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Replies to "My rheumatologist says that no one knows what causes PMR. I'm reading too many posts from..."
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Nov 2, 2023 | Replies (11)
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My rheumatologist says that no one knows what causes PMR. I'm reading too many posts from people nominating reasons - and taking evasive measures because if this is what did it, well, it's not going to happen again, not if I can avoid it by doing/not doing whatever. We humans really, really want explanations. It doesn't seem logical that a physical condition could impact so many people so suddenly and with such force, and no one knows why. And yet this is what we must accept because our assumptions (and resulting decisions) can do us real harm.
Replies to "My rheumatologist says that no one knows what causes PMR. I'm reading too many posts from..."
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It isn't just PMR that no one knows what causes it. It is practically all autoimmune disorders.
I have moved past wanting to know the cause although it would be nice to know. I'm more inclined to want to know about more effective treatments or at least how to achieve remission quickly. Being able to achieve remission quickly is where PMR lags behind many other autoimmune conditions. I took prednisone for more than 12 years waiting for PMR to go into remission.
The idea that we take prednisone and "wait for PMR to burn itself out" is absurd to me. Long term prednisone does harm to people.
PMR supposedly doesn't do long term harm but it sure is painful. Prednisone does the long term harm in my opinion. Short term prednisone to quickly relieve the pain seems like a good idea though. Achieving remission quickly should be the foremost concern after the pain is controlled.