Hello, I am writing to you, John, because you are a leader 🙂 I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with PMR, eventually I found this forum and have been very interested in the postings. They have given me a lot of information. At first I was misdiagnosed and given antibiotics which simply got rid of the good bugs in my system. Also I had shingles, with delay diagnosis, because I thought I had been bitten by a bug or spider. (I am outdoors a lot in wooded areas) My doctor started me on 3 days of 40mg. of prednisone, then to continue with 20mg. After 10 days of this, I lowered myself to 5mg as I had dizzy spells, fatigue. After 10 days of 5, I lowered it to 2.5mg. Starting to=day I am going to try to not take any and see what happens. I am doing this because I am trying to protect eyes and heart. This is my background - on the 17th January I will turn 91. Almost 4 yrs ago I had double by-pass surgery. My heart attack was a surprise to all, including my general physician. Until that time I played tennis, pickle ball and did Zumba. Until the mid 70s I was an active runner, mostly 10K and half marathons.

One of the things I am concentrating on now is diet. My normal diet is mainly vegetarian. I've continued this, but even watched it more carefully. Practically no processed food, especially sugar, organic vegetables and fruits, nuts, yogurt. I can really tell the difference when I eat "correctly" and when I slip - less pain and more energy. I am trying to be realistic. I do not expect to be free of pain as it is part of life, but to have pain at a manageable level for quality of life. It is encouraging to read about people who have flair ups, but manage to get back to lower doses.

Maggie T