How did your PMR begin?

Posted by ctjpmarie @ctjpmarie, Apr 13, 2023

In trying to understand PMR-( my husband has it) …I’m curious to know -if any of you had anything specifically stressful, going on in your life, at the onset of PMR? You know-besides, the normal day-to-day stressors of life?

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@michwest

Hi @ctjpmarie
Yes I lost 3 of my immediate family members within 4 years - 2 suddenly and I do think that was a trigger for my pmr. Stress definitely causes flare ups for me as well.

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Ctjpmarie…
How did you handle flare ups??? Did you take stress medication?? Anxiety medication???? If so, what was the medication???
Cah

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@cah

Pointer 134
Good luck. Let the group know how that works for you.
Cah

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Of course. Got my first injection yesterday ☺️.

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I’ll be seeing my doc on the 25 of May. This has been a shock to me after being so active to doing nothing.
BTW my sister in law is a doc in pharmacy at a hospital she is recovering well and will never get another Covid booster.

Will keep those interested informed.

I’m currently taking 15 mg of meloxicam to work through the pain

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@cah

Ctjpmarie…
How did you handle flare ups??? Did you take stress medication?? Anxiety medication???? If so, what was the medication???
Cah

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No I haven’t taken any anti anxiety medication/ I have just not been able to taper down the prednisone without pain.

I am seeing another specialist next week and hopefully he will have some answers for me.

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@gloria235

My husband's PMR started right after his 2nd Pfizer booster shot. He has been on Prednisone for a year. He has been able to reduce the dosage gradually, but can't stop taking or the pain returns. Currently he is on 5 mg in am and 5 mg in pm.

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Has he tried Lyrica? I have a lot of nerve pain from my hyper mobility Ehlers Danlos syndrome and my fibromyalgia. My pain doctor put me on Lyrica and that works for me but it does cause some weight gain.

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@heds66zebra

Has he tried Lyrica? I have a lot of nerve pain from my hyper mobility Ehlers Danlos syndrome and my fibromyalgia. My pain doctor put me on Lyrica and that works for me but it does cause some weight gain.

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Thank you for the info! I will have him check with his PCP at his next visit. Appreciate the suggestion.

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My PMR started after I returned home to Florida from a Maine vacation in July 2021. I felt like I had the flu (fever and chills). As the days went by I noticed that I had pain in my shoulders, upper arms, hips and knees. I was in extreme pain when I tried to roll over in bed. It got to the point that I couldn’t get out of bed unless I grabbed the sheets and pulled myself up. I finally went to see my GP. After running a battery of tests (mostly Lyme disease) which all came back negative, I was diagnosed with PMR on August 17th. I was unable to get in to see a rheumatologist for 3 months but my GP put me on 20MG Prednisone which helped almost immediately. To answer your question about a stressful situation, I suspect that traveling is stressful to me for some reason. Last summer, I went to New England again on vacation and had a major flare. It may have been my diet (or lack of) that did me in but I don’t know. I have learned not to eat white flour, sugar. fried food. If I do (which I do on vacation), I am in pain the next day. I leave for Rome in a couple of days for a Mediterranean cruise and I am worried about a flare. I plan to up my current dose of 3mg Prednisone if I do. I checked my Moderna vaccine record and they were in 2/21 and 8/21 so they didn’t cause my PMR.

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@davidsonk

Mine started right after my regular Moderna shot. I was fine until I got those, then it began. Mine is from my waist down. Been on prednisone for over a year, we (me and my rheumatologist) are now trying infusions to get me off Prednisone. I've only had 2 so nothing yet. They said it could take a few months for it to work. Crossing fingers. Without prednisone, I can't even hardly walk.

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Hi davidsonk, what do you mean by infusions please?
Kate9876

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@kate9876

Hi davidsonk, what do you mean by infusions please?
Kate9876

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I am on Orencia infusions, it's for rheumatoid arthritis, but it also helps with PMR. I've had 4 so far. They say it take a couple months for it to really work, but I'm not seeing much improvement yet. Hoping I will. If not, we will move to the next medication.

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