So glad to have found this discussion forum. I was just diagnosed with PMR last week ( March 2022) and I have so much to learn. I have been started on prednisone 20 mg a day (10 morning and 10 evening) and also a muscle relaxant I can take at bedtime. I was in pain and stiffness for about 8 weeks before the diagnosis. I was prescribed Melaxicam (an Nsaid) and physical therapy during that period but with absolutely no relief, of course now I know why. I see my doctor in two days to see how I am progressing. The main thing that is somewhat worrisome to me at this point is that it seems that some people react immediately and almost completely to the prednisone within a few days indicating that they feel 90-100 percent better. I am
on my fifth day and while I do feel much better, I am certainly not back to pre PMR. The most wonderful relief has been that I do not wake up in the night after only a couple of hours of sleep with the dreadful pain in my shoulders and the feeling that my arms and shoulders are "locked " and I can't even move. However, I do still have some pain, some milder stifffness, trouble sleeping at night, and still having trouble with my shoulders and arms hurting when trying to get dressed, carry things, get a pan in and out of the oven, etc. Wondering is this is typical for some of you that the prednisone isn't an instant relief to all the issues. Thank you for any insight and I will continue reading this forum.
By the way, this is my 2nd autoimmune disease, I was diagnosed with Graves disease about 18 yrs ago but it has been in remission for about the last seven years.