How to address PMR pain while decreasing prednisone

I hope you get good support from your new specialist. Normal SED and CReactive protein labs occur in about 20% of patients according to my rheumatologist and is reported in the literature.

Thanks for your reply. My response to prednisone was immediate. I had been treated with it sporadically for systemic tendonitis and bursitis and by injection for rotor cuff tears. No one connected the dots with PMR. l am at ll mg from 20 mg initially about 45 days ago. It is amazing to be able to move.

@anniegal Thanks I am looking forward
to talking with him Im taking my original papers from the Dr that diagnosed me with it My neck shoulder area hurt this morning but when I was on Prednisone it stopped the pain but no Dr since perscribed it

I don’t know what state you live on but medical cannibis has changed my life drastically for the better.

Hi @donnak142 - my son also mentioned this to me, but unfortunately we do not have that available in New Zealand. Are there any side affects with this and do you also take Prednisone? Prednisone has really mucked my body around and I would have dearly loved to have had the option to take a drug that is purely natural than Prednisone, which has such bad side affects. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that there was a drug that could help me with PMR and it gave me some sort of life back but I can't wait to get off it.

Hi, I wondered if we were considered young to have PMR. I was told it can start when you hit 50. Mine started 8 months ago, and I am 52 yrs old. I agree that stress will play a big part in this. I just got back from a week long vacation to Mexico and a day before I left lowered the prednisone to 5.5mg. I had no issues at all lowering the meds, which makes me think that having no work stress etc is what caused a lot of this in the first place. I am wondering now if I should lower the prednisone again or if it is too fast, as last time I got done to 4.5mg but was in a fair amount of pain.

@ambershe and @sammiesarah - my first onset of PMR happened when I was 64. Here's some information from the linked article below.

"Polymyalgia rheumatica is seen mainly in people of north European ancestry, although it can occur in any ethnic group. It is almost never seen in people under the age of 50, and its prevalence increases with increasing age. The average age of onset is just over 70, and 75% of patients are women. The incidence of the disease in patients over 50 is about 100 per 100 000."

National Institutes of Health - Polymyalgia rheumatica
-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2287267/

I've had 2 onsets of PMR which is currently in remission. What I've learned about tapering off of prednisone is that each of us are different in how we are affected and tapering slow worked best for me. The first occurrence took me 3 years to taper off. The last six months of those 3 years was going between 1 mg and 1/2 mg dosage. The second time around I was able to taper off more quickly - 1 and 1/2 years but the last six months or so was going from 5 mg to 2-1/2 mg to 1 mg and then off. I would work with your rheumatologist or doctor on a tapering schedule that works for you.

I think early onset may be more common than is reported but is misdiagnosed as the more common pattern is 70+. I am 73 and recently dx’ed. Going through medical history with my med team, it is obvious I had a much earlier onset.

IMHO, nothing is gained from a quick reduction in dose that 2 weeks later still leaves you in pain. You have to adjust doses to your every day life, everyday stress and all.

For me, I journal daily in an app that allows me to track exercise, nutrition, rx dosing and notes on pain level, stress or anything else noteworthy.

Doctors rely on data points to guide decision making.

I found this article helpful:
https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/amp/16020

Hi just wondering with taking prednisone is it common to get blurred eyesight and sweating more than normal, wondering if that is a common side effect?

I take drops for elevated eye pressure, and do notice that vision is worse while taking prednisone. I don't know whether my occasional sweating is caused by medicine or just too many bed clothes. 🙂