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How often does PMR progress to GCA?

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Mar 29 2:47pm | Replies (115)

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@charlotte61

Marilynredder2367 - Sorry to hear you ended up with GCA after your PMR...that seems to happen a lot to people, and I absolutely dread it. I'm glad you found a good rheumatologist. As as you pointed out, at least I'm aware of GCA and can be alert for any developing symptoms. My doctor is also trying to taper me off the prednisone too quickly. He thinks I should be down to 10 mg a day now and I'm still at 15 mg because even tapering down by 1 mg at a time is too much. This has been going on for four months now. I live in Canada, so am nowhere near the Mayo clinic. I also don't have a rheumatologist, and am just working with my GP and my naturopath. Unfortunately, most of the naturopath's suggestions I have tried so far don't seem to be helping much. I was taking a curcumin supplement, but had to stop due to digestive upset. I'm now trying MSM, as per her recommendation, along with a homeopathic remedy called Rhus Tox, and am hoping that taking those will help me taper off the prednisone more successfully...but I'm not holding my breath. I'm finding to my great disappointment that the "natural" route doesn't really work for PMR. Maybe it does for some people, but not for me. I'm also making some careful changes to my diet and am currently working at cutting out sugar. Red meat and processed/junk foods are already eliminated. I have to go slowly, as I have a sensitive digestive system (I also have SIBO as well as PMR) so any abrupt changes can result in problems. I'm ready to trade my body in for a new model - lol.

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Replies to "Marilynredder2367 - Sorry to hear you ended up with GCA after your PMR...that seems to happen..."

Taping too fast will keep you sick longer with relapses. I had to do . 05 for more than a month. It was so slow. Otherwise I got sick and was in pain. I fought with my rheumatologist and ended up tapering myself. Similar situation with GCA. Don’t worry about GCA. If it happens you will deal with it. Another website you will get very good help is HealthUnlocked. They originated in England. Europe has more PMR & GCA than the US or Canada. The disease originated in the Scandinavian countries. They migrated to Europe mostly. Hope this helps.