Connect
← Return to Working out with PMR
Discussion
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 16 hours ago | Replies (43)
Comment receiving replies
Been on prednisone for a couple years. Was down to 2.5. Pain increased significantly. I hate taking Pred, but it works great. Two weeks ago I suggested 20mg to my Rheumatologist to kick it into remission. Pain free now for two weeks. Just waiting now to titrate and hope for the best.
Replies to "Been on prednisone for a couple years. Was down to 2.5. Pain increased significantly. I hate..."
Connect
"I hate taking Pred, but it works great."
---------------
In the short term, prednisone works great for the pain caused by the runaway chronic inflammation characteristic of PMR. Unfortunately long term prednisone use to treat PMR has significant drawbacks. The biggest drawback for me was being unable to taper off Prednisone in a timely manner.
The side effects of long term Prednisone use are well documented for RA and other autoimmune disorders. My other autoimmune disorders didn't require me to take prednisone for years. There was no cure for my other autoimmune disorders and long term Prednisone use to prevent relapses is not recommended by the medical specialists who treat them.
I think the belief that PMR will "burn itself out" is a misconception. In many cases that doesn't happen. In approximately half of PMR cases it is characterized by relapses when the Prednisone dose is lowered.
When I finally realized I might be "dependent" on prednisone, I knew something needed to change. I'm no longer dependent on Prednisone to manage my PMR symptoms. The treatment I now receive is costly but something else besides prednisone is needed for relapsing and refractory cases of PMR.
https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/how-to-treat-refractory-polymyalgia-rheumatica/#:~:text=Patients%20with%20polymyalgia%20rheumatica%20(PMR,cannot%20tolerate%20a%20glucocorticoid%20taper.