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← Return to PMR flare at a drop from 8 to 7 mg of prednisone?
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PMR flare at a drop from 8 to 7 mg of prednisone?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Dec 2, 2023 | Replies (44)Comment receiving replies
Methotrexate has been helpful to the tapering. That is until I hit 7mg of prednisone and now all helll has broken loose. Couldn’t walk over thanksgiving. My c reactive protein had gone down to normal over the last 9 months but SED remained in the 40s. Blood work this week shows c reactive protein now high and SED rate doubled. Very discouraging. Doc trying to get me on the Kevzara but approval is taking awhile. I’m hopeful but frustrated. Doc said two other patients were doing well with Kevzara. They too had proven “resistant to tapering.”
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Has anyone ever suggested that you might have more than PMR going on? Methotrexate worked reasonably well for me too. It worked for me as a "steroid sparer." Unfortunately when I spared too much prednisone all hell broke loose like you say. The hell was worse than PMR only.
I have a variety of autoimmune conditions. My rheumatologist said the folloing referring to my treatment plan, "One medication works for one thing and another medication works for another thing." Unfortunately, I couldn't tolerate or she could not prescribe both medications together. Then the following conclusion was added, "It would be impossible to adequately treat everything"
My rheumatologist stopped methotrexate "due to infections" not because it wasn't working.
I did have a massive flare of something when Actemra controlled PMR. It wasn't GCA. My ophthalmologist still doesn't believe Actemra is optimal for the condition she is worried about more than PMR. My ophthalmologist says I should be on a TNF-inhibitor except it doesn't work well for PMR. I can't have two different biologics ... I can only have one or the other but not both.