Can PMR (Polymyalgia Rheumatica) be induced by vaccine?

Posted by kristem2020 @kristem2020, Jan 2, 2021

Good evening, I’ve recently been diagnosed with PMR. It came on a week after my flu shot October 23, 2020.

Has anyone experienced the same diagnosis after a flu shot?

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

@johnbishop

Hello @kristem2020 and @veronixa, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will notice I changed the title of the discussion to better describe the discussion. I did find some information on the topic you might find helpful.

"Immunization has been reported as a rare trigger for vasculitides; a recent review of 1797 adverse events (AEs) reported across three international databases found that PMR represented 9.2% of reported AEs and was more frequently associated with influenza vaccines (3).Dec 16, 2019"
- Relapse of polymyalgia rheumatica following adjuvanted influenza vaccine: A case-based review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7002008/

- Polymyalgia Rheumatica After Influenza Vaccine: https://www.journalmc.org/index.php/JMC/article/view/2788/2121

I've had two occurrences of PMR but fortunately it's now in remission. Are you able to share a little more about your current PMR symptoms and how you are doing with the treatment?

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Thank you SO much for including the links medical sites that are at least considering the connection between flu shots and PMR. My doctor does not yet credit a connection but is open to reading material and this will be helpful in at least making a case for the possibility.

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@milld835

My belief is that they already have studied it and know, but of course won't tell us. The PMR has settled down very well. Progress every day. I almost gave up as well, because I could not face getting up in the morning. Last night was my first "sleep right thru" night in months and months. On to our remissions....

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SO pleased you are seeing progress every day. I was heartened today to read the two medical articles John referenced earlier in the discussion - where PMR was clearly associated with the adjuvant flu shots in "rare" cases. This seems like a step in the right direction IF the medical community will give it credence and pursue more case studies. I, too, am cynical about what we are being told. Not on a one-to-one level by my doctor, who is quite transparent and honest, but by those higher up the food-chain with medical, research, and pharmaceutical profit-making biases. Denial is rife, as is misdirection-as-a-public-policy it seems. Yes indeed . . . on to our remissions!

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Yes indeed. Quite a few of us developed PMR within days of a adjuvant flu shot - which my doctor says is all that is being produced these days. I didn't get the "senior" shot (which is a 4+ whammy) but I did get an adjuvant flu shot and within 2 days things got bad and then progressively worse. You asked if anyone else out there had the same experience you did and the answer is an unqualified: YES. I hope your recovery is short and you are finding the medical help you need.

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Same with me four years ago!

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I am starting to wonder this myself. I got flu shot end of October 2021 and symptoms slowly started mid November. 2021

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I had 2 shingrix and 1 flu vaccine within few weeks of each other. shortly after receiving them I was diagnosed with PMR then eventually RA. While trying to wean off prednisone I got covid, J&j vaccine , flu vaccine, covid again and a second J&J VACCINE over 1 year time. I had a horrible relapse. I really feel like the vaccines are the common trigger but I'm not sure if not getting them is Worse🤷‍♀️Thoughts? This is so frustrating and confusing.

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@dubecates

I had 2 shingrix and 1 flu vaccine within few weeks of each other. shortly after receiving them I was diagnosed with PMR then eventually RA. While trying to wean off prednisone I got covid, J&j vaccine , flu vaccine, covid again and a second J&J VACCINE over 1 year time. I had a horrible relapse. I really feel like the vaccines are the common trigger but I'm not sure if not getting them is Worse🤷‍♀️Thoughts? This is so frustrating and confusing.

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I think vaccines were responsible for my PMR also. I had 3 vaccines in 4 1/2 weeks in the fall of 2020- a flu, a pneumonia, and a tetanus. The flu and pneumonia were my first ones. Then, a few weeks later I started having pain. For a while I thought it was caused by repetitive motion (I'm a cellist) but eventually it became much worse every time I exercised..even yoga. I knew there was a big problem then. Eventually, I put 2 and 2 together about the vaccines as a possible cause. I understand how you feel. It's hard to know whether to get vaccines or not now. I went ahead with the COVID vaccines and boosters but didn't get a flu or the second pneumonia this fall. It sounds like you've been through a lot.

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@dubecates

Thanks for your input.

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Yes I got pmr last May a couple of weeks after my first Covid shot. Apparently any vaccine is a trigger for pmr caused by the adjuvant they put in vaccines. I have heard that it is not the only trigger stress can cause it also. The doctors don’t know what causes it. Either hereditary or environmental. Lots of us on this site and others got it after a vacination

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I also think the flu vaccine is responsible for my PMR symptoms, and I am heartened to find a community where this is considered a possibility.
On Oct. 18, 2021, at the age of 71, I had the high-dose (senior) flu vaccine. At a doctor's appointment on Oct. 20, I was pronounced "healthy" with normal blood pressure. A week later, I started to have PMR symptoms, which I blamed on a new exercise program. By the time I realized this was much more serious, and I went to my doctor again in early November, I was a different person — constant pain in shoulders and hips, stiffness and weakness, unable to raise my arms, walking upstairs one step at a time — although the test for PMR inflammation markers was negative. I was fortunate to see a rheumatologist in December. He gave me two cortisone shots that relieved most symptoms for several weeks. But now (Jan. 30, 2022) I am taking Naproxen in order to get through the day — get dressed, drive, work on the computer. I would like my doctor to report this as a negative reaction to the flu vaccine. I am also looking for some way to get past this without taking prednisone. Any suggestions would be more than welcome. Thank you.

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