Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story

Hi Liz thanks for your feedback. I’m so glad you are getting back to health.
I too try to eat healthy low salt low sugar and lots of fruits veggies along with lean meat and fish.
I have been underweight for years and have a hard time gaining weight. I’ve read prednisone can make you gain weight. Did you find that to be true?

Hi Fam,
I did not gain weight taking prednisone as some have reported. I attributed that to my relatively strict diet and really trying to limit salt and sugar. Walking every day and yoga are also in my routine.

Sounds like you have a healthy life style Liz.
I try to maintain one as well. That’s why this condition threw me for a loop. I just hope I’m able to tolerate the prednisone and get relief from pain and stiffness so I can get back to my exercises.

I was recently diagnosed with
PMR and received a prescription of 5mg prednisone to be taken daily.
I’m 75 yrs old and have been reluctant to start the meds. I’m always concerned about side affects. I’ve alway tried to take natural remedies but due to pain and this diagnosis I’m thinking I may have to take the prednisone. I’m glad I found this support group and I’m hoping to find the best solution for myself by hearing others experiences.

Hi @fam8284, I understand your reluctance to take Prednisone, but most people who suffer from PMR experience a dramatic relief from symptoms after taking it. 5 mg sounds like a low dose - I think the usual for PMR is 15 -10 mg.
I had PMR, then GCA for a year, undiagnosed, so no prednisone, just constant pain and other strange symptoms. Was diagnosed with GCA after a temporal artery biopsy and put on 40 mg, with tapering down every two weeks. I was on it a year and a half, and have been off prednisone now for nearly a year.
My mother-in-law had GCA as well and didn't want to take the prednisone, but was told she could go blind or have a stroke if she didn't. She took the Prednisone and was cured of GCA eventually with no flareups,. She lived to be nearly 100.
I hope our stories help you make a decision.

You will be fine. I was amazed at how quickly the PMR pain went away when I was on the right dose of prednisone. You too sound like you are healthy so I am hoping that you will find relief soon. This forum has been very helpful because, in the beginning, no one I knew had ever heard of PMR. I wasn’t looking for sympathy but just someone to understand what I was going through. Fortunately my husband got it. He was a lifesaver, lifting me out of bed for several days when the pain was at its peak.

I just received a call today from my doctor regarding my bilateral temporal arteritis biopsy results. "Least Likely" that I have Giant Cell Arteritis. Strange wording for my results, but I'll take it.

I have a question for anyone out there that has either a history of GERD or started having reflux issues because of their PMR. I was diagnosed with GERD/Reflux 25 years ago. I would have flare-ups, I'd see my GI doctor, went for Upper GI, I was treated, and it resolved. However, I went to my GI doctor 3 months ago when my symptoms flared up, and she scheduled me for an upper GI in October, OMG! I'm on Omeprazole, however, it is not stopping my symptoms like it use to.
MY QUESTION IS: Can PMR cause GI flare-ups of GERD? My symptoms seem more intense since my PMR symptoms started.

HERE ARE MY CURRENT SYMPTOMS - NO QUESTION THAT I HAVE GERD:
Acid Reflux/backwash 3+ days a week
Burning in throat, esophagus, and stomach
Throat swollen
Laryngitis/change in voice often
Skin peeling in mouth; lips and mouth burning
Difficulty Swallowing (also during recent PET Scan throat felt like it closed 3 times)
Substantial increase in swallowing
Burping at times
Chronic cough with bouts lasting for hour - has been going on for years since I started with having symptoms of PMR
2 Granulomas in left lung - benign
Nausea
Anxiety/grinding teeth from continuous burning and coughing

Please let me know if there is any correlation between PMR & GERD. Any feedback or info would be soooo helpful!

It took over 4 months to diagnose my PMR. I could barely walk. I was so sedentary and in bed for extended periods of time. I even developed a decubitus on my back side. My rheumatologist missed my PMR. It was my PCP who diagnosed my PMR and started me on 15 mg of prednisone a day. Within 36 hours, my pain was reduced by 90%. I took it for 4 months, than began a slow taper off of it. That was 3 years ago. I have not had any signs or symptoms of PMR since then.

The prednisone was not fun, and I developed a ‘double’ colon infection which required a 3 day hospitalization. Even with that, the prednisone was so very helpful and worth the side effects.

I hope you are able to get your PMR under control quickly.

Joan, I had the same awful reflux for about six months last year, before PMR and prednisolone. Almost every night I woke with terrible burning acid reflux and had to go back to half-sleep propped up with three pillows. I thought it would never go away.

The thing that resolved the reflux for me was going onto a strict low carbohydrate diet with no eating or snacking after 7pm. It really was an instant resolution of the GERD for me, and a huge relief to have it go away so immediately. Just mentioning it to you in case a dietary change may work for you too, instead of relying on more drugs which can cause other problems.