Can PMR (Polymyalgia Rheumatica) be induced by vaccine?

Posted by kristem2020 @kristem2020, Jan 2, 2021

Good evening, I’ve recently been diagnosed with PMR. It came on a week after my flu shot October 23, 2020.

Has anyone experienced the same diagnosis after a flu shot?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

@roswelldad I don't see the mention of a link to "autoimmune types of disorders"- which BTW, on the spectrum , PMR is more a auto-inflammatory rheumatic disease and NOT autoimmunity. see "Polymyalgia rheumatica: an autoinflammatory disorder?
Alberto Floris first author" attached below

this Science article explains a lot about POTS , and interesting new terminology "long Vax"!
"Symptoms can include persistent headaches, severe fatigue, and abnormal heart rate and blood pressure. They appear hours, days, or weeks after vaccination and are difficult to study. But researchers and clinicians are increasingly finding some alignment with known medical conditions. One is small fiber neuropathy, a condition Oaklander studies, in which nerve damage can cause tingling or electric shock–like sensations, burning pain, and blood circulation problems. The second is a more nebulous syndrome, with symptoms sometimes triggered by small fiber neuropathy, called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). It can involve muscle weakness, swings in heart rate and blood pressure, fatigue, and brain fog"

Shared files

editorial 2018 e000694 (editorial-2018-e000694.full_.pdf)

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@nyxygirl

Just a reminder that the American college of Rheumatology mtg is coming up in NOV. I imagine there will be posters/abstracts re Covid patients and Covid vaccinations and Rheumatoid diseases. ( PMR is only one of many -sigh) .

The European Meeting was in May 2023- these popped in my search :
https://www.hcplive.com/view/long-covid-and-patients-with-rheumatic-disease-perspective-from-eular-2023

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/993238: Latest Data: COVID Vaccine Safety, Protection, and Breakthrough Infections in Inflammatory, Autoimmune Diseases
Massimo Sandal
June 15, 2023.

I am also waiting to see how my Rheumatologist will respond to question about getting the Covid booster .

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I did not have problems with the Covid vaccine but with the second shingles vaccine it triggered the pain in my arm that would not go and I can’t take anti inflammatory because I have stomach ulcers. My doctor gives me steroid shots when he can.

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Tested positive for Covid-19 in Feburary, 2020, and was sick for two months (refused to go to the hospital because people were going in and not coming out). Never felt a hundred percent again. In June, 2020, started with a lot of PMR symptoms, which I did not know I may have had at the time. Had the two doses of the Maderna Vaccine in August, 2020 and according to schedule, both which made me extremely ill. Fast forward to June, 2022, PMR symptoms start to become unbearable; the pain in my neck, lower back, shoulders, arms, etc. incapacitated me; was bed ridden on and off, always worse in the mornings. The next 15 months were horrific. 15 Specialists, 3 hospital visits, and finally just received my diagnosis within the past few weeks.....PMR. The good news.....I do not have GCA even though I had double vision for a few weeks on and off. As of tomorrow, I will be weaning from 60 mg Prednisone to 40 mg for a week, then 30 mg for the next week, etc.

If you have been through the weaning process lately, please let me know how you made out. My doctor said she will wean me down to 2.5 mg, however, I may need to have something else added in. Also, please let me know if you had gotten to this point and what they had added in for your treatment.

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So sorry to hear about your struggles and they long road to a diagnosis.
My PMR was triggered by my 4th covid shot (had 3 Pfizer, then a Moderna) in June of 2022. I started at 60mg as well. Weaned from 60 mg > 40 mg > 30 mg > 20 mg by December. Then slowed reductions: 20 > 17.5 > 15 > 12.5 > 10 > 7.5 > 5 mg
I started feeling some / more discomfort when I stepped down to 7.5 mg so I went 6 weeks instead of a month. Then 6 weeks at 5 mg. and 6 weeks at 4 mg. I understand that once you are below about 7 mg your adrenal glands (which have basically shut down because of the oral prednisone) have to pick up the slack. And my experience has been similar to many - they don't just kick into high gear, they stutter and sputter! Whenever I drop down in dosage, I feel it for a couple weeks then it gets better. At these low doses it has been worse and has taken me longer to feel better. So I have done 3.5 mg, 3 mg and am currently at 2.5 mg.
I refuse to try to rush it - I am trying to avoid a flare. My SED rate and CRP numbers remain low/good so if I am not feeling good yet, I just tell my doctor I am going to go a couple more weeks until I feel good before dropping down. My doctor has been great - caring, listening and not pushing. He also told me not to worry that there are others things we can add to try to get me weaned off prednisone. To date, we haven't discussed what those are - but if you read this forum, there are discussion about other drugs that can be used in combination with prednisone - which is the primary drug.
Hang in there

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I would like to ask this extremely helpful group what their rheumatologists advise them as PMR patients about getting the new Covid vaccine when it comes out, and/or their regular fall flu shot. I am 74, just started prednisone treatment for PMR four weeks ago, and have been getting the fall flu shot regularly for ten years or more, experiencing a huge reduction in instances and severity of cold and flu -- which has been nice. I would like to get both flu and Covid shots, and maybe the RSV vaccine as well, but some of the discussion here has me questioning. I have had no serious reaction to the vaccines so far and one bout of very mild Covid, which I thankfully attribute to being fully Covid vaccinated. Thanks for any comments!

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@lowell77

I would like to ask this extremely helpful group what their rheumatologists advise them as PMR patients about getting the new Covid vaccine when it comes out, and/or their regular fall flu shot. I am 74, just started prednisone treatment for PMR four weeks ago, and have been getting the fall flu shot regularly for ten years or more, experiencing a huge reduction in instances and severity of cold and flu -- which has been nice. I would like to get both flu and Covid shots, and maybe the RSV vaccine as well, but some of the discussion here has me questioning. I have had no serious reaction to the vaccines so far and one bout of very mild Covid, which I thankfully attribute to being fully Covid vaccinated. Thanks for any comments!

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My PMR was triggered after my second Pfizer vaccination and I am choosing never to have another Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine.

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@lowell77

I would like to ask this extremely helpful group what their rheumatologists advise them as PMR patients about getting the new Covid vaccine when it comes out, and/or their regular fall flu shot. I am 74, just started prednisone treatment for PMR four weeks ago, and have been getting the fall flu shot regularly for ten years or more, experiencing a huge reduction in instances and severity of cold and flu -- which has been nice. I would like to get both flu and Covid shots, and maybe the RSV vaccine as well, but some of the discussion here has me questioning. I have had no serious reaction to the vaccines so far and one bout of very mild Covid, which I thankfully attribute to being fully Covid vaccinated. Thanks for any comments!

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I have PMR for one year and told Dr that I don’t want to get vaccinated again and she said OK. Down to 3 ml and don’t want to increase.

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Three weeks ago the rheumatologist okayed me for flu and covid shots, plus the second Shingrix shot (have now taken, experienced usual Shingrix side effects, mostly sore arm for a few days). I take whatever is on offer from the Health Department, also mask in crowded situations. Don't want covid, at 79 I don't want long covid since I value my stamina. I've been responding well to prednisone, down from 25mg in July to 9.5mg currently in mid-September.

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I developed PMR after taking one injection of Evenity. Most painful period of my last life. I struggle every morning

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@5990

I developed PMR after taking one injection of Evenity. Most painful period of my last life. I struggle every morning

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Welcome @5990, I'm sorry to hear you developed PMR after having an injection of Evenity. PMR can be very painful. Have you started any treatment or seen a rheumatologist for the PMR?

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