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Prednisone is not a cure for PMR. Since the cause and nature of our disease are not well understood, science is not likely to find a cure except by accident, unless a whole lot more money is devoted to studying PMR. The function of prednisone is to control the inflammation that brings us pain. Another function MAY be to deter Giant Cell Arteritis, which is quite serious, but which afflicted no one taking prednisone in a large study I read about. So we may hate the side effects of prednisone, but should use enough to keep the pain away, and not taper down too fast. The median duration of PMR is about 6 years and some people are on prednisone for much longer.
Replies to "Prednisone is not a cure for PMR. Since the cause and nature of our disease are..."
@pkalkstein
I'm writing just to say how important and clear I think your post is.....it is powerful in its simplicity.
PMR/GCA...we don't get cured, and prednisone allows us to manage the pain, taper slowly and stave off GCA. It is a double-edged sword but I'd be lost without it.
I was ill for months and diagnosed with the flu...probably PMR and it ramped into GCA and I lost sight in one eye. Then and only then did I get a proper diagnosis. I've been on Actemra and Pred for three years and am now at 3mg plus weekly injections. No complaints about pred from me.
Thanks @pkalkstein !💞
@pkalkstein --"nature of our disease are not well understood,' I hope recent literature convinces you otherwise -- there are updates on the Pathogenesis of PMR (and GCA) in many of papers i am looking at. I don't even bother with older papers.
Case in point :
Rheumatology
. 2023 Jan 13;keac713. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac713. Online ahead of print.
An international survey of current management practices for polymyalgia rheumatica by general practitioners and rheumatologists
The three American authors are : , Eric L Matteson , Sebastian E Sattui , Mark Matza from:
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Division of Rheumatology, Rochester, United States of America.
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
1Rheumatology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States of America.
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And my doctor said six months. Thank you for the information, it is what I feared.