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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 10 12:05pm | Replies (1906)
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@pmrsuzie

Hi everyone. I am in my 5th year of pmr with many ups and downs. Have been down to a mg or two a couple times only to have a relapse of some sort. I recently went to 10 mg prednisone, now 8.5. My hands had swelled, very stiff and painful. Xrays revealed OA and arthropathy consistent with cppd. I agreed to try methotrexate, only took 2 doses and convinced myself mtx was a bad idea for me. In my 74 years I have had numerous medical issues and am worried mtx could trigger some complication. I am seeing an ENT for Meniere's? Vestibular migraine?,hearing loss, tinnits, cardiologist for HTN, pvst, retina specialist for amd?macular dystrophy? I have gone on a low fat, low sodium, no caffeine diet. I'm having a problem with the diastolic being too low, in the 40s. I have decreased my BP meds which has helped somewhat. I could write a book, really.
suzanne

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Replies to "Hi everyone. I am in my 5th year of pmr with many ups and downs. Have..."
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Aug 2, 2023

Hi @pmrsuzie, Welcome to Connect. I'm sorry to hear that you have been dealing with PMR for 5 years. That is definitely the pits. My first time with PMR was 3 and half years and then six years later when my PMR came back, it lasted for 1 and half years. You mentioned low fat, low sodium, no caffeine diet. Here is some more diet related information that you might find helpful.

--- Diet and Supplements for Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): https://www.arthritis-health.com/blog/diet-and-supplements-polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr

What helped me reduce my time on prednisone the second time around with PMR was eating healthier, eliminating as much sugar as possible 🙂 and adding more moderate daily exercise. I also take blood pressure meds so pretty much have eliminated any added salt and try to avoid high sodium foods.

Some people that have struggled to taper off of prednisone have been successful using the following tapering plan found on the HealthUnlocked website.
--- Dead slow and nearly stop reduction plan (Tapering)
https://healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk/posts/131189593/dead-slow-and-nearly-stop-reduction-plan
Do you keep a daily log of your pain levels and prednisone dosage?

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