Connect
← Return to Emotional Roller Coaster and PMR
Discussion
Emotional Roller Coaster and PMR
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
@cheraloha welcome to the PMR journey - it is never a dull moment - but there will be days and weeks when you wish you could change trains or planes or spaceships. You did not mention how much prednisone you are on, but if it is helping you might speak to your doctor or write them a note if you use an electronic portal about upping your dose some. My understanding is if you require more than 20mg a day then it is worth considering that there is something else at play. I had to wait to see my rheumy and my PCP offered to start me on 5mg and go up 1 mg per every 2 weeks to see what dosage was the smallest dosage that worked for me. I did not accept the offer. In retrospect I wish I had. My Rheumy wanted me to start at 40mg/day and I turned that down flat. Long story but I did finally get treated for the PMR. I am now dealing with several other problems associated with my adverse reaction, which was 6, yes 6, years ago.
Replies to "@cheraloha welcome to the PMR journey - it is never a dull moment - but there..."
Connect
I agree with @jabrown0407 that your dose sounds like it is too low if you are not getting complete relief from your pain. I lived with undiagnosed PMR for a year before being diagnosed with GCA in an emergency situation. I was starting to have vision problems from the GCA, and could have lost the vision in one or potentially both eyes if I hadn't gotten treatment in time. I regret now not getting treatment earlier for the PMR. I blamed my problems on other things such as aging. I've been taking prednisone for the past 8 months, and Actemra for the past 7 months. I started at 60 mg a day on the prednisone, and now I'm down to 8. I had a lot of insomnia until the prednisone dose got down to around 40 mg per day. Other than that, I've gained just a little weight and had some trouble with my muscles while exercising. The muscle problems seemed to have cleared up as I got the prednisone dose down to 10 mg per day. I haven't had any pain from the PMR or GCA since I started treatment 8 months ago, and I feel much better than when the PMR began a year and a half ago.