Traveling with PMR

I've had PMR for a little over a year, and am currently on a 6 week warmth seeking trip to the south to visit family and also see if the warmth helped the PMR. I won't likely try something like this again even though the warmth has been beneficial. I had tapered down to 20 mg of pred before the trip but had to go all the way back to 20 (on rheumy advice) due to a concern about GCA and that is very disheartening. I did what I could to make the trip manageable, including purchase of a Lab Cushion seat for the long plane ride and a Rx for a low dose anti-anxiety med some travel is always stressful. Both of these things helped but not enough. I found finding medical help difficult while on the road and I had to spend several days in recovery mode on several days for various reasons.
That being said - this is only my experience and I'm weighing my own costs / benefits. I love my home and friends and the setback wasn't worth it. But I'm a little high strung anyway so the trip set me up for trouble. And I haven't been dealing with PMR for years and years, so I wish I'd just been more patient.
I hope this is helpful.

I’ve had PMR since 2011 and have not let it stop me traveling. All in USA and Canada. I’ve flown a have a dozen times , many long thousand plus mile car trips. Camping, hunting and fishing trips. One flare on a hunting trip, I was pretty slow that year…. I’ve seen 3 rheumatologists at Mayo Clinic and the trip there is 6 hours and never was a mention of traveling too far. During my first year a friend came to me a said he heard I had something serious. ( his wife had been fighting cancer and other ailments for some time) . I said no! I explained briefly what it was and said it cause a lot of discomfort but I will not die from it. If anything the medicine will kill me, as I was also on Methotrexate.

I've had PMR for a little over a year, and am currently on a 6 week warmth seeking trip to the south to visit family and also see if the warmth helped the PMR. I won't likely try something like this again even though the warmth has been beneficial. I had tapered down to 20 mg of pred before the trip but had to go all the way back to 20 (on rheumy advice) due to a concern about GCA and that is very disheartening. I did what I could to make the trip manageable, including purchase of a Lab Cushion seat for the long plane ride and a Rx for a low dose anti-anxiety med some travel is always stressful. Both of these things helped but not enough. I found finding medical help difficult while on the road and I had to spend several days in recovery mode on several days for various reasons.
That being said - this is only my experience and I'm weighing my own costs / benefits. I love my home and friends and the setback wasn't worth it. But I'm a little high strung anyway so the trip set me up for trouble. And I haven't been dealing with PMR for years and years, so I wish I'd just been more patient.
I hope this is helpful.

I am on my second big trip since getting PMR in March 2024. It took doctors 2 months to diagnosis PMR. Started at 15mg prednisone and went up to 20mg. Felt pretty good tapering slowly to 12mg. First trip ok but sore after long flight to Alaska. Second trip started on December 5th with long flight to Thailand (about 20 hours). I felt better than expected at around 12mg dose. Doctor said to taper by 1mg every 3 week. At 10mg had alot of finger and hand pain and tingling.
Also neck and shoulder pain from carrying heavy day pack. I have found myself feeling better walking as much as possible and avoiding certain foods. Got case of travelers diarrhea and PMR symptoms increased. Went back to 10mg from 9mg. Feeling better but still have morning hand and wrist soreness.

Good luck to all.

Thank you for your encouragement. My hesitation is that I have a trip planned for Switzerland at the end of May, 2025, and a number of years ago, my mother had GCA. It would really trouble me to get GCA while travelling. In addition my PMR is now considered a pre-existing condition and my travel insurance will not cover anything related to that.

Thank you for your comment. Do you increase your dose back to the previous dose every time you have a setback?

Thank you for your encouragement. My hesitation is that I have a trip planned for Switzerland at the end of May, 2025, and a number of years ago, my mother had GCA. It would really trouble me to get GCA while travelling. In addition my PMR is now considered a pre-existing condition and my travel insurance will not cover anything related to that.

is a fully refundable ticket purchase an option ??

I am on my second big trip since getting PMR in March 2024. It took doctors 2 months to diagnosis PMR. Started at 15mg prednisone and went up to 20mg. Felt pretty good tapering slowly to 12mg. First trip ok but sore after long flight to Alaska. Second trip started on December 5th with long flight to Thailand (about 20 hours). I felt better than expected at around 12mg dose. Doctor said to taper by 1mg every 3 week. At 10mg had alot of finger and hand pain and tingling.
Also neck and shoulder pain from carrying heavy day pack. I have found myself feeling better walking as much as possible and avoiding certain foods. Got case of travelers diarrhea and PMR symptoms increased. Went back to 10mg from 9mg. Feeling better but still have morning hand and wrist soreness.

Good luck to all.