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Adjusting to life with temporal arteritis

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jan 13 9:52am | Replies (217)
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@gee18

I was diagnosed with PMR and GCA in April 2023. High doses of Prednisone relieved my symptoms but tapering just sent my labs back up. after 6 months and 2 tries at tapering my Dr. said it was not working. We then switched to Methyl Prednisone and Actemra Infusions. The first 2 infusions worked well. With the third infusion I had a severe allergig reaction with trouble breathing. I am waiting to meet with the rheumatologist to see what other treatment options are available. After 9 months I feel like I am starting all over without any progress. Has anyone had other treatments that were successful?

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Replies to "I was diagnosed with PMR and GCA in April 2023. High doses of Prednisone relieved my..."
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Dec 13, 2023

Hello @gee18, I'm sorry to hear you having trouble with the treatment for PMR and GCA. You mentioned the prednisone relieved your symptoms but tapering sent your labs back up. You also said you were just diagnosed in April 2023 and put on high doses of prednisone. I'm wondering if you may have been trying to taper off of prednisone too quickly. I'm not a doctor but my Mayo rheumatologist always told me to listen to my body when it comes to tapering down to the next level of prednisone and let that determine when it's time to taper down. There is another discussion that you might find helpful on alternatives.

--- PMR: Are there treatment alternatives to Prednisone?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alternatives-to-prednisone/

I'm tagging @tsc and @nyxygirl who may also have some thoughts or suggestions on alternative treatments and tapering.

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