Do I have polymyalgia rheumatica?

I did acupuncture regularly for neuropathy (my dad has PMR, which is why I follow this group). I also have an inflammatory arthritis.

I can’t really say for certain that it helped with my pain and I definitely wouldn’t use it as a replacement for treatment for an inflammatory condition like PMR, but I did always feel exponentially better and uplifted after a session. It was deeply relaxing and that on its own can help with pain over time. It really helped me relax my body and get the tension out, which can really build up with chronic pain.

Thanks. I am considering it. I would just like to give it a try but know I would still need my other meds,
.

I think it’s totally worth trying. If you’re concerned about the needles, it didn’t hurt. Sometimes it hurts, but only for a second if your acupuncturist recommends points in the feet or hands (there are more nerve endings).

I only stopped going because I got overwhelmed with other appointments for chronic conditions and just life. I wish I could do it every week like I used to.

Thanks so much for the info,

Your symptoms do indicate PMR. Prednisone does work in most cases, though not all. PMR has many puzzling variations. My own experience, like yours, was of rapid onset of the condition with spreading, bilateral pain which was and is at its worst in the early hours of the morning. At first I couldn’t believe I would be able to get through the day. My first response was a combination of anger and despair because I had always enjoyed daily and intense physical activity. The only thing that really helped was the realisation that the pain diminished with exercise and that I could still run and lift weights for example, though at a reduced level of performance.
As I said, PMR is variable in its manifestations. In my own case I take some comfort - after 18 months of it - that PMR is just pain and that once I get moving I can do just about everything I used to do and that the pain diminishes with activity and occasional resort to Panadol-Osteo.
Prednisone didn’t help in my case; I’ve finished an 18 month taper from 15mg daily. (The bad side effects were minimal). But it does seem to work for most people. Best wishes for your journey with this strange disease.

I'm 79 with "extreme risk" osteoporosis and really didn't want to use prednisone, but the pain was too bad. Also was fearing the possible side condition and that the PMR might spread to my legs rather than being restricted to my upper arms and shoulders. Then I was given 15mg Prednisone, and waited. And waited. On the second day there was slight improvement in morning pain, and that was it. I'd made a bargain with the Devil, and gotten nothing from it.

It was a holiday weekend, so more than a week until I could reach my doctor. She upped the dose to 25mg on July 3rd. Next day, no change. Morning after that, there was noticeable additional flexibility and less pain. Two weeks later, I felt pretty much normal other than morning stiffness, and tapering has started. Last week I spoke to a city rheumatologist on the phone (July 27). She wants me tapering off as quickly as possible and spoke about methotrexate. But this was the thing that most surprised me. I made a comment "I guess I'll never mow the lawn again." (My assumption had been that PMR was triggered by over-doing.) Her response: "You're okay now. Go for it. Use it or lose it". At the start of the month I had to wear jeans because I couldn't handle the elastic in sweatpants. Couldn't pull up blankets. Slid out of bed because I couldn't use my arms. Oh.

So... my guess is that if you take a larger dose now, you might be done with prednisone sooner and you'd feel a whole lot better. No guarantees, of course, but right now I'm downright optimistic.

That’s the tricky thing… There’s so much fear of the prednisone, but the catch is if one never takes a high enough dose (assuming it’s effective in your variation of PMR) to quash the inflammation driven by the disease, it will potentially drag out longer, causing more complications, impact on quality of life and pose more of a challenge to overcome, especially for the groups who are most at risk of developing it.

It’s really tough to weigh pros and cons, and it is scary, but PMR is one of the few inflammatory arthropathies that has a relatively straightforward and effective treatment. (My dad has PMR, while I have a different inflammatory arthritis. It’s not that I was glad he had it over something else, but I was shocked that on diagnosis there was no confusion over what was the best treatment, unlike in my situation. It made the decision so much simpler.)

The side effects aren’t fun at all, it’s not a benign medication and definitely not ideal, but the pain/inflammation from PMR untreated or sub-optimally treated will exact it’s own price too. The hope is there are ways to mitigate the side effects… My dad takes Fosomax for the risk of osteoporosis, along with calcium, vitamin D and magnesium supplements.

It is still hard to feel boxed in though.

14 months since diagnosis highest dose was 30 mg, and now at 6.25 mg and hopefully dropping…

PMR usually comes on suddenly, and goes from nothing to very strong within 24 hours. It is usually is strongest in the shoulders and hips.

There are several other autoimmune conditions with similar symptoms, plus some other diseases.

It is important to have a full battery of tests and to include a rheumatologist to get a diagnosis. A second opinion from another rheumatologist may also help.

Prednisone is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory drug (synthetic cortisol) and will improve many conditions, not just PMR. However, if it does not improve your condition, you probably do not have PMR.

Before I began Prednisone, which was very effective, Tylenol devastated my liver with ALT scores over 100. Anything over 40 is not normal. I switched to ibuprofen.

Both Tylenol and ibuprofen gave similar pain relief - which merely took the edge off of very, very severe nauseating pain that I had 24/7 for weeks.

Prednisone, once started, took most of the pain away and was a tremendous relief from what otherwise was a suicidal situation.