Radically changed my diet to one that involved eliminating everything that is inflammatory or that could be a cause of leaky gut. No animal protein, no glute, no dairy, no oils, no alcohol, and nothing inflammatory. Only foods that promote healing.

It is part of the Paddison Program. Clint Paddison healed himself of RA and developed the program. He now uses the same method for many types of autoimmunes. Including PMR.

Good question ... I was wondering what the root cause was too. Stress from any number of things is said to contribute to immune system dysfunction.

Flares are said to be triggered by stressful events. Avoiding stress is hard to do but "lifestyle changes" help people to cope with stress better. I think there are ways to reduce the inflammation that stress can cause. Diet and exercise along with better sleep habits can all help to reduce inflammation which can be beneficial.

The root cause of PMR isn't clear to me and I don't think anyone knows exactly what causes PMR or autoimmune disorders in general.

Treatment with Prednisone only addresses the symptoms of PMR but doesn't address the root cause. Prednisone never cures anything and is somewhat like putting a bandage on the problem or sweeping the problem under the rug.

What I have learned from my experience with PMR is that IL-6 is implicated in the pathogenesis of PMR. The biologic that targeted the IL-6 cytokine seems to address the root cause of PMR for me. However, I'm aware that the same treatment won't work for every person with PMR. Technically, I still have PMR. I don't need Prednisone anymore. I'm still being treated but I don't feel like I have PMR anymore.

My rheumatologist says my immune system isn't likely to ever forget about what it has been attacking for so many years. For some reason ... that seemed like an awful thing to say but it was probably an honest thing to say.

I’m eating healthier than ever. Actually I’ve been gradually getting better ever since 2019 after a bad bout of Covid. First quit smoking, next lost 60 lbs and quit drinking 3 1/2 years ago. If what I truly have is PMR I think it started after the first round of Covid but it could have been earlier or even after my second bout in Sept of 2021. In the past it was always in my hips and back, girdling, but this event that started April 26 was all head, neck and shoulders. At its worst I told my wife it felt like I’d gone to the gym and did every upper body machine way too much. I went to my health and wellness doc about two weeks into this and had lost 5 lbs and gained 2 lbs of muscle. I told her whatever I had was making my body workout, lol. Fortunately, I’ve taken control with the help of pred and managing much better. Did a split dose last night and this morning, 5/10. So far so good! Started at 40 mg a couple weeks ago so headed in the right direction and sleeping, woohoo!