I only had difficulty getting prednisone even though that was what I specifically requested for my pain. I saw the same ophthalmologist for many years for recurrent flares of uveitis associated with inflammatory arthritis. My ophthalmologist prescribed massive amounts of prednisone for uveitis and I always had plenty to spare.

I listed my ophthalmologist as my primary care doctor. I just didn't bother with a primary care doctor or a rheumatologist. Whenever I saw another doctor about pain, ibuprofen or a narcotic was prescribed. Prednisone worked a whole lot better than ibuprofen and narcotics.

One day I decided to throw away all my extra prednisone. I was feeling okay and I randomly decided that I wouldn't need prednisone anymore. I thought if I needed more prednisone, I could get more when uveitis flared up again. That was when my symptoms of PMR started to set in and a flare of uveitis didn't happen.

My wife made me see her primary care doctor. My wife was telling her doctor everything because she didn't like that I self medicated with prednisone. The doctor agreed with my wife and wouldn't prescribe any prednisone to me. She referred me to a rheumatologist instead.

My first rheumatologist wasn't much better. I was lectured about taking prednisone for "every little pain." Clearly, that rheumatologist didn't have a clue and the "little pain" comment still bothers me. Fortunately, I found my own primary care doctor who reluctantly prescribed prednisone until things were sorted out.

It wasn't until a second rheumatologist conferred with my first rheumatologist that things got sorted out. I don't know what all happened behind the scenes but the suggestion was that I return for a followup visit when I wasn't taking prednisone. I managed to hold the prednisone that was being supplied to me by my primary care doctor and returned for my rheumatology follow-up visit. That's when PMR was diagnosed in addition to inflammatory arthritis.

The next time I saw my primary care doctor and told him about the PMR diagnoses but he wasn't too surprised. He said when he first saw me, he suspected PMR.