, I see that you have already connected with @joanna626 and I would like to add my welcome to Connect. It sounds like you are doing well with your prednisone tapering schedule. I also think exercise is important but if I did too much, I would pay for it later that day or the next. It was kind of a balancing act with exercise for me during both of my PMR occurrences.

There is another discussion you might also find helpful:
--- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/.

What was your starting dose of prednisone after being diagnosed with PMR?

I would like to know if anyone has used diclofenac or any other anti-inflammatory long term and had a reduction or remission of PMR symptoms

I was taking a lot of ibuprofen before diagnosis, every 4-6 hrs for many weeks. I knew it would destroy my kidneys if I kept going and the pain relief was very transient.
I had tried diclofenac previously for other joint inflammation and it gave me gut pain, pretty sure it would not have helped with my PMR pain. Sadly, Prednisone, with all its problems was the answer.

What I find now that I'm nearly 18mths down the track after developing PMR and on minimal Prednisone and low dose Plaquinil, is that my inflammation pains are mostly osteoarthritis and 1200mg slow release Paracetamol once or twice a week is enough to keep me active.

I tried diclofenac before my diagnosis. I got it from a friend, since my gp wouldn’t prescribe it. For one day I felt great! But after that it never worked again. Weird.

I guess I’m looking for any solution to this problem besides taking prednisone. Just wondering if this thing ever just runs its course. Since nobody knows what causes it, nobody might know when it goes away either.

There are many examples on this blog of people who were successful with taking prednisone and then tapering off. It is important to feel well enough to continue with your life. And even if you have to increase your prednisone in the midst of tapering of you will then trend back down to lower doses after you feel better. It may take a year? depending on how it goes but you get to keep on living your life as best you can. Eat healthy excercise and enjoy life.

Ironically the diagnosis of this PMR condition is primarily does it go away when you are taking prednisone? For me it was within a day or so of starting prednisone that my condition improved dramatically. I started at 15 mg but 20mg is also common. The difference in terms of tapering is maybe a month in a process that takes something like a year if you do well with it.