1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)
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Clicks and pops in and around shoulder anyone else ?

Posted by ronludington @ronludington, Dec 29, 2025

I read one post that mentioned clicks and pops and thought wow, I thought it was just me. Does anyone else get this ? It's usually on reaching or stretching to pick something up, tie my shoes ..... I told my rheumatologist and she is going to have me get some xrays. She thinks it may be osteoarthritis, but it doesn't feel like it's comming from the shoulder joint itself. Anyone else have this or know what it is ?

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ronludington | @ronludington | Jan 10 5:41pm
In reply to @mwhite6262 "7 years!? Wowsa. On the GCA...I do not bad headaches, but I have been having the..." + (show)
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7 years!? Wowsa. On the GCA...I do not bad headaches, but I have been having the jaw pain for sure. They surgically removed part of my artery in the left temple for biopsy. (10 stitches to be removed next week.) They did one side only. Said all was clear. I continue to mention the jaw pain. Most of the pain that returned after dropping to 40mg from 60mg is in my shoulders and arms. (I feel an increase of pain in my lower back/hips as well.) Hopefully it will level out. I do not have a follow up with my doctor for a couple more weeks so I guess depending on how I feel at that time will determine if my Neurologist will decide to adjust my dosage. She's managing this until my Rheumatologist appointment, which isn't until mid March. I've read and been told by her about the non prednisone option as a potential solution my rheumatologist may recommend, which is probably the kevzara you mentioned.

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@mwhite6262 yes, the jaw pain is in the joint, not like a toothache or root canal, but back in the hinge. If I tried to eat something thick, like a sub. Or hard like tough steak, that joint would hurt.
The shoulders, arms and hips does sound like pmr though. You really need the rheumatologist.
Kevzara or actemara (Same stuff really) is expensive though. The rheumatologist usually can find a way to get it.
Full price is like 4k a month. I'm lucky that being on medicare. Max is 2100 a year, but I get it through a specialty pharmacy with novant, and novant has a program. That pays for it. So I get it for free. Hopfully they can do something similar for you.

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mwhite6262 | @mwhite6262 | Jan 10 8:04pm

The jaw pain is exactly as you describe...especially painful in the morning so if I try to eat a bagel before taking my prednisone I power through the jaw pain. It's only on one side...no tooth pain or mouth pain just the one jaw hinge. By mid day it improves. They did the artery biopsy on the opposite side. They said some Dr perform the artery biopsy on both sides to be as thorough as possible, but they felt since all clear one the side they performed the biopsy on...they are not planning to do the side where I have the jaw pain. I'm not on medicare yet (still on the fence about retiring as I try to wrap my head around how PMR will truly impact me once it's fully treated and stable), but my military retiree insurance has been super throughout all of the variations (total of 11) of MRIs CT scans and ultrasounds over the past 8 weeks to reach this PMR diagnosis...Hopefully if my rheumatologist recommends Kevzara, etc. they will cover it with little if any pushback. And so the journey begins...

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ronludington | @ronludington | Jan 11 7:04am
In reply to @mwhite6262 "The jaw pain is exactly as you describe...especially painful in the morning so if I try..." + (show)
Profile picture for mwhite6262 @mwhite6262

The jaw pain is exactly as you describe...especially painful in the morning so if I try to eat a bagel before taking my prednisone I power through the jaw pain. It's only on one side...no tooth pain or mouth pain just the one jaw hinge. By mid day it improves. They did the artery biopsy on the opposite side. They said some Dr perform the artery biopsy on both sides to be as thorough as possible, but they felt since all clear one the side they performed the biopsy on...they are not planning to do the side where I have the jaw pain. I'm not on medicare yet (still on the fence about retiring as I try to wrap my head around how PMR will truly impact me once it's fully treated and stable), but my military retiree insurance has been super throughout all of the variations (total of 11) of MRIs CT scans and ultrasounds over the past 8 weeks to reach this PMR diagnosis...Hopefully if my rheumatologist recommends Kevzara, etc. they will cover it with little if any pushback. And so the journey begins...

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@mwhite6262 I would do my best to get off the pred as soon as your body let's you. It works really well, but it can have some bad side effects.
Very bad muscle weakness, even muscle will dissapear. Other things too. I hope your rheumatologist will figure it out. But the 40mg should help it if it's gca. If you have trouble with your eyes, you need to get to an er, as gca can make you lose your vision.

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