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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 28, 2022 | Replies (22)
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I had Lyme disease for the third time in the summer of 2021. I completed a month of doxycycline in July 2021. In early August I began to develop severe shoulder and hip pain that was diagnosed as PMR a month later. (my doctor had retired and I needed to find a new doctor). I asked Mayo if there was a relationship, but did not get a reply. It has been a year and I have reduced my prednisone from the initial 20 mg. to 2 mg. I tried to go down to 1 mg, but developed a stiff neck and upper back pain. I thought it might be my arthritis, but as soon as a upped my prednisone to 2 mg. I felt much better.
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I haven't ever heard of a direct link between Lyme and PMR but it wouldn't surprise me if it was the trigger in some cases. I've read that there's a high percentage of people that feel that stress, loss of a loved one, an accident or medical issue was the "final straw" that triggered their PMR. The immune system was already fragile for some reason and needed the final push to trigger the PMR and inflammation. For myself I have absolutely no doubt that a period of very extreme stress triggered my PMR. Even now, 6 years later, I've had a couple periods of high stress that I believe caused flare ups that I controlled by upping the prednisone dose for a short while.