1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

PMR and Work

Posted by neztrop @neztrop, 2 days ago

I’m 63 and was planning on working until 67. My PMR started 4 months ago and my life has been upside down. I started at 50mg and now at 20mg. I force myself into my car and go to work. By about 1pm my body is mostly pain free. Everyday is Groundhogs Day and I’m not sure I can keep this up.
What have other people done to manage work and PMR?
Thanks

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megz | @megz | 13 hours ago
In reply to @neztrop "The Last 2 months it’s been just the AM dose. They moved PM due to sleep..." + (show)
@neztrop

The Last 2 months it’s been just the AM dose. They moved PM due to sleep issues.
I had minimal pain with 30mg. But since we started the tapering it has been hard.
I’m at 20 now and dropping to 17.5 on Thursday.

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It's up to you whether to try a smaller split dose in the later part of the day to help with morning pain. A lot of us end up tweaking the dose and timing till it works, and sometimes the improvements are more gradual than we would like. And with every reduction there could be some small increase in morning aches which may take a week or so to resolve. Do you keep a daily note of the level of morning pain and aches you have, along with the current dose? I've found it useful to see what helps and what doesn't.

REPLY
neztrop | @neztrop | 9 hours ago
In reply to @nyxygirl "O- M- G !!! hello @neztrop check out his conversation https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/870000/ -Ground Hog day indeed !!..." + (show)
@nyxygirl

O- M- G !!! hello @neztrop check out his conversation https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/870000/ -Ground Hog day indeed !!

To answer your question about work - I went on Family Medical Leave of Absence - we have that here in Massachusetts instead of short term disability. I never knew by what time of late morning I would feel OK , I could barely do any work from home because I was not up to it. And the thought of driving was way too scary.

However --for me and others increasing a suboptimal dose of about 20-15mg to 30 mg did the trick ( however my PCP would not prescribe higher dose - so do you already have a Rheumatologist) !! As I noted , my heat map of stiffness for three times during the day turned completely green at 30 mg not 20 mg! Did your highest dose ever rid you completely of pain and stiffness ? Like magic ?

And I totally agree with @megz about the split dose . And are you keeping a pain journal ? Check out PMRandIL6.com website for some great slides.

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Thanks so much! The higher dose did clear the pain but my Rheumatologist is concerned about bad effects of prednisone. I see him tomorrow and am asking to slow the taper a bit. Thanks for your help.

REPLY
neztrop | @neztrop | 9 hours ago
In reply to @nyxygirl "O- M- G !!! hello @neztrop check out his conversation https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/870000/ -Ground Hog day indeed !!..." + (show)
@nyxygirl

O- M- G !!! hello @neztrop check out his conversation https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/870000/ -Ground Hog day indeed !!

To answer your question about work - I went on Family Medical Leave of Absence - we have that here in Massachusetts instead of short term disability. I never knew by what time of late morning I would feel OK , I could barely do any work from home because I was not up to it. And the thought of driving was way too scary.

However --for me and others increasing a suboptimal dose of about 20-15mg to 30 mg did the trick ( however my PCP would not prescribe higher dose - so do you already have a Rheumatologist) !! As I noted , my heat map of stiffness for three times during the day turned completely green at 30 mg not 20 mg! Did your highest dose ever rid you completely of pain and stiffness ? Like magic ?

And I totally agree with @megz about the split dose . And are you keeping a pain journal ? Check out PMRandIL6.com website for some great slides.

Jump to this post

Many Thanks! I do keep a pain journal of sorts.
I see my Dr tomorrow and am hopeful he will raise my dose back to 25 or 30, at least until I reduce my hours at work. We’ll see.
Thanks Again.

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