I am a 72-year-old, new to this group. My diagnosis and the beginning of my prednisone taper occurred in November of 2022. I had just finished an addition to my home on which I worked very hard for 18 months when PMR hit like a ton of bricks. The prednisone was almost cartoonishly effective...akin to Popeye's spinach (I realize that this reference dates me, but I'll bet most of the readers here get it!).

Anyway, my question has to do with making the distinction between hip osteoarthritis and PMR. The doc tells me that x-rays show hip arthritis, so we know it's around, though it had not been symptomatic.

I am doing a taper, but always have pain in the front groin area. I would try tamping it down with Ibuprofen but I am massively allergic to NSAIDS. If the pain I am feeling is osteoarthritis, then the taper is totally doing its job and I could even push it a little more. Sed rate and CRP are down to normal range, so this seems like a possibility. But if not, then I may need to ease up the taper a little.

Soooo, is it possible to distinguish between PMR and osteoarthritis symptoms?

Thank you for reading.