Hello. New here and I appreciate all of the entries that I have read in the headings related to PMR. Thank you.
I take hypothyroid meds (2) for twenty plus years every morning.
I was diagnosed with PMR in October 2025. I’m 68 years old, male, 5’7”, 177lbs.
My history (attempting to connect the dots):
I have a smoothie every morning for breakfast (10 years) consisting of blueberries, strawberries, apple, banana, plain Greek yogurt and aloe vera juice. A year ago I began adding vegan protein powder.
I stopped (30 years) smoking three years ago.
Three years ago I also stopped eating meat except raw salmon and tuna, plus canned tuna. At that time I stopped dairy except the yogurt, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. I eat one whole egg every day. No beef, pork or poultry. I eat bean and soy burgers occasionally.
I was scheduled for a knee replacement in August 2025, but it was delayed because of pain in my hips. My hip pain began in April, about 4-5 months prior and I thought it was from exercise and/or stretching that I was doing in preparation for the surgery. The surgeon said that he wanted an MRI of my hips. They weren’t too terrible but he said that both hips also needed to be replaced.
I was overwhelmed and he knew it so he told me to take a week and thenschedule the surgeries.
The curious thing for me was that the actual joints in my hips did not hurt. The pain felt like it was in the tendons connecting muscles to bones near the joints. Then the same type pain began above my calf below my good knee, but not in the joint. Then, both shoulders became painful. That made me question the real cause of the pain because I have two artificial shoulders. Total and complete replacements which were necessary and are now perfect.
After a week, I told my surgeon that I wanted to wait 6 months and then reschedule.
I didn’t tell him but i began taking supplements and doing target exercises to see if I could make improve and not need the hip replacements.
I began taking Marine Collagen Peptides and my major muscle groups really felt like I was body building. BUT (BIG BUT!) my hips, upper calf and shoulders got horribly worse. A long 2-day drive road trip and return was almost unbearable while driving. When I got home, I felt like a beached whale being crushed under my own weight every morning. Sitting and rising from a toilet was nearing impossible. Dressing below my waist was a slow painful effort. The soles of my feet and the palms of my hands felt like my bones were made of razor blades and hurt, hurt, hurt. I stopped the marine collagen peptides, even though everything I had researched said it was good for joint associated pain. I read today on this website that others reported PMR after taking collagen peptides.
Six months ago I bought and began treating toenail fungus on my big toes only with ultraviolet light (15 minutes on each, twice daily.) An inexpensive device that along with an over-the-counter topical liquid worked. No more fungus. BUT, I read that PMR can be manifested by UV light.
I don’t like taking medicines but began taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen which helped a little.
(One year ago, December 2024, I received a flu shot and Shingles vaccines. I’m due for a COVID-19 vaccine booster but will discuss it with my PCP in January 2026, during my next PMR follow-up. I mention these because I read on this site that someone reported that they got PMR after Shingles vaccine.)
That’s my relavent history, I think.
I went to my PCP. I told my PCP about the UV light treatments and marine collagen peptides. He said that he was unaware that either caused PMR or made it worse, but definitely stop using both, which I had already done. He prescribed a steroid pack of Methylprednisone. 6 pills the first day, 5 on the next…, finally 1 on the sixth day.
The second day, I felt cured. I felt great! No pain anywhere. Then, by the next to the last day the pain crept back and I couldn’t wait until it was time for the evening pill that day. I took the last pill the next morning. It did little good. The next morning I was back to feeling that my hips were being crushed by my own weight again. Like before, the pain woke me before sunrise and I suffered until I could take acetaminophen. He told me not to use the ibuprofen.
I had scheduled a follow up appointment with my PCP (as a just in case) and it was the next day. I’m glad I had.
My PCP informed me that he suspected before, and now he was certain, that I had PMR.
He said he treats about 2-3 patients a year with PMR and felt a specialist wasn’t necessary, but that was an option if I desired.
He prescribed 20mg Prednisone, twice per day, with food and Omeprazole to protect my stomach. After 2 days, I felt no pain anywhere again.
One month later he suggested that I try to taper the Prednisone to 15 mg twice a day and see how I felt. The pain began to return so I began taking and still take 20 mg in the morning and 15mg at night. That’s has worked fine.
Now, one month later I plan on trying to taper to 15mg twice per day for a month.
If that is successful, I’ll try 15mg in the am and 10 mg at night.
My PCP did tell me that it might be 1-2 years before I would be fully weaned off of the Prednisine, however everyone is different and that we’d hope for sooner….like 6 months or a year.
My experience with this, PMR, is only about half a year and diagnosed only for a little over two months. My hands and feet still hurt occasionally but not like they did and I can live with it, although I do hope it goes away. Occasionally, my hips hurt but it’s minor (it could be from exercising or stretching) and I can live with that too. I have not stopped exercising, treadmill 30 minutes to one hour daily or changed my diet.
If you read all of this, bless you. I know it was long. I did it to share my experience if it could help someone else, add more variables, to chronicle my adventure for myself, and to seek advice and learn from others’ experience. Replies and comments are welcome.
I wish you the very best.