My husband has finally been diagnosed with Polymyelitis Rheumatica; 1 injection of steroid stopped pain. Cholesterol level 3.3, no statins.

[Fiddlestix]

In desperation and against all our principles as NHS supporters we paid to see a specialist who diagnosed the condition immediately. Our GP will now continue to monitor blood cholesterol levels which presumably the statin had reduced and administer a declining dose of steroid - probably long term. Maybe advice when stopping a statin to relieve a supposed reaction against them is to see a Rheumatology specialist if the pain continues. My husband was becoming immobile through pain and stiffness and had not slept for over 4 weeks.

[Hidden]

Do you mean 'polymyalgia'? or 'polymyositis'? both coditions of arthritis of the muscles......and be aware that for some people one of the side effeects of statins is severe muscle pains, particularly in the large muscles of the arms and legs. Steroids are used to relieve severe pain caused by arthritis. I think it could be a wise move to see how it goes without the statins and without the steroid.

[Fiddlestix]

Thanks EveC. I just checked and the diagnosis given is Polymyalgia Rheumatica. We now know of 2 other cases locally, both men and both have had excellent results with steroids. We were desperate as stopping the statin had no effect - in fact the pains were worsening. We will now follow the advice of the specialist and see him in 2/52.

[Hidden in reply to Fiddlestix]

from my recollections in and earlier life in the NHS I think PMR is often a self limiting condition...sadly the span could be as much as 7 years, perhaps there is more info on the web about this... This isn't that uncommon and symptoms do vary and diminish over time, also I think it does go into remission.

[Penel]

I hope your husband will continue to improve now that he has been diagnosed.

It may be a long shot, but eliminating possible inflammatory foods may be of some help. For example, gluten is associated with a wide variety of autoimmune disorders.

Good luck to you both.

[Fiddlestix]

Thank you Penel. As luck has it he makes all our wholemeal bread and consumes 2 to 3 slices daily.

[sandybrown]

Hello,

Thank you for informing us of this Polymyalgia Rheumatica problem.

Good luck with recovery.

In medical terms it is now under control, you have to continue with the medication.

Please do regular check on cholesterol at a local chemist, there may be a charge, you can do this when ever you like, NHS, GP blood test GP practice count the coat.

Body pain, we all start with growing pain and then a lot more from side effect of medication as we get older. NHS, GP should be able to work this out!,

Thank God, you had money to go private to identify your problem.

Please take a look at this site:

patient.co.uk/health/polymy...

[Fiddlestix]

Thanks Bala - but what about everyone else who cannot afford to pay for a consultation. The NHS is being sold from under our noses and against the majority wish of the UK who believed Mr. Cameron when he promised not to privatise it.

[malcolmp in reply to Fiddlestix]

How can you tell when Mr Cameron is lying.He moves his lips.The nhs will end up like dentists.If you want quality care you will have to pay the piper and everyone else who cant afford it will get the economy

package.On the positive side it will encourage some people to be more proactive about making the right lifestyle choices to avoid heavy medical costs in the future.

[patch14]

I am pleased your husband has had the diagnosis he needed. I too, have heard that gluten can cause problems with arthritis, and also, I have heard from friends that removing the nightshade foods from our diet helps. Nightshade you say!!! Yes, potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, sweet peppers, and aubergines! These are all members of the nightshade family and can cause inflammation of the joints. It is well known that chillies are used medicinally to help in warming the body! Also red meat can also cause some problems but be careful as omitting this from your diet you could end up anaemic, as my husband did when he was diagnosed with high BP, now he eats red meat and watches his iron levels. If he feels tired he takes iron tablets. His BP is OK now and takes a low level tablet. Best of luck to your husband and wish him well from me.

[steephill44]

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) is a nasty problem which can be difficult to diagnose but one that responds well to steroids. I understand these can be reduce after a while and eventually discontinued but only under medical supervision. There is a serious condition which can be associated with PMR called Giant Cell Arteritis which can cause blindness if not treated in time; again, steroids are the 'wonder-cure' and must be continued as long as the doctor stipulates.

I only know about these conditions because a friend had PMR and suffered pains for a long time before it was diagnosed; he is now fine. Also I had an eye problem which the specialist feared was GCA and gave me urgent tests; I would have had to start steroid therapy immediately if it had been confirmed. In the event, it turned out to be a small clot in the optic nerve caused by a plaque in the carotid artery so I now have to take aspirin and statins (muscle aches can be helped a lot by taking Q10 tablets - I have 100mg. a day).

[Hidden in reply to steephill44]

anybody taking statins should supplement Q10 which is a very necessary nutrient, statins destroy Q10. Pomegranate juice will help to reduce plaque in arteries a lot, but it takes time....months (6-12 even) so not a quick fix.

[Fiddlestix]

Thanks for all this information. We do enjoy the 'nightshade' foods but will check out Q10 today.

[malcolmp]

Hi fiddlestix

Inflammation is often the cause of high cholesterol ,because the body is actually using cholesterol to reduce the damage caused by friction between the blood platelets and the linings of the arterial walls.The body naturally produces nitric oxide to stop the friction between the two contact surfaces,thereby reducing inflammation.But when our natural production of nitric oxide becomes depleted the process is interrupted and our arteries suffer damage.

There are a number of different things that can help with you condition,as mentioned by other contributors.Also you might be interested in doing some research on arginine supplements and vitamin D.If you want any help with resources just ping me a reply.

Wishing you all the best on your journey to better health.

[sandybrown in reply to malcolmp]

Hi,

I am interested in finding out more therefore could you please write what ever you can. Your comments are very interesting to read and helpful. Thanks.

[Fiddlestix]

Update. My husband is tolerating a declining steroid dose for Polymyalgia Rheumatica and has no pain. However a friend has alerted us to a site maintaining that statins are a cause of Polymyalgia Rheumatica.We had assumed the conditions were totally unrelated. Link; greenmedinfo.com "A new name for statin toxicity, Polymyalgia Rheumatica." by Sayer Ji. Does anyone have information on this ?

[Penel in reply to Fiddlestix]

Glad to hear your husband is out of pain and reducing the steroids.

The science sitePubMed, which summarises research papers, has this article which links statins to PMR, and suggests that more research is needed.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2...

It is the article referred to in the 'green med info' link.