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Prednisone only mildly helpful for my PMR, is this common?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: May 29, 2023 | Replies (26)Comment receiving replies
Welcome @ldingwall88, You are right - for PMR prednisone is a game changer. I've had two occurrences of PMR and was treating for both with a starting dose of 20 mg. My pain was gone within 2 hours and didn't start coming back until the next morning. I do not think it's common for prednisone to not help with PMR pain unless the starting dose is too low, the PMR diagnosis is not correct or you have something else going on along with the PMR like GCA. The normal starting dosage of prednisone from what I've read is 12.5 mg to 25 mg. I think it's sometimes determined by body weight. Here some information on the topic:
-- Polymyalgia rheumatica: An updated review: https://www.ccjm.org/content/87/9/549
You mentioned your doctor diagnosed the PMR. You might want to discuss your symptoms related to the dosage and still having pain with your doctor or possibly see if you can get a referral to a rheumatologist. Have you seen a rheumatologist?
Replies to "Welcome @ldingwall88, You are right - for PMR prednisone is a game changer. I've had two..."
Prednisone helped immediately. I have back and neck issues that are also helped by the prednisone.
@johnbishop @cookiegirl1944 @ldingwall88 John - i have this paper in my collection too. Table 1 has a list of mimicking diseases .
And the authors state "To help avoid relapse, therapy should continue until symptoms resolve, followed by slow tapering." INCREASING from 20mg to 30 mg brought on the "miraculous" relief that others describe at lower doses, and I am splitting the dose three X 10mg. This weekend I am experiencing some swelling and pain with my right hamstring/thigh - I moved myself around in bed this morning with my ARM strength which i would never have been able to do in the last 1.5 months because of the morning stiffness/gelling phenomenon ( pre Rx and at 15 and 20mg) . Mind boggling !
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Thanks so much for your response. I live in a very rural area of western NC and getting in to see *any* doctor is a challenge. I got a referral to a rheumatologist about 2 hours away but can't get in for a month. Perhaps the issue is dosage? I'm overweight so perhaps 15mg is too low. I have a call in to my dr about going up to 20mg. If it's not dosage, it must be a diagnosis issue. I really hope I don't have to live with this pain for another month because I honestly don't know if I can take it. Thanks again for your help.