PMR and herbs, dietary supplements

Hello @sharenb, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Sorry to hear your husband is struggling with PMR. Thank you for being his advocate. PMR by itself is hard enough but also being a type two diabetic makes it much more difficult. My PMR is in remission but I take a liquid turmeric supplement and I do like an organic ginger turmeric tea that I've bought at Trader Joe's. I think the turmeric helps a little with the inflammation but if the PMR is active I don't think it helps that much. There is another discussion that you might find helpful.

PMR Diet: Foods to eat and avoid: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/diet-and-pmr/

@alanbruce, @beryl, @jallenaz and others may have some suggestions for you.

Is your husband on prednisone now? Is it helping with the pain and weakness?

Oral prednisone was discontinued 6 days ago, and he was given a one-time injection. He is now taking Sulfasalazine. The oral and injected prednisone only helped for a few days. The swelling in his hands and feet has decreased. It is very difficult for him to go from sitting to standing. We are looking for suggestions for therapies, exercises, and assistive devices. He is 5’10”. Nine days ago he weighed 167 lbs. Today, he weighed 158.
He has been careful about restricting simple carbs from his diet. We will definitely start trying the recommendations described in the article.

@sharenb I have no medical training or background but my first occurrence of PMR took me a little over 3 years before I was able to taper off of prednisone which was started at a 20 mg dosage. The second occurrence of PMR six years later took me about 1-1/2 years before I was able to taper off and the PMR went into remission. I've never heard of an occurrence of PMR that only lasted a few months (not to say that it couldn't happen). I have no experience with injections given to treat PMR. Can you tell me what injection was given to help the PMR?

Here is an article that you may find helpful. 3 Strategies for Coping with Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): https://www.arthritis-health.com/blog/3-strategies-coping-polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr

Have you discussed the symptoms of your husband's difficulty going from sitting to standing with his doctor? When my PMR was active and I was in pain, it was difficult for me to go from sitting to standing and I also had to be careful sitting down.

Thanks for your reply and suggestions, John. The injection Bob got was a steroid. Today, my sweet sister delivered a lift chair and a walker that she isn’t using. The chair has been very helpful. I would like Bob to participate in warm warm water therapy as soon as the facility is able to reopen. I know RA patients find that type of exercise gives them great short-term relief. I don’t know if it helps with PMR. I created a chart to track his weight, morning sugar count, pain level and location. I would like to compile a list of questions for his doctor, but really don’t know what to ask. Some questions are about his Vitamin D level, physical therapy, chair yoga, appetite stimulates, changing his diabetes medication, and any other questions the PMR group suggests.

I have found water exercises to be helpful. We have a pool in our back yard, so I used that..the water was a nice 88 degrees. I declined using the pools at a Physical Therapy facility because the Covid policies were not satisfactory to me. I bought the medium weight pool dumbells...not heavy AT ALL, but the foam on them creates resistance when used below the water surface . I would do simple exercises with them and also 'jogging' (not touching the bottom) while using a floatation device. Afterward, I would shower and keep a heating pad on my back for a while and the stiffness would decrease and stay down for a few hours. Every little bit of respite helps. Good luck.