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PMR - What do you wish you had known . . .
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 9 hours ago | Replies (73)Comment receiving replies
@wendybfrompgbc ask your dr abt biologics….Kevzara got me off prednisone and I have no side effects from kevzara 🙏
Replies to "@wendybfrompgbc ask your dr abt biologics….Kevzara got me off prednisone and I have no side effects..."
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@tweetypie13
IL-6 inhibitors do offer a ray of hope for people who have used prednisone for a long time to treat PMR and GCA. Actemra (tocilizumab) allowed me to taper off after 12 years of prednisone. I have to admit that 12 years of prednisone with all of my PMR relapses while taking prednisone were making me depressed. It wasn't very helpful when I was told that prednisone was the best and only option for PMR and that it was okay for me to take prednisone for the rest of my life. My rheumatologist believed otherwise.
I have now been on Actemra for 7 years and I feel much better without any relapses and all of the agonizing pain every time I relapsed. I still have some "tolerable" pain but I don't expect to have no pain. My side effects from Actemra are minimal if any. I have osteoarthritis so that explains much of my lingering pain.