Does a change in weather cause your PMR to flare?

@jsteck, a few other members have mentioned weather in relation to the PMR flaring. See these related discussions:
- Can pmr worsen with weather: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/can-pmr-worsen-with-weather/
- PMR in cold or inclement weather https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-3/

Is there anything else along with a storm that could contribute to a flare, like poor sleep?

Colleen, thank you for your response. I read the posts. I think sleep, or lack thereof, could definitely be a contributor. I woke up in pain and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Chicken or the egg thing. With the storms, the night before last and yesterday, I had pain all day in my shoulders and stiffness in my hips. Tonight I start Methotrexate. I hope that will help.

Whenever the barometric pressure changes whether it goes up or down I seem to have more polymyalgia pain. I do watch barometric pressure levels daily. Also, the winter months seem to be more difficult for me. I live in Illinois.
I have been off of prednisone for one year now. Never a day without pain however, it is manageable with over-the-counter pain meds.

I have noticed for the past few years that I am in more pain when storms are in the area. I often joke with my family that I should have been a weather girl because my pain is an accurate predictor of the weather. I think it is arthritis in general, not just PMR. I agree that it is reflective of changes in barometric pressure. I would love to have regular access to a dry sauna. ❤️

When it gets cold here in Florida my joints feel terrible

I didn’t believe it at first but, I am convinced that I can do better than the weather guessers on TV. Every time we are getting a storm my PMR raises its ugly head. Starts by interrupting my sleep (side sleeping with shoulder pain is a bugger). Then in the morning my immobility, pain, and lack of sleep make for a tough day. Started my Methotrexate today. How long before that kicks in?

I am taking 9 MG tapering. We just had lots of rain and cold temperatures. I woke up with bad pain in neck, shoulders and hips. Also stiffness and generally feeling awful. Otherwise I am doing fine at 9 MG but this really threw me in a dizzy. Anyone else have this?

Can’t say that the weather is the main culprit for your pains. I do believe that any changes in weather will exacerbate arthritis and I feel on some days of colder wet weather here in NE Ohio I feel achy and stiffener than other days, but I would definitely look into your tapering. Not a science and as I found out over the last 15 months definitely does not follow a linear path. My journey tapering has had some downs and ups. So look into how much and how fast you are tapering. That may be part of the pain/stiffness problem.

I definitely see a difference in the weather, particularly when it gets colder.
I think the severe northeast winter made the symptoms I tried to ignore unbearable.
Since spring, I noticed I feel great on warm (50+) sunny days. Dip into the 40s and I feel it, even in our warm house. Also Raynaud's had been awful is much less of a problem over 46 degrees (yes, it's become a thing to tell what it's like out by how I feel!).

Hello @lovey77,

I combined your discussion on PMR and weather flares with an existing discussion titled:

"Does a change in weather cause your PMR to flare?"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/does-a-change-in-weather-cause-your-pmr-to-flare/

Here you can meet @boo3, @grownupcf, @jsteck and @dlb3 who have shared their experiences with this topic.