Can we make PMR funny ? Can we fight the immune cells involved ?

My rheumatologist actually made my diagnosis but I honestly didn’t believe him despite my symptoms of sudden onset hip & shoulder pain with low grade temperatures and extreme fatigue. I was also anemic and my inflammatory markers were crazy high. I don’t have a positive family history for PMR but my 90+ year old Mom & Sister both have symptoms and are working with rheumatologist now so I will not be surprised with their diagnosis. My rheumatologist told me that he had never treated another African American patient that he had diagnosed with PMR. I wondered at the time how many diagnoses are missed because of race/ethnicity.

Yep, probably does. Too bad we didn’t get to pick the stuff we wanted to inherit, though. Pretty sure we could have gotten something a lot more fun than PMR. 😂🤣

Hi @hunib33,
You were smart.
I suffered in silence for a year thinking I had fibromyalgia. Then I was so fatigued, lost a lot of weight, and got shingles on my face (despite having the Shingrex vaccine a year prior).
I thought I had Lupus. I confided in an infectious disease doctor friend who went over my bloodwork, found I was anemic, and told me what other tests to request my doctor to take. He was resentful and told me if I had GCA, I'd be blind. Long story short, my inflammation markers were off the charts and biopsy of the temporal artery was positive.
Are you the only person in your family that you know of who's been stricken? My maternal aunt had it, and my mother-in-law as well.
I was taking prednisone about a year and a half and have been off it about nine months, no flareups.
How are you doing now?
Did you have an illness or injury before the onset of symptoms that you think caused your immune system to go into overdrive?
Wishing you the best,
Teri

@hunib33 and sudden onset , you are > 50 yrs old, pain stiffness worse in the morning ?? Are you keeping a pain journal ? Did the internist also suspect PMR? Did you come across the sites pmrandyou.com ? And pmrandIL6 dot com -- the slide show is super informative . I like this figure the best to think about what is happening in PMR.

Do you have a funny story yet ; )

Hi Teri. I actually diagnosed myself! I was searching conditions online, e.g. MS, Lupus, osteoarthritis, etc. and nothing was matching my exact symptoms. So I put all my symptoms in the search bar: low grade fever, runny nose, stiff shoulder and leg muscles, weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue and PAIN. The results returned PMR. I don’t have pain in my temples but all other symptoms mapped. My Internist ran tests for inflammation, and my numbers were off the charts. It was such a relief to have my condition confirmed and to start on a regimen of medication and begin on the road to recovery.

Hi @hunib33, I just found an interesting article,
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-of-polymyalgia-rheumatica#!
"PMR is distinctly less common in Asian, African American, and Latin American populations, though all racial and ethnic groups can be affected."
I think of PMR and GCA as the beasts that were hidden, but lurking in my body, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce.
Was it difficult for you to get diagnosed, given that the occurrence of PMR/GCA in your race/ancestral group is relatively rare?

@sandiw77

Maybe that partially explains my PMR. I’m 27% European.

My son is getting married early Sept. Right after diagnosed this spring we asked my brother-in
-law if he would keep an eye on a demanding cousin during the wedding. The only other person to help her would have been my husband, the father of the groom. His initial response was “No….I have to be free to meet the bride’s family.” He did come around however. He’s actually a great guy.

I’m African American too but DNA testing did reveal that I had 6 % Northern European. Not sure why PMR was in that 6 % but I didn’t get to choose. 😉

In reply to @teddyz

In read that PMR occurred primarily in people from Scandinavian countries, Great Britain and Caucasians. Imagine my surprise being African American. But I didn’t cry ‘ why me’ it proves the mystery of genetics.