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PMR - What do you wish you had known . . .
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Aug 13 8:45am | Replies (163)Comment receiving replies
I was diagnosed in May of this year after 3 months of increasing pain in my hips. I'm so new to this that I don't know what I really need to know. My pain is just in my hips/legs but prednisone helps quite a lot. I was started on 20 mg and have decreased to 10 without any significant increase in pain and the plan seems to taper till I can start on Kevzara. I have a couple questions for the group though and would appreciate any insights.
1. I am wondering why I haven't had shoulder pain and if that is usually something that starts simultaneously with hip pain or shows up over time.
2. Given I am tapering on prednisone what should I expect as I continue to decrease: Increased pain? Pain moving to my shoulders? Any other symptoms?
I am seeing my rheumatologist for the third time in a week and will have more input at that time, but it will be good to hear unfiltered advice you have for a newby.
Replies to "I was diagnosed in May of this year after 3 months of increasing pain in my..."
@lhk2 no idea what will or will not happen to you, now or later. But certainly we can share what happened. My pain started December (2 week after a covid booster/flu shot) and we figured PMR early January. I refused Pred because of side effects. The pain was pretty immense throughout 1st quarter 2026. March 20 started hi dose pred, 30MG, but tapering rather quickly by 5MG each week. My pain was gone within 1-2 hours after taking 1st dose. Below 10MG, then down to 1.25 (lots of pain), back to 5, then 2.5 now since June 5. The more pain that happens the harder I work out. Mind you, working out on PMR is clearly not at the level it used to be. Last few weeks all my pain has moved to shoulders, nothing (since March) in hips. Still a lot of stiffness. Hence 15-30 min stretching each day. Amazingly enough my sediment test, which Jan-March had been over 100, just mid June showed as 22, slightly about normal. My GP says trust that sediment test and start tapering by skipping Pred a day (then 2, then 3) each week. Scary. But it just amazes me that so many people here have such vastly different experiences, side effects, pains, etc. Hope this helps. Oh, my biggest lesson. Pred and PMR are separate. PMR does not go away because of pred. Pred masks the pain. If you taper off pred and PMR is still there, the pain will come back. I thought I had not tapering issues since I only took Pred for 4 or so months. Well, now we see if the PMR has gone away.
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@lhk2 My family doctor diagnosed the PMR in October of 2025 because of severe shoulder and arm pain. He started me on 20mg of Prednisone and sent me to a rheumatologist.
I got relief in 3 or 4 days. The first of December my lower back and hips started hurting with pain so bad I couldn’t walk. The Prednisone had caused osteoporosis and it caused 2 fractures in my back. In January I started the Kevzara shot every other week, with no side effects , to help reduce the Prednisone. In February I had a Prolea shot. It helped my fractures heal. I am now at 7 1/2 mg Prednisone and will have the Kevzara shot at least 6 more months. Monday I go back to rheumatologist and hopefully she will lower the Prednisone to 5 mg. I have been pain free for 6 months. Will be so happy to get off Prednisone, if at all possible.