1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

PMR and the taper

Posted by greysky @greysky, May 7 9:37am

Hello , new to the group 65 years old
I was Diagnosed with PMR 12/28/24 and have been tapering down from 25 mg to 20 to 15 to 12.5 to 10 …about a week on 8 mg of prednisone and the pain is back was hoping it would be better… so my question is with each 1mg drop is the pain going to go away. ? I will not take a higher mg . The side effects from steroids are awful.the pain is awful Im getting discouraged 🫤 Any suggestions or advice, thank you

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

tyman23 | @tyman23 | 3 days ago
In reply to @johnbishop "Welcome @tyman23, Sorry to hear you've joined the PMR club but happy you have found Connect...." + (show)
@johnbishop

Welcome @tyman23, Sorry to hear you've joined the PMR club but happy you have found Connect. Lot's of member experience here to help with any of your questions. If you haven't already seen these discussions, they have a lot of good information.
-- Comprehensive Overview Of PMR: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/comprehensive-overview-of-pmr/
-- How to Slowly and Safely Taper Off Prednisone but ... no set rules.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-to-slowly-and-safely-taper-off-prednisone-but-no-set-rules/
There are also quite a few member discussions and comment related to PMR and COVID if you want to scan through them - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=COVID%20and%20PMR.

You mentioned head pain. Head pain can be an indication of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA). Is your head pain like a headache or tenderness in the scalp or temple areas?

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Thank you for the reply, John. My headaches have pretty much stopped since they put me on an antibiotic. Prior to that I had PMR symptoms + sore, feverish spots on scalp but not necessarily at my temples. I’ve never had a die run through my vascular system so hoping that happens sooner than later. I’ve turned the corner on my depression and anxiety so now just trying to dial in the prednisone and get rheumatologist appt setup. My regular Dr mentioned the possibility of PMR which adds up but slow going with the medical community on this one that they appear to know little about.

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tyman23 | @tyman23 | 2 days ago
In reply to @tjmjsjwj "Radically changed my diet to one that involved eliminating everything that is inflammatory or that could..." + (show)
@tjmjsjwj

Radically changed my diet to one that involved eliminating everything that is inflammatory or that could be a cause of leaky gut. No animal protein, no glute, no dairy, no oils, no alcohol, and nothing inflammatory. Only foods that promote healing.

It is part of the Paddison Program. Clint Paddison healed himself of RA and developed the program. He now uses the same method for many types of autoimmunes. Including PMR.

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Thanks for the info I’ll ck it out.

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tyman23 | @tyman23 | 2 days ago
In reply to @petermccarville "What did you find your "root causes" to be? Curious. Thanks." + (show)
@petermccarville

What did you find your "root causes" to be? Curious. Thanks.

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I’m eating healthier than ever. Actually I’ve been gradually getting better ever since 2019 after a bad bout of Covid. First quit smoking, next lost 60 lbs and quit drinking 3 1/2 years ago. If what I truly have is PMR I think it started after the first round of Covid but it could have been earlier or even after my second bout in Sept of 2021. In the past it was always in my hips and back, girdling, but this event that started April 26 was all head, neck and shoulders. At its worst I told my wife it felt like I’d gone to the gym and did every upper body machine way too much. I went to my health and wellness doc about two weeks into this and had lost 5 lbs and gained 2 lbs of muscle. I told her whatever I had was making my body workout, lol. Fortunately, I’ve taken control with the help of pred and managing much better. Did a split dose last night and this morning, 5/10. So far so good! Started at 40 mg a couple weeks ago so headed in the right direction and sleeping, woohoo!

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tyman23 | @tyman23 | 2 days ago
In reply to @wfroslansky "Give it a week. I experienced light pain along the way sometimes for a few weeks..." + (show)
@wfroslansky

Give it a week. I experienced light pain along the way sometimes for a few weeks after a reduction. Keep working on your range of motion, maybe take a Tylenol and be patient.

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Yep, yoga starts Fri! I’m as stiff as a board so I’ll work into it slowly. I’m also going to start my chair exercises again but reduce the reps until I hone in on it. Rode my electric bike earlier this week for the first time since episode, felt good but used my assist more than normal which is ok. Maybe the best thing I’ve done recently is sit out on my deck in the sun and just chill! I’ve definitely got to get back to my happy place soon, beach bound!

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