At age 84 I have not had the shingles vaccine as I did have shingles a few years ago. What was the initial dosage that you were started on? Has your PA continued to monitor your blood Sed Rate and CRP? Tapering down on Prednisone should be slow -- and the lower the dosage the slower the decrease should be. Good Luck during follow-up care. It's tough feeling miserable.

Hello, @karlskl, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It sounds like you've dealt with a lot of pain and discomfort in the last couple of years with the polymyalgia rheumatica. I've been on prednisone for short stretches for my asthma when I've had a flare, and it's a challenging drug to be on, though it definitely works.

I actually was offered the shingles vaccine at a recent appointment. I think it's now offered for those like me who are not elderly but who have asthma or some sort of compromised immune system. I believe the doctor forgot to have the nurse return at the end of the appointment to administer the vaccine, even though I consented early in the visit. So, now I have more time to consider. However, having had shingles a number of years back, I definitely would not want that to recur and would be inclined to be vaccinated.

Does the physician's assistant think that the shingles vaccine is a likely culprit for your polymyalgia rheumatica? Is it possible they were correlated in time only?

Hello, I'm a retired British doctor in previous very good health, now 73. I received the two Shingrix shots (new non-live vaccine) last August 2019, spiked a high temperature that night but then OK. However, within 3 weeks I'd developed the symptoms and distribution of polymyalgia rheumatica - pectoral and especially pelvic girdles, big muscle groups pain and stiffness. Playing piano fine, but buttocks painful on the piano stool. It's all still there 7 months later and I'm hobbling around - though fortunately I can control it on ibuprofen, so can avoid steroids.
There was a rheumatology conference in 2019 in Ohio where academics were expressing their worries about this vaccine. It's not the vaccine itself, but a new adjuvent (added to initiate the immune response) from a tree in Chile that promotes a very intense reaction and gives highly efficient protection. But the downside is that sufferers who already have auto-immune conditions could be made worse, and also that the vaccine could actually spark new auto-immune conditions such as kariski and I are experiencing.

I had a similar reaction after the second Shingrex vaccine I received on February 29, 2020. After some fever and overall bodyaches it settled into my hips and shoulders. Getting worked up for PMR in on prednisone 10 mg which is relieving some of my symptoms. I am a pharmacist and pro vaccinations, but if it triggered my PMR I would’ve really thought about it before getting it. Very thankful to have found this forum. I wish you the very best in maintaining your optimal health.

I have the same story. I received the second Shingles vaccine in March and within 3 weeks my primary care physician diagnosed me with PMR. I don’t know if those events are related, but I sure wonder! I see the Rheumatologist Wednesday for the first time on a video conference. I am on three 5mg Prednisone per day and Vicodin as needed. I tend to take two 750 mg Vicodin cut in half (so four pills) 2 hours before bedtime, bedtime, 3 and 6 hours later. That seems to be working enough so I can sleep through the pain. The pain is minimal during the day and I can walk three miles each day but can barely raise my arms sometimes. I’ll just have to see how this plays out. I’m 70 years old and was very active. I do apply ice or Bio-freeze to my upper arms before bed and usually again in the middle of the night.

Hello @karlskl! I can’t say for certain that my initial Shingles shot or Booster has anything to do with PMR, but here is my story. I am 70 years old and August of 2019 I had surgery to reattach the Achilles’ tendon to my heel. In November I got the cast off and to reduce Inflammation was put on a 6 day Prednisone regimen where you take six 4mg MethylPrednisolone tablets, which are equal to 5mg Prednisone, then next day 5 tablets, then 4 etc. On Nov. 20th, I finished the Prednisone. On Dec 10th I had a Flu, Pneumonia and initial Shingles shot in the same day. Then Mid-January I was on the 6 day Prednisone regimen due to a swollen foot. Then mid-February I did another 6 day regimen for the same swollen foot. One month later on March 18th I had the Shingles Booster And within 48 hours the PMR started. Since PMR is believed to be an autoimmune disorder it may be all the stress my body went through from August through March that triggered it. I don’t know, but here I am on 20mg/day Of Prednisone and I suspect The Dr. will be raising that since it seems to be barely working.

I also was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica after receiving the Shingrix vaccine. I received my first dose in May 2020. By the end of June I was experiencing pain/stiffness in my neck, shoulders and hips. I am 55 years old and in fairly good shape. Being a regular at the gym, I attributed the symptoms to an over zealous workout. I took the second dose of the vaccine in July. By early August, the pain/stiffness had gotten much worse and now involved my knees. I was in so much pain I could no longer workout and could barely get out of bed. By the end of the summer, I realized there was something else going on. I was diagnosed with PMR just last week and started a round of prednisone. Within 2 days, I felt like a new person. I am hoping I won't have to be on the prednisone too long.

Your experience sounds very similar to my own. My health care provider assures me the shingles vaccinations are not related to PMR (Unsure how confident I am about this "assurance").

I got the first Shingrex vaccine and a flu shot simultaneously at the end of Sept. 2019. Within a week I was sick: low grade fever daily, painful shoulders, neck, arms, and hands with zero energy. It took 2 months to get diagnosed with PMR. I finished tapering off Prednisone on 2/20. Now I’ve had the 2nd Moderna COVID vaccine, and am experiencing severe shoulder pain and arm weakness. I’m supposing it’s a PMR flare up. I’m having Cortisone shots in both shoulders 4/5; then April 23 will have a blood test for CRP level. I’ve always been super healthy. I suggested the correlation to my Dr. and she didn’t think the shingles vaccine was the cause of PMR. Nice to know I’m not crazy.