My wife has autoimmune disease. She has inflammation in legs and arms.

Posted by twinsgyros @twinsgyros, Apr 25, 2023

Does autoimmune disease (Sjogrens, Lupus, Hashimotos) cause pain and inflammation in groin, legs, arms and shoulders ? She has had every image (1 xray, 5 MRIs and a bone scan) taken and has seen her primary, an orthopedic surgeon, ER doctors, rheumatologist. My wife has seen her rheumatologist and she ruled out PMR after one steroid regimen. Blood tests did show very high sed rate and creatine levels. She was finally referred to a pain management doctor along with his neurologist. They have ruled out any musculoskeletal and referred her back to her rheumatologist.

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Yes, Sjogerns can cause pain, fatigue. I Have Sjogerns and what helps me is a heated mattress pad in the winter to help with morning stiffness. And I keep a heating pad on the back of my recliner and have it on pretty much all the time . I eat an autoimmune protocol diet. When I don’t , the inflammation and pain come
Back. It’s a very restrictive diet but I can tell when I “fall off the wagon “…hope this helps.

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Hi. I have RA and your description of her pain sites certainly is consistent with my pain. As far as ruling out PMR on the basis of one steroid regiment that was ineffective, well that seems odd to me too. With autoimmune disease there isn’t one magic bullet that works for everyone every time. Granted I have RA. But there's a hairs breadth of difference to PMR in my experience. I have hip and shoulder pain more commonly associated with PMR but it is a routine pain area for me - particularly when I flare.

Have you considered getting a second opinion From another Rheumatologist? Where do you live?

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@pb50

Hi. I have RA and your description of her pain sites certainly is consistent with my pain. As far as ruling out PMR on the basis of one steroid regiment that was ineffective, well that seems odd to me too. With autoimmune disease there isn’t one magic bullet that works for everyone every time. Granted I have RA. But there's a hairs breadth of difference to PMR in my experience. I have hip and shoulder pain more commonly associated with PMR but it is a routine pain area for me - particularly when I flare.

Have you considered getting a second opinion From another Rheumatologist? Where do you live?

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Thank you, not a ton of rheumatologists down here in Middle TN. My wife's doctor finally came around in diagnosing, PMR. Please see my most recent post and God Bless.

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@twinsgyros

Thank you, not a ton of rheumatologists down here in Middle TN. My wife's doctor finally came around in diagnosing, PMR. Please see my most recent post and God Bless.

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Apologies. I didn’t realize this was resolved some time ago. Shame on me for not picking up on dates - But glad you got the diagnosis that makes sense to you. Take care…

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I don’t know what to say. To me it sounds like GCA. But if the prednisone didn’t help, then, perhaps not. Usually GCA comes with scalp pain. The bloodwork indicates inflammation. I remember feeling like that with Epstein-Barr and PMR. It has to be auto immune. Just keep looking. I would try another round of prednisone in higher doses, although I don’t know what dose she took.

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Well, I guess you know what it is I didn’t see a prior post. My thinking was right she just did not have a high enough dose of prednisone. Advice from someone who has had many and stone suffers from several autoimmune diseases. Do not reduce too quickly. Good luck.

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@marilynredder2367

Well, I guess you know what it is I didn’t see a prior post. My thinking was right she just did not have a high enough dose of prednisone. Advice from someone who has had many and stone suffers from several autoimmune diseases. Do not reduce too quickly. Good luck.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply. Autoimmune diseases are definitely on the rise, but original diagnosis and further complications of what they can cause is still lacking. Hope you are well and God Bless.

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