How did your PMR begin?

Posted by ctjpmarie @ctjpmarie, Apr 13, 2023

In trying to understand PMR-( my husband has it) …I’m curious to know -if any of you had anything specifically stressful, going on in your life, at the onset of PMR? You know-besides, the normal day-to-day stressors of life?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

Definitely recent stressful event and I had a recent bout of COVID (mild).

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I had covid on New Year’s Eve2021 and starting around 6 months later, a floodgate of health issues ensued. It started in the middle of work. My hand and wrist just started aching. Severity increased over time and I went to an urgent care the next day who sent me to the ER because at this point my hand and wrist were substantially swollen and the pain had become crippling. I spent 3 days as an inpatient and was released with no diagnosis. Fast forward a few months, it pops up in my hip and is excruciating. It bounces from hip, elbow, hands, shoulder. Att this point, nothing is really helping but I just got to see a rheumatologist a few days ago. I hope I can find some relief or control soon. I wish all of you the same. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.

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@1yoganurse

I had no stressors when my began. I was healthy.. went to sleep and awoke at 3 AM with my shoulders and hips on fire in severe pain.

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Same here ! Healthy .. neck started to hurt and then everything from there !!

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It was the worst pain in my life. I suffered like a dog for 7 months because of incompetent rheumatologist. A NP saved my life by ordering prednisone. Finally my pain resolved but my joints were frozen. I began Yoga and water exercises which restored my joint health.
Lesson: always see another doctor asap if you’re not getting better.

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About 25 years ago in my 40s I have classic PMR pain in my shoulder and hip girdle for no reason. I am and was addicted to exercise and probable had this pain for years but blamed it on the extensive amount of exercise that I have done my whole life. For some reason I hadn't exercised for about 5 days and still had this pain. It was diagnosed by a rheumatologist based on history alone and given prednisone(P) 10 mg. Within 6 hours of taking my first pill I was without pain and a new man. Now the problems start. I taped down to 0 P and was fine for a year. Then the pain returned. Went on 10 mg P and was fine for about a year. PMR return and the processed continued for about 15 years and then I went on 2.5 mg of P for about 10 years and not I am on 5 mg of P. I have seen 4 rheumatologist and two thought I didn't have PMR but they were not sure what I had. Hopefully someone will find a cure.

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Mine started right after my flu shot. I was tired and thought the fatigue and aches were from that. The stiffness in my neck got worse. I felt like I was walking on stilts. Fortunately, my doctor diagnosed pmr, confirmed with lab tests. On prednisone and tapering down. Grateful that my husband pushed me to see the doctor. Grateful that my doctor listened and didn’t disregard my complaints of aches and pain from this 70 year old. Looking forward to when this is in my rear view mirror.

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My Primary wanted me to stop taking my statin for 2-3 weeks, to verify that the statin wasn't causing the pain, knowing PMR was a possibility. I had already been experiencing the pain for a few weeks, and adding another three weeks was really tough! After three weeks, he was tired of receiving my tearful emails about the pain and lack of sleep. Did anyone's doctor, take this step, before diagnosing with PMR?

Also, he thought I would become diabetic, so I started testing my glucose daily. I've been on prednisone for four months now, and my glucose levels are normal. I'm down to 14 mg's per day now. He's surprised. Did anyone have their glucose levels go up while on prednisone?

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I had 3 Pfizer Covid shots and my 4th shot, I decided to "mix it up" to get broader protection (that was being discussed in the media at the time) so my 4th shot was Moderna. All Covid vaccines have caused muscle pain and stiffness but it always went away within a few weeks. After the Moderna shot, the pain and stiffness was worse and kept getting worse until I could hardly get out of bed and after a couple hours in the car, I could hardly get out of the car! Shot was in May - my doctor ran a bunch of tests and diagnosed PMR in early August. Down to 4 mg prednisone now.
Good luck!

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@don57

My Primary wanted me to stop taking my statin for 2-3 weeks, to verify that the statin wasn't causing the pain, knowing PMR was a possibility. I had already been experiencing the pain for a few weeks, and adding another three weeks was really tough! After three weeks, he was tired of receiving my tearful emails about the pain and lack of sleep. Did anyone's doctor, take this step, before diagnosing with PMR?

Also, he thought I would become diabetic, so I started testing my glucose daily. I've been on prednisone for four months now, and my glucose levels are normal. I'm down to 14 mg's per day now. He's surprised. Did anyone have their glucose levels go up while on prednisone?

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Yes my A1C went up and I currently am not eating any refined sugar.

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Mine started after being sick with a virus-what virus I do not know. This was a year ago. I had all my covid vaccines at the time but I think I had Covid and that is what triggered mine. Totally healthy before-now not so much.

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