Hi @ripley, I had PMR undiagnosed for a year because I thought it was fibromyalgia. I had incredible pain and stiffness throughout my body from the neck down, everywhere, which eased up a little in the evenings. I had blood tests about four months after symptoms started, but the inflammation markers were not elevated significantly so I wasn't diagnosed. Symptoms stayed as they were, then changed. I was anemic, got shingles, lost about 15 pounds, had an incredibly stiff neck and short stabbing pains in my head. Blood tests about a year after the first symptoms started showed inflammation markers were very high, ESR and CRP. I had Giant Cell Arteritis and was put on 40 mg prednisone to start, tapering down every two weeks. Have been off prednisone for about eight months now.
Maybe it's time to get blood tests again.
Were you ever prescribed prednisone on a trial basis to see if it relieves your symptoms? PMR can be difficult to diagnose and the relief of symptoms with prednisone can help with the diagnosis.
Take care.