Neuropathy in Hands

Hello group- the pain and tingling in both hands preceded my PMR diagnosis but I am sure the symptoms were part of PMR... While waiting for help from the the rheumatologist, I ended up with carpal tunnel surgery and have never had the painful or debilitating condition in my hands again... I am on low dose prednisone and methotrexate at this time, as other symptoms are still bothering me from the PMR- hope this helps

I was diagnosed with PMR just 10 days ago. Prior to the diagnoses, I had the pain in the forearms, hands and feet. Started prednisone 30 MG per day.
At night, the hand pain increases until morning. The morning pain in the hands and feet makes it difficult to walk and grasp items.
After taking my dosage, it can take anywhere from and hour to 5 hours for relief in the hands and feet.

@naezzo are you still at 30 mg prednisone? Was the pain relief any different when you first started taking prednisone? You might want to discuss the symptoms with your doctor or rheumatologist.

On a lighter note, my friends say I look great! The Prednisone has resulted in facial mooning and a reddish rash on my face as well. I looked rather gaunt before diagnosis. So now I am rosy cheeked, filled out, and ready to face the world! I have to look on the brighter side!
I am grateful for the benefits of Prednisone and continue to do all I can to minimize its effects.
Thanks to all of you for sharing what works for you. It has been so helpful.

Thank you for writing in detail. I have just been diagnosis with PMR two weeks ago, and had severe carpel tunnel as you described in my left hand when I woke in the am. And painful arthritis thumb joint pain on right side. My veins in both hands are enlarged and look strange. Even with prednisone 20 mg, I get aches in the same areas mentioned. It will go away, but not fully. Did that happen to you?

Yes. I've had to work my right hand with a soft rubber ball for many months. Just squeezing it as I'm watching some shows or while I'm waiting for a call to come through while working. It all came back but the middle finger, right hand which is still a little stiff. I am now able to snap my fingers, which is a good sign. Worse in the damp weather and occasional pain in the main thumb joint. Exercising it helped a lot; also bending each finger joint very slowly and massaging the base of each finger. The numbness is gone; veins are still there. I did not have this problem prior to PMR. Both hands were affected, but the right hand to a debilitating degree. Hope it goes well with you.

I think that the verdict is still out on whether or not PMR effects the hands. I have seen it listed on several different websites as a PMR symptom. Here’s an example, https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/polymyalgia-rheumatica#:~:text=You%20may%20also%20have%20trouble,the%20hand%2C%20wrist%2C%20or%20forearm. My Rheumatologist believes that the mild hand issues that I experienced before I was diagnosed were part of my PMR symptoms. They did dissipate as soon as I got on Prednisone and I can click my fingers again. I pray your hand issues are quickly resolved.

Thank you for sharing your experience with hand pain and PMR. I am 78 and have had PMR since 2020. Have been on prednisone for 4 years now down to 7 mg. And cannot get lower. I had no hand pain prior to PMR diagnosis and never had hand pain until now 4 years into PMR. I do have osteo arthritis in other places so perhaps it is that. My hand pain is constant no worse in am or pm and no stiffness. My right hand is a bit less painful than the left. I had carpal tunnel surgery in the right hand years ago. Every move of my hands hurts. I don’t know if I had it all along and the prednisone was helping the pain until I got to 7 mg. I will talk to my rheumatologist about it when I see him in May. I have also just recently begun having infections. First a cyst in my back which I had surgically removed in Sept. is now coming back. Then an infection on my chin. Oh the joys of being on prednisone but without it I would not be moving.

My rheumatologist says the same thing- PMR does not affect the hands. Mine actually started in the heal of both hands 4 years ago. The pain spread around my body (symmetrically) & has been debilitating at times. I was diagnosed after high inflammatory results from blood tests & responded quickly to Pred which I took for 2years. This worked at the 15mg but wasn’t worth taking below 7mg as the pain returned. I eventually tapered off them last August & only use over the counter anti-inflammatory meds now. The pain has recently become worse in both hands & my Rheumatologist believes I now have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I’m awaiting results from scans & blood tests. My symptoms originally started after flu & Covid vaccines which I had around the same time. I’m convinced now that my body has been damaged by the vaccine/s. There are many similar stories on online forums & I’ve read several articles online that point to vaccine damage/PMR. We just need someone to bring all cases together. Whilst compensation would be nice, I’m more concerned about finding a cure/being told it’s curable.

@chrisseig and @queenie2030 are responding to a conversation from 2022. You might be interested to see the discussion more recently including slides from Dr Sattui where he shows images of the hands in PMR patients.

re :"Rheumatoid Arthritis. I’m awaiting results from scans & blood tests" I hope that will help you moving forward. My DO did exactly that when I described pain going down the arms to hands on both sides ! But she also manipulated my neck - I have a history of stenosis in the cervical spine !

This is the link with the slides from the webinar : https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/comprehensive-overview-of-pmr/