1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

I’m Not Responding to Prednisone and I Need Advice

Posted by cliffg26 @cliffg26, Oct 28, 2023

I was diagnosed with PMR last March. My doctor prescribed 15 mg of Prednisone and then reduced that to 12.5. There wasn’t much improvement and recently he increased the dosage to 20 mg. He also referred me to a rheumatologist with whom I have an appointment in four months. Things move slowly here.

I’m very tired all the time and I spend most of my days sitting at my computer or sleeping. The pain and fatigue make it impossible to accomplish much. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
Cliff

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Nov 24, 2023
In reply to @cliffg26 "Does anyone have advice on tapering? I know it can take a long time. I'm currently..." + (show)
@cliffg26

Does anyone have advice on tapering? I know it can take a long time. I'm currently taking 60 mg Prednisone per day, and I'm hoping that will be enough. My symptoms are much better, but they may not be totally gone.

I'm going to see my non-specialist doctor next week and plan to ask him to check my Sedimentation Rate. Unless I receive other information I plan to begin tapering if my Sed Rate gets below 20. It was 87 on 9/20. I'll be seeing a Rheumatologist in about a month. Is that a reasonable plan?

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My rheumatologist always told me to taper only when my pain level was gone or at a low level that was acceptable. For me that was generally below a 1 on my pain scale. He also suggested I keep a daily pain log for my pain level when waking up along with the dosage for that day. Do you keep a pain log?

REPLY
1 reply
cliffg26 | @cliffg26 | Nov 24, 2023
In reply to @johnbishop "My rheumatologist always told me to taper only when my pain level was gone or at..." + (show)
@johnbishop

My rheumatologist always told me to taper only when my pain level was gone or at a low level that was acceptable. For me that was generally below a 1 on my pain scale. He also suggested I keep a daily pain log for my pain level when waking up along with the dosage for that day. Do you keep a pain log?

Jump to this post

No pain log, but I've been trying to put together a chronology of PMR progression. I'll include info on pain, but until now, the pain has been pretty constant.

Right now I'm typing with two hands, but for most of this year I've typed with one. My left arm hasn't been working.

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