1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)
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Does a change in weather cause your PMR to flare?

Posted by jsteck @jsteck, Jun 5, 2025

I woke up in the middle of last night because our dog is afraid of storms and was whining. Well, now I think I am too. This is the third time in as many weeks that I have had a difficult day when it has been storming. Is it in my head or do others here experience the same thing?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

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villager | @villager | May 5 5:20am

The only weather related flare I have noticed happened a couple of months ago when I got a bad sunburn while in Florida. My hips and shoulder definitely reacted to the inflammation of the sunburn. Only lasted a couple of days.

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jsteck | @jsteck | May 5 5:40am
In reply to @lovey77 "I am taking 9 MG tapering. We just had lots of rain and cold temperatures. I..." + (show)
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I am taking 9 MG tapering. We just had lots of rain and cold temperatures. I woke up with bad pain in neck, shoulders and hips. Also stiffness and generally feeling awful. Otherwise I am doing fine at 9 MG but this really threw me in a dizzy. Anyone else have this?

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@lovey77 I have been tapering for a year now. I am finally back down to 3mg. I had made it all the way to 1mg and experienced a flare that, over a few weeks, took me all the way back to 5mg. As it turned out, I had also thrown my back out and this was adding to my “perceived” symptoms. Although, I did have shoulder and hip pain, the back didn’t help. I also have arthritis in my joints which is affected by weather. My PMR, not so much. With all the other aches and pains I have at this age it is hard for me to differentiate their source(s) sometimes. This has been a journey for me. I wish you and all the participants here the best a long the way, hopefully to a happy ending.

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1 reply
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davebaker | @davebaker | May 5 7:02am

Changes in barometric pressure have always impacted my pain and stiffness. Was diagnosed with PMR in 2021 and then was told I have "overlapping RA" along with the PMR. I am on 20mg Methotrexate injection once per week and daily I take 400 mg Hydroxychloroquine and 5 mg of Prednisone. Every time I drop to 4 mg of Prednisone the pain and stiffness starts back in my hips and shoulders. I watch the weather constantly and can pretty much predict a change coming. Funny though, I have no issues when I am in Aruba!

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2 replies
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jsteck | @jsteck | May 5 7:42am
In reply to @davebaker "Changes in barometric pressure have always impacted my pain and stiffness. Was diagnosed with PMR in..." + (show)
Profile picture for davebaker @davebaker

Changes in barometric pressure have always impacted my pain and stiffness. Was diagnosed with PMR in 2021 and then was told I have "overlapping RA" along with the PMR. I am on 20mg Methotrexate injection once per week and daily I take 400 mg Hydroxychloroquine and 5 mg of Prednisone. Every time I drop to 4 mg of Prednisone the pain and stiffness starts back in my hips and shoulders. I watch the weather constantly and can pretty much predict a change coming. Funny though, I have no issues when I am in Aruba!

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@davebaker let’s all move to Aruba! I wonder if I can get a prescription for that?

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aussiedogmom | @aussiedogmom | May 5 8:53am

Absolutely! Yes! 100%! Every time!

I started on Kevzara 2 years ago, and also take 2.5 mg Prednisone daily.

I have been surprised and caught off guard enough times now that I know to check the weather whenever I feel a downturn for several days.

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2 replies
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jsteck | @jsteck | May 5 9:35am
In reply to @aussiedogmom "Absolutely! Yes! 100%! Every time! I started on Kevzara 2 years ago, and also take 2.5..." + (show)
Profile picture for aussiedogmom @aussiedogmom

Absolutely! Yes! 100%! Every time!

I started on Kevzara 2 years ago, and also take 2.5 mg Prednisone daily.

I have been surprised and caught off guard enough times now that I know to check the weather whenever I feel a downturn for several days.

Jump to this post

@aussiedogmom I am going to have to start checking the weather against my hip and shoulder pain in particular. Do you feel “down” mentally when you are trying to taper? The doldrums?

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2 replies
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lovey77 | @lovey77 | May 5 10:35am
In reply to @JustinMcClanahan "Hello @lovey77, I combined your discussion on PMR and weather flares with an existing discussion titled:..." + (show)
Profile picture for Justin McClanahan, Moderator @JustinMcClanahan

Hello @lovey77,

I combined your discussion on PMR and weather flares with an existing discussion titled:

"Does a change in weather cause your PMR to flare?"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/does-a-change-in-weather-cause-your-pmr-to-flare/

Here you can meet @boo3, @grownupcf, @jsteck and @dlb3 who have shared their experiences with this topic.

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@JustinMcClanahan Thank you for doing that. All the replies helped me understand what was happening to me.

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lovey77 | @lovey77 | May 5 10:42am
In reply to @jsteck "@lovey77 I have been tapering for a year now. I am finally back down to 3mg...." + (show)
Profile picture for jsteck @jsteck

@lovey77 I have been tapering for a year now. I am finally back down to 3mg. I had made it all the way to 1mg and experienced a flare that, over a few weeks, took me all the way back to 5mg. As it turned out, I had also thrown my back out and this was adding to my “perceived” symptoms. Although, I did have shoulder and hip pain, the back didn’t help. I also have arthritis in my joints which is affected by weather. My PMR, not so much. With all the other aches and pains I have at this age it is hard for me to differentiate their source(s) sometimes. This has been a journey for me. I wish you and all the participants here the best a long the way, hopefully to a happy ending.

Jump to this post

@jsteck Thank you for your input. I don't have arthritis except in left hip. I was pretty miserable but did not increase prednisone. Just waited to see if this would pass. It did. Next week I get to go down 1 MG and am hopeful that I can continue my tapering on schedule.

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lovey77 | @lovey77 | May 5 10:49am
In reply to @davebaker "Changes in barometric pressure have always impacted my pain and stiffness. Was diagnosed with PMR in..." + (show)
Profile picture for davebaker @davebaker

Changes in barometric pressure have always impacted my pain and stiffness. Was diagnosed with PMR in 2021 and then was told I have "overlapping RA" along with the PMR. I am on 20mg Methotrexate injection once per week and daily I take 400 mg Hydroxychloroquine and 5 mg of Prednisone. Every time I drop to 4 mg of Prednisone the pain and stiffness starts back in my hips and shoulders. I watch the weather constantly and can pretty much predict a change coming. Funny though, I have no issues when I am in Aruba!

Jump to this post

@davebaker Thank you for answering my question.

REPLY
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lovey77 | @lovey77 | May 5 10:51am
In reply to @aussiedogmom "Absolutely! Yes! 100%! Every time! I started on Kevzara 2 years ago, and also take 2.5..." + (show)
Profile picture for aussiedogmom @aussiedogmom

Absolutely! Yes! 100%! Every time!

I started on Kevzara 2 years ago, and also take 2.5 mg Prednisone daily.

I have been surprised and caught off guard enough times now that I know to check the weather whenever I feel a downturn for several days.

Jump to this post

@aussiedogmom Thank you. Yes I agree with you.

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