Can PMR (Polymyalgia Rheumatica) be induced by vaccine?

Weight gain, not sleeping, and bone density. Other than the weight gain, did you handle the other side effects quite well? I hate the thought of being on it so long!

I am newly diagnosed with PMR. Previously active, 73 yr old female having almost all the typical complaints. It is hateful. Struggling with not wanting to take prednisone, afraid of side affects that everyone reports getting. Any positive posts about less side affects? Or are the side affects a given? Has anyone out there tried a more natural, wholelistic approach that has made a noticeable difference in their pain and abilities to function normally? Any advice or comments are very welcome.

Between Mayo Connect and HealthUnlocked PMR group out of the UK, there are many thousands of us and I haven't read of one who was able to deal with real PMR without prednisone. I was diagnosed two years ago at age 72. I have difficulty tapering below 10 mgs. and that's where I am at the moment. We all want off of prednisone, but the objective is to find a place where the discomfort can be tolerated well and then taper slowly (never more than 10% of current dose). In terms of side affects, weight gain can be managed (low carb); the thinning of skin is annoying; bone loss can be dealt with with alendronate sodium. No one likes prednisone, but it allows us to live life. Best to you. Kathy

@suebep, I was more worried about the moon face and weight gain but I did end up having a sleep study done after mentioning that my wife says I snore pretty bad to a cardiologist during a checkup for some swelling in my legs. He setup a sleep study for me and then I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and now use a CPAP. I never thought I had issues sleeping but it can affect the quality of sleep. I also had a bone density scan and was diagnosed with osteopenia. My primary wanted me to go on 1200 mg Calcium daily but it cause terrible constipation for me so I decided to try and get the calcium through diet. I haven't had another bone density scan yet but it's something I also worry about. I think weight bearing exercise can help with that also and I know I don't do enough of that but I'm trying to do more.

The first time around with PMR, I was on prednisone for 3-1/2 years. Six years after I tapered off, my PMR came back and I was on prednisone for another 1-1/2 years and really think I was able to taper off more quickly because I had made some lifestyle and diet changes. Hardest for me was giving up fast foods, soft drinks and refined sugar. I am still working on the sugar part but it is getting easier every day 🙂

The prednisone really will give you your life back and then you just need to taper off as quickly as your body allows. Two things really helped my tapering process -- a daily pain/dosage log and having my rheumatologist prescribe different dosage prednisone tablets so that I could taper at lower doses without having to split pills. I used the 1, 2.5 and 5 mg tablets. Then the last six months of the first episode of PMR I had to split my 1 mg tablets in half and I went back and forth between 1 mg and 1/2 mg every few weeks until I was able to taper off.

I am newly diagnosed with PMR. Previously active, 73 yr old female having almost all the typical complaints. It is hateful. Struggling with not wanting to take prednisone, afraid of side affects that everyone reports getting. Any positive posts about less side affects? Or are the side affects a given? Has anyone out there tried a more natural, wholelistic approach that has made a noticeable difference in their pain and abilities to function normally? Any advice or comments are very welcome.

I’ve had PMR for 18 months. Started at 10 mg prednisone, got down to one and then my numbers skyrocketed for no reason (not much pain, but some). My dr put me back up to 5 mg and I’m on methodextrate (?) I have had NO side affects (maybe thin skin, but that happens with age!!). No weight gain, no sleep issues, none. I am most grateful, of course. So I wanted to encourage you that side affects are NOT a given!!

Hi @klpintx, Welcome to Connect, an online community where patients and caregivers share their experiences, find support and exchange information with others. It sounds like you are doing well with tapering down on prednisone. It's not uncommon to have episodes where you have to up the dosage when tapering off of prednisone. My rheumatologist was great in suggestions for tapering and even helped by prescribing prednisone tablets in 1, 2.5 and 5 mg doses so that I could easily taper off in smaller doses to make it easier.

Do you keep a daily log of your dosage and the amount of pain you have when you get up (scale of 1 to 10, etc..)?

I do not. Mainly because I don't feel like I ever have any pain over a 3-4. I find my symptoms (pain??) are more like a day after a severe work-out and my muscles ache. Very uncomfortable, not welcomed and much difficulty in maneuvering, but I know I do not have the pain that I read so much about here. I know that I am very blessed with how my PMR seems to be playing out in my body. I am most grateful!!

Hey John, thanks for sharing and thank you to the others doing the same, greatly appreciated!

I don’t know that I have anything more to help all of you dealing with PMR, except that I believe in my case this all got started within a couple days of each of the Pfizer vaccines. Within a few days of shot #1, I was diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon as having frozen shoulder. Just after shot #2, my other shoulder started to have similar pain, discomfort and motion limitations. Then a couple weeks later, my entire body was in tremendous pain and I had no strength to get out of bed once I woke up in the morning. The pain generally subsided by afternoon, but each morning was horrible. I finally was able to see an arthritis & rheumatoid specialist who took blood & diagnosed me with PMR. He prescribed prednisone and I immediately was 100% back to normal.

This all started in April of 2001 and I went from 15mg and now down to 10mg, stepping down about 1mg every 2-3 weeks. The doc said it would take a year of taking prednisone, stepping down the dose until I’m at 1mg then I should be “cured” and off prednisone. He said if the PMR symptoms appear afterwards (although not very likely) I should be able to do a quick round of prednisone to knock it out.

I should also mention that I was diagnosed with non Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018, given 6 rounds of chemo and have been in remission since 2029. Praise God!

What I have found is that keeping active and getting lots of exercise is a must. I ride my bike 4-5 times a week for at least an hour, play tennis once a week and do yoga a couple times a week. I also do exercises every couple of days. I’m on eloquis (5 mg twice a day) because of a blood clot in my right leg. So, I’m not supposed to have alcohol, but I sneak in a glass of red wine every week or so. Thankfully, I have not gained any weight so far, but I try very hard to eat well and watch my portions.

Bottom line is I’m 69 and feel very blessed that I’m able to manage all this quite well. I hope the doc is correct in that after taking prednisone for a year I can kiss the PMR goodbye! But, after reading this thread, my doc may be overly optimistic.

My takeaway is prednisone is an absolute lifesaver and having God’s healing hands on me is also paramount to my being able to deal with these health issues so well.

Hope there is something here that is helpful for you, John or others reading the thread. Thank you all for taking the time to share. This Mayo site really is a great way to learn from others diagnosed with PMR. Take care!