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Anyone diagnosed with PMR after the Pfizer vaccine?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jun 6 1:06pm | Replies (146)Comment receiving replies
Yes. First Pfizer vax May 2021. Pain in neck and shoulders all that summer. I bought several pillows, thinking that was the problem. It was not. Second Pfizer vax August 4, 2021. Went on a little car trip with family on August 14th. After the first night at the motel, woke up unable to move. Still thinking it was either the bed or the pillows, in so much pain got into the tub and was unable to get out. I had to get my daughter to help me. It escalated from there, to carpal tunnel-like symptoms in my right hand. It kept going numb from thumb right around to middle finger (which has never lost the stiffness completely). Was wearing a carpel tunnel splint, so I could use the computer mouse (working from home). Family doc (who has since retired) poo-pooed it as "old age stiffness". Eventually, I could do not even the smallest thing. Had to take unpaid sick leave from work. Went to a Chiropractor, physio. Nothing was working. Could barely sit on the toilet and had to get a riser seat; could not reach around to clean. Did some research. Asked the Chiro if he thought it could be PMR or RA. He didn't think so. Finally my pharmacist suggested I get blood work done to test for RA. I convinced the GP for the bloods and CRP was up to 42 (which he did NOT notice). He finally in December 2021 urgently referred me to a Neurologist, who diagnosed PMR (Jan. 2022) and put me on 20 mg Prednisone. Immediate relief. Recently (Jan. 2023) I had a GCA scare and put up to 60 mg. Prednisone. Had TA biopsy done, which appeared to be negative, although the Prednisone could be "helping" that. Ophtamology says eyes are good.Right now I'm dealing with extreme, extreme fatigue, exhaustion, weakness and sweats, sleeping for 2 hours in the afternoons after a brief walk around a store; waiting for blood work results for Glucose (never a problem in the past) and of course SED and CRP. I now have no GP and the unreachable Rheumatologist. Prior to the vax in May 2021, health problems were NIL. There are many with the same or similar stories.
Replies to "Yes. First Pfizer vax May 2021. Pain in neck and shoulders all that summer. I bought..."
Hi, forgive me but I feel your experience as mine has been somewhat similar. I retired from Pfizer in 2019 after 20 years as an IT generalist. That said, they were very good to me hence I was not that quick to think it was the vaccine. I had two shots March of 21 and of course I wanted Pfizer. In April I thought that a severe case of Lyme returned. I had pain on shoulders, arms, all the way down to my hips. In May we were realizing that the doxycycline was doing nothing. To be honest, it never did as I had to have antibiotics intravenously several times in order to clear it from my spine.
Around early May my doctor gave me some prednisone and immediately I felt better. About a week before my daughter’s wedding I was feeling the same and the doctor gave me another script of prednisone which helped me through the wedding. A long story short, I went to the emergency room a few weeks later and I could barely walk. There they gave me a spinal tap to make sure it was not Lyme. I was in so much pain, that I did not even feel the spinal tap. In the hospital they gave me a 1000mg of prednisone a day - and when I left I was told to see a rheumatologist and to take 40 mg until I saw him. It has been almost two years, and I am down to 3 mg. The last year I have dropped one mg at a time, and twice I had to go back to the higher dose. The good news is I am slowly getting better, and the issues you described are spot on. Everything from sweats, to chronic fatigue I have experienced. One other thing I have experienced has been weakness - sometimes I feel like I have no strength, and then other times it comes back. I pray you get well, and I hope this has helped you.
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Thank you mild835, this is not mild! Your detailed description of what happened to you is helpful, my pain started with the carpel tunnel symptoms first, both hands still feel numb. No doctor or rheumatologist here either, the last one I spoke to seemed to gaslight my pain.