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GCA (Giant Cell Arteritis) and PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica)
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Feb 12 11:08am | Replies (262)Comment receiving replies
I’m in the same boat. Started with PMR, I think, then had the GCA symptoms but no diagnosis. I went for a few months before my Gen practice MD ran tests and found abnormalities in my blood work up but not definite PMR, decided to put me on 15 mg Prednisone and within 24 hours I was feeling somewhat normal. As I was tapering ( now know I went too fast) a couple of months later I got the head pain, jaw stiffness, and visual distortions. My doc put me immediately back to 15. Symptoms disappeared immediately. She didn’t bother to get a biopsy ( covid related) and said my symptoms were enough to treat it as GCA. So, I am quite concerned about the GCA, more than the PMR. I’m slowly tapering, and I mean snail pace. 10 mg now and only going down .5 /3-4 weeks. I too hate the prednisone but feel I have no other options.
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Ask your Dr. If tapering and taking a low dose of Naltrexone (LDN 4.5) might be a good idea for you? That is what my naturalpathic Dr has me doing. I was going down at a rate of 2.5 a week from 20 ml of prednisone. Now I will stay at 10ml for a few weeks bc of some mornings biceps pain.
I keep thinking that I might have the beginning of GCA Dr. dosen't think so bc my headaches are not in the temporal lobe area more like in the sinus areas.