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Hello,
Glad to have found this group.
Recently diagnosed with PMR, I may have had it over a year. (Is that possible?) I had lots of pain in the morning but could exercise my way out of it. I kept asking people and doctors if it was common to experience so much pain in the morning at my age. (68)
In March, the pain suddenly became excruciating. I began 20mg of prednisone and had instant relief. In less than 24 hours, I felt better than I had in over a year.
I've weaned myself to 7mg but do have some pain. It is very manageable for me, much less than I've experienced in the past year. I'm extremely active. I run/walk/lift/and babysit my young granddaughter 3 days a week, so never sure if the pain is PMR or from overuse. This worries me because I don't want to discount the pain and cause the PMR to spike.
I have been gluten-free for 15 years and am somewhat on an anti-inflammatory diet now. I've lost 10 pounds. That's a lot for me. Not a bad problem to have but concerning.
More concerning is my doctor wants me to add injections of Kevzara. Anyone have these? I have had stomach issues all my life, including diverticulosis and irritable bowel. She said as long as I don't develop diverticulitis, I'm good taking Kevzara.
Any and all suggestions welcomed.
Replies to "Hello, Glad to have found this group. Recently diagnosed with PMR, I may have had it..."
I’ve been on Kevzara. For 12 weeks. Most successful. Able to taper prednisone easily and quickly. Am at 3.5 mg now and able to taper .5 weekly. Might be able to do it quicker, but don’t want to go too fast.
No side effects.
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I had PMR for about a year before being diagnosed, and GCA for about 5 months. I blamed my symptoms on aging, a sinus infection, etc. I only sought treatment when I began having episodes of temporary vision loss in one eye (my eyes are ok now).
I have been taking Actemra injections for 10 months to treat the GCA. Actemra is similar to Kevzara in that both inhibit IL-6, and both have similar warnings about possible bowel issues. I have had diverticulosis, SIBO, and IBS-C previously. I haven't had any issues with the Actemra injections.