You are so right about the markers, and I am grateful for your comments. My inflammatory markers were, initially, high. After a short period of treatment with prednisone, they dropped into the normal range. After about six months of reduction in dosage, as the dosage decreased, the pain increased. My doctor(s) would not accept that the PMR was still alive and well in my body because the markers did not reflect that. After a year (and four opinions later), I went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Within a short period of time, the rheumatologist told me that I was one of the people for whom the markers had no meaning. She increased the prednisone, and the pain went away.

Because of what I experienced, I have often wondered how many patients have an autoimmune disease which is affecting their quality of life, and it is going undiagnosed because some doctors are depending entirely upon elevated markers for inflammation to make their diagnosis.