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what to expect when starting prednisone for PMR
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 16 hours ago | Replies (58)Comment receiving replies
Today is July 16, 2026. I was diagnosed July 14 and started Prednisone 15 mg once daily, the same day. I'd like to understand about other people's experiences to understand what is normal. Pre-medication, my experience was that the start of the day was very painful. Just getting out of bed took quite a long time. Over the course of the day, my body gradually became more comfortable until bedtime. Next day was almost the same pattern, start painful and mobility shaky; by end of day, if not 100% normal, certainly functional. Now with the meds, the mornings are slowly getting more manageable. Getting out of bed is a chore but not the 20 minute exercise it was pre-meds. Yesterday, I felt shaky for much of the morning but by late-morning, mid-day, I was feeling very normal and joined a luncheon with former work colleagues. So I went to bed thinking the next day (today) would be "normal." Instead, it has been the same pattern as the post-med pattern described above. I don't expect a miracle cure but would welcome hearing similar experience so I can adjust my expectations.
Replies to "Today is July 16, 2026. I was diagnosed July 14 and started Prednisone 15 mg once..."
@ruthdc
I was started on 15mg prednisone when my blood work started trickling in and my inflammation markers were off the charts. It didn't really do much for me and I should add that my pain didn't improve during the day. My hip girdle pain actually increased by night time. It's possible that was because I was only able to sleep a couple of hours each night due to the pain. When the rest of my blood work came back I was diagnosed with PMR and I was increased to 25mg prednisone. I'm also 6'3" and was 245# at the time. Even that didn't fully alleviate my shoulder pain. My blood work also pointed to a blood disorder so I was referred to a hematologist oncologist for further evaluation. After more testing and a bone marrow biopsy I was diagnosed with SMM. My rheumatologist thinks the SMM is the reason for the remaining shoulder pain but because I had a clean PET scan, my hematologist-oncologist disagrees. Because of the SMM I'm now tapering off prednisone and waiting for the approval process for kevzara to play out. I'm at 6.5mg prednisone now and I'm feeling the return of PMR pain. Again, it doesn't improve with time or light exercise.
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@ruthdc This sounds about right. Not everyone has the ‘miracle’ loss of symptoms in a few days. Took me a few weeks for symptoms to really subside. Going out to lunch sounds amazing! But once diagnosed and put on steroids I did immediately begin putting in the changes to deal with the underlying inflammatory/autoimmune issues underpinnng PMR. So that when I begin to taper off steroids the PMR symptoms don’t ‘flare’ or re-emerge. Steroids don’t cure it. They alleviate the symptoms. I have noticed how often people ‘blame’ steroids for lots of things to do with PMR. Might be right but equally arriving at the point of developing PMR means your body has already gone through a lot and is tired and exhibiting lots of unusual behaviours. Look at how to get back to normal health - exercise, sleep, nutrition, lifestyle etc - rather than blame the steroids. They are the crutches to support us while solving the cause. Appreciate them but get your body ready to move off them when youre fitter and no longer have PMR symptoms. There are great Holistic PMR groups out there to help. They resolve PMR with NO steroids. Sorry! Is this too long? Apologies. Good Luck 👍