Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story

I have been looking at this site and reading some of the stories, but I haven't seen some of the things I am interested in. I was diagnosed with PMR in April 2021. I am on prednisone, but I'm feeling really tired, have the munchies, and just not myself. I know prednisone relieves my pain, but are there other symptoms of PMR besides the pain? I haven't felt like myself in so long, it really bothers me. It feels like I aged 10 years in the 6 months it took to reach a diagnosis. Anyone else with this problem? Any suggestions?

Hi @floridabonnie, Prednisone at a lower dosage relieves the symptoms of PMR. If it doesn't, you could have Giant Cell Arteritis, which requires a higher dosage of prednisone. The test for that is a biopsy of the temporal artery. Have you let your doctor know what is going on? Do you have any scalp tenderness, pains in the head, or trouble with your eyes? If you do, don't delay in letting your doctor know. Before prednisone, I had no appetite, extreme fatigue, horrible neck pain, scalp tenderness, and anemia. If your symptoms don't respond to Prednisone, it could be something else - an infection, malignancy or connective tissue disorder (this from a medical textbook). I hope that helps @floridabonnie Prednisone at a lower dosage relieves the symptoms of PMR. If it doesn't, you could have Giant Cell Arteritis, which requires a higher dosage of prednisone. The test for that is a biopsy of the temporal artery. Have you let your doctor know what is going on? Do you have any scalp tenderness, pains in the head, or trouble with your eyes? If you do, don't delay in letting your doctor know. Before prednisone, I had no appetite, extreme fatigue, horrible neck pain, scalp tenderness, and anemia. If your symptoms don't respond to Prednisone, it could be something else - an infection, malignancy or connective tissue disorder (this from a medical textbook). I hope that helps.

Thank you so much for your response. I don't have any scalp tenderness or anemia. Very rarely have headaches. But my husband has very bad congestive heart failure, and a number of medical issues. I do the lawn maintenance, take care of our pool, and we recently had the house painted so I moved all our deck furniture into the garage by myself and I think I over did things, which may have caused a relapse of my symptoms. I took a little more of my prednisone today and feel a bit better, but there is still some pain in my left hip. I may have actually strained it, but it feels different than that.

I am impressed with the reports of keeping up with exercise, even when having a flare. I am barely able to shuffle around the apartment a few times a day. I am unstable walking. I am back on 15 mg due to a flare, and am getting some relief of pain, but the sense of weakness persists. I march in place holding a counter, and lift my legs outward, standing on one leg, always holding the counter. I have incredibly stiff ankles. Keep up the posts friends, they are really helpful.

Hi mompiano. Light exercise is supposed to be good for PMR. I had incredible stiffness behind my knees, which even exercise could not get rid of. It was worse when I sat for a while. I did invest in an infrared heating pad, which gave me some relief. Do you use a walker? Is your apartment free of tripping hazards, like scatter rugs? If you're sitting, can you raise you legs, with a bent knee? Make circles with your feet for your ankles? Rest is also important. And you can do leg exercises in bed too. Take care.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. I do try to move my ankles when sitting. I get up once an hour and walk to the kitchen and back. No throw rugs, it is all carpet. I also discovered that I can hold onto the counter in the kitchen and do a few marching in place steps. I use a cane, but am thinking of using the walker. I am so out of breath. Thanks again for the ideas.

I have been looking at this site and reading some of the stories, but I haven't seen some of the things I am interested in. I was diagnosed with PMR in April 2021. I am on prednisone, but I'm feeling really tired, have the munchies, and just not myself. I know prednisone relieves my pain, but are there other symptoms of PMR besides the pain? I haven't felt like myself in so long, it really bothers me. It feels like I aged 10 years in the 6 months it took to reach a diagnosis. Anyone else with this problem? Any suggestions?

I tried to do a search within this group regarding exercising while suffering from PMR but could not find a thread. I wonder what level of exercise everyone else is doing and if I am overdoing it. I had a flare after attempting to swim using an overhead stroke. One day later my shoulders were on fire. How much, how often and what kind of exercises work for others. Thank you.

@jcaffrey47, would you mind starting a new discussion in the PMR group about exercise and PMR? It would be a great addition.