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Update on diagnoses-now

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jul 23 10:03am | Replies (12)

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Profile picture for Mike @dadcue

I wish more people with RA would stay with us. Their experience with getting diagnosed and treatment is invaluable to people with PMR. We still have a lot in common. I have a type of seronegative nflammatory arthritis and PMR. I'm not the only one with both. Treating PMR was my main focus for the last 20 years.

Let me guess ... the monthly infusion you will get is a TNF-inhibitor like Humira or Enbrel.

I'm surprised Kevzara which is an IL-6 inhibitor isn't used more often for seronegative inflammatory arthritis. Kevzara is FDA approved for both PMR and RA along with other types of inflammatory arthritis. There are many overlapping symptoms of inflammatory arthritis and PMR but prednisone isn't the best treatment for inflammatory arthritis.

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Replies to "I wish more people with RA would stay with us. Their experience with getting diagnosed and..."

@dadcue
Thank you so much for your feedback and I will stay with this group.
After I finally got a Rheumatologist, I was started on Methotrexate. I sorta managed two weeks but I got horrible diarrhea. It took weeks for my system to settle down.
My infusion medication is Orencia and just had my first dose yesterday, 7/20/26. My most noticeable reaction was my bladder was hyperactive for over 12 hours. Clear urine mostly during this time.
I will continue to give updates but would like to hear from others that have taken this medication. Thanks!

@dadcue
Both kevzara and actemra are approved for RA if I remember correctly. Kevzara is approved for PMR and actemra for GCA. Both are similar in being IL-6 inhibitors. Kevzara was undergoing testing for GCA but the testing was cancelled because of covid and that seems to be the reason why it's not approved for GCA. Actemra is prescribed over kevzara for PMR when GCA is also involved. It seems that RA, PMR and GCA are all relevant to this conversation because of the Rx.