PMR Diet: Foods to eat and avoid

I'm sorry, I'm a writer and I don't do well cutting it down to just the bones:
I was diagnosed three and a half years ago. Although it has been a mostly negative experience there have been a few gains. Like the colonial farmers used to say, no great loss without some small gain. I lost weight during that time so that when Covid came along I was at a healthy weight. Also, with everything shutting down I didn’t mind, I didn’t want to go out anyway. But that’s it. My greatest challenge has been getting used to an illness that takes years, not days, to run its course, and not being able to eat the foods I love. I tried moving down from my 3 MG dose to 1 MG last year but recently my inflammation levels have started to climb a little. I was comforted to read that this was not just me, other’s have experienced this as well when they thought they were getting over it..

If anyone is interested, I have designed a few cooking recipes that have helped. I don’t trust manufactured food, not even gluten free and it’s so expensive. I would be happy to share.

Scrambled eggs Florentine: Eggs, chopped frozen spinach and cheese. Pre cook about two or three table spoons of frozen spinach in the microwave for about 30 seconds, add to beaten egg with about half a cup of grated cheese. Cook as for scrambled eggs. It doesn't look very pretty, and the cheese helps to take away the taste of spinach. But, it takes care of at least three dietary needs in one.

Hello @tonituin, Welcome to Connect. My PMR has been in remission since 2018 and I like to think diet and exercise play a large part in holding PMR at bay. If you haven't already seen my post earlier in this discussion, it has a couple of links you might find helpful - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/309728/

Here is some more information that might help --- 3 Strategies for Coping with Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): https://www.arthritis-health.com/blog/3-strategies-coping-polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr

Have you done any research or tried any diet related changes to see if they help?

Thanks for the links. It’s interesting to know of other peoples coping strategies. I’m not sure if others have noticed but, if I have a (rare) good nights sleep (7 hours without waking) I’m usually in more pain & stiffer for longer the following morning. In fact, I now welcome being awake & out of bed during the night for an hour or 2 as this means I’ll be in less discomfort when I wake & start my day. Lying in bed is my enemy. I’m fortunate as I’m retired & don’t have the pressure of getting up for work or to do a school run with children. A “2 stage” sleep really works for me & I can usually grab a nap during the day if I need to catch up.

Hey, 2 stage sleep works for me as well. Yes, being retired helps. I sleep through the night 2 or 3 times a week, but usually 3am I am up and reading for about an hour. I am still on a high dose prednisone slow taper, recovering from bout of GCA but the 2 stage sleep has been a thing even when I had weaned to 2 mg last year. I had been a night shift worker for 20+ years and relished sleeping in mornings.

Hi Alan @alanbruce, thank you for starting this new discussion. It is a great topic. Notice I changed the title of your discussion a little to give it a little emphasis. I started looking at diet and lifestyle changes for helping with my autoimmune diseases after reading Dr. Terry Wahls book - The Wahls Protocol. She has an amazing story about how diet helped her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/

Here is a good article on Medical News Today that offers some suggestions.
What to eat if you have polymyalgia rheumatica: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321683

I've mostly focused on reducing or eliminating processed meats, sugar, fast food, and fried foods. Have you found anything that helps you?

Hi John, recently diagnosed w PMR and have begun a more strict following of Mediterranean Diet, without salt, sugar and alcohol. As a wine drinker, I’m wondering if one glass of w dinner will ever be ok? Any thoughts.
Liz