How does Kevzara help with PMR symptoms and pain? I am being weaned

@kjoed53 I’m retired and my wife still works so I’m accustomed to the gig. She’s finally retiring in June.

I told my PCP about Prednisone not allowing me to sleep so he prescribed me Temazapam 30mg for sleep. He said they were less addictive that alternatives.
I take one every night. I’ll worry about that addiction if it happens. Right now I’m addicted to Prednisone, (4 months) and am slowly working (tapering safely and as rapidly as I can) at ending the addiction to it (started at 40mg and now 7.5mg. Like you, I weigh benefits to risks and lol, I’m stopping one addiction at a time. I’ll worry about sleeping pills after I’m off Prednisone, if I’m addicted to them.
Sleep is a must with this. Tell your doctor you need something to assure to get sleep.

One thing I did early on, was tell my PCP that I need him to be my “Chief” doctor. I let him know what the specialists recommend, but he’s in charge. He understands my situation and he has already helped me change a dosage and frequency prescribed by a specialist. I told the specialist and she was real good with his recommendation.
All of my doctors are in the same”group” or “system.” I’ve made that happen so they can see everything all that is going on and don’t have to ask me.

@kjoed53 I’m retired and my wife still works so I’m accustomed to the gig. She’s finally retiring in June.

I told my PCP about Prednisone not allowing me to sleep so he prescribed me Temazapam 30mg for sleep. He said they were less addictive that alternatives.
I take one every night. I’ll worry about that addiction if it happens. Right now I’m addicted to Prednisone, (4 months) and am slowly working (tapering safely and as rapidly as I can) at ending the addiction to it (started at 40mg and now 7.5mg. Like you, I weigh benefits to risks and lol, I’m stopping one addiction at a time. I’ll worry about sleeping pills after I’m off Prednisone, if I’m addicted to them.
Sleep is a must with this. Tell your doctor you need something to assure to get sleep.

One thing I did early on, was tell my PCP that I need him to be my “Chief” doctor. I let him know what the specialists recommend, but he’s in charge. He understands my situation and he has already helped me change a dosage and frequency prescribed by a specialist. I told the specialist and she was real good with his recommendation.
All of my doctors are in the same”group” or “system.” I’ve made that happen so they can see everything all that is going on and don’t have to ask me.

@stonewheel
My primary thought I was dealing with a pinched nerve in my neck because I was diagnosed with severe arthritis, spondylosis and stenosis in my cervical spine several years ago. She sent me to a spinal specialist for pain management. I had cortisone shots for the pain and PT for 5 weeks before Cigna would approve an MRI. By this time it was not just my neck and shoulders, it was my hips and thighs. I had an MRI for my cervical spine and when the spine specialist saw the results, he referred me to a neurosurgeon. The first neurosurgeon I saw was leaning toward surgery but had the lead neurosurgeon see me because he thought there was more going on. The second neurosurgeon determined that the pain I had was not due to any of my spinal issues. His opinion was that I had an undiagnosed autoimmune disease. He referred me to a rheumatologist. By now I was out of my primary's network but it was a trade-off because I was able to see four doctors in a seven week span because each used their influence. I keep my primary up to date on everything and will tighten this up as soon as my rheumatologist is fully comfortable with the PMR diagnosis. Hopefully that happens next week.

@kjoed53 Sounds like you’re doing everything as right as you can.

It’s easier to deal with, when you have a solid diagnosis.

“Easy” is not the right word, ‘cause this not easy, but you know what I mean.

I’ll add that I got approved, by my ins. co., so soon after my diagnosis, was because Prednisone put me in the ER with a blood clot. My rheumatologist pushed for it. The ER and hospital stay (4+ days was the deal maker, I’m sure.)
Not the ideal way to get approval.

Right now it’s too early for me to comment on my results using Kevzara other than “so far so good.”
With it, I’ve gone from 25mg/day to 7,5mg /day, in 9 weeks.

Do get sleep.
8 hours each 24 hours.
You need it with PMR.

Best wishes.
I’m off to bed for my 8.

I have had PMR for 14 months. Weaned down on the prednisone to 5 mg still with lots of morning pain. Also taking 2000 mg of Tylenol daily. Finally gave up on my dream of totally weaning off prednisone and decided to try Kevzara. I have had two injections and all of my pain is nearly gone. You get so used to the pain you forget what it is like to be nearly pain free. I am curious about what my blood is going to think of Kevzara...but it is great to be nearly pain free.

@stonewheel
I'm on eliquis because of my AFib and the risk of stroke that comes with it.

@linnead
Great news, loved it too.
Am now off it 🤞

@tweetypie13 What was your process to get off of Kevzara? How long were you on it?