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← Return to Intimations of life after PMR
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They say PMR doesn't do any lasting damage in spite of the chronic inflammation. I found that hard to believe while I was bombarded with warnings of all the damage that long term prednisone can do.
I remember when my shoulders hurt so much that I told a physical therapist that nothing can hurt that much without doing some serious damage.
"Unlike other forms of joint inflammatory conditions, PMR does not cause progressive or permanent damage or disability to the muscles and joints."
https://www.arthritis-health.com/types/polymyalgia-rheumatica/what-polymyalgia-rheumatica.
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And ...
"It can cause inflammation and swelling of the joints, muscles and surrounding soft tissues (i.e. bursa). Thankfully, PMR does not cause permanent joint damage."
https://myfamilyphysio.com.au/polymyalgia-rheumatica/
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Personally, I seem to have a lot of residual arthritic damage. Maybe I didn't have PMR after all OR maybe it was all of the prednisone. I remember when a tendon ruptured spontaneously and that was blamed on all of the prednisone I took. My shoulders don't seem to be damaged at all. All of my damage is in my lumbar spine, and legs with some minor damage to my feet and hands. More than likely ... it was a combination of PMR with inflammatory arthritis as my rheumatologist said at the start of PMR. This was reaffirmed later by another rheumatologist who simply said I had a "full range of rheumatic conditions" and multiple autoimmune conditions.
Stay strong and I also pray that you are off prednisone by July.
Replies to "@dswilson913 They say PMR doesn't do any lasting damage in spite of the chronic inflammation. I..."
@dadcue
Mike, I read your posts often and appreciate your insights and experience. I am overwhelmed with your journey; 12 years on pred, whew!
I was happily rocking along on my 10mg after PMR dx. Oct.2025. Then GCA came along. My pcp increased to 40mg. I had a rt. temporal artery biopsy confirming the diagnosis. Three days later my first rheumy visit was March 12th. She started me with Actemra infusion, keeping me on pred, of course. I switched to weekly Tyenne selfinjections one month later. That kept me from driving 1hr.each way and insurance would only cover Tyenne for self injections. It covered the Actemra infusions 100%. Go figure.....
Anyway, my rheumy has decreased pred to 30 then 20 in April,
10mg May and 5mg this month. I will be tapering 1mg per month going forward IF no flares. She says it can take 1-2+ years for some to go into remission. At least, hopefully, I'll be off the pred.
The different treatment approaches and recommendations I read that different docs take indicates to me that PMR and GCA have no standard of care. As you say, everyone is different and these autoimmune diseases can be vicious.
I pray for all of you on this forum. Yes, it takes alot of "hanging in there".
@dadcue yes, indeed, if they ever actually uncover the causes for many of these illnesses, I suspect they'll find that the current diagnostic "boxes" they put us in don't actually mean much. The boxes sometimes make it easier to treat the symptoms, and at other times they don't. Given, of course, that they are unable to treat what is actually wrong.
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@dadcue Thank you.