Non related spouse has PMR? Anyone else?

[klairv0yant]

Ok- this is weird! My ex-partner has had PMR, apparently just got over a 2yr stint with it. I wonder if anyone else has had their partners, spouse, or non-related person in home get PMR TOO. This seems odd, if it autoimmune (I KNOW it's not been determined, the origin of PMR). Curious curiouser

[HeronNS]

I've just learned that a different autoimmune disease, sarcoidosis, may actually harm the body because colonies of bacteria have set up housekeeping in various parts, and they can disturb one's metabolism, among other things. No one knows what causes sarcoidosis (or any of scores of "autoimmune" and "inflammatory" diseases) but I am willing to bet that if we discount ones which are certainly genetic with no other factors, most of the rest will have been caused by effects of some sort of microorganism. Most people will recover quickly and none the wiser from an assault; others, like us, develop chronic ailments of one kind or another.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

All autoimmune disorders have multiple possible causes, there is rarely a single reason. Eventually the straw breaks the camel's back and bingo - an autoimmune disorder manifests! It could be anything - infections, environmental, diet, genetics, all sorts of things.

There are a few recorded cases of spouses developing PMR at a similar time. There are also clusters of PMR recorded in a given area, or at a given time - which would suggest an environmental or infectious cause but no single one has been identified. And spouses developing it would come under the same sort of heading; locality the same, non-related persons with possible similar contacts/exposure to infections.

[tootired424 in reply to PMRpro]

very strangely i am having mixed diagnosis of pmr had very high bloods then had xrays and bloods again and mostly returned to normal except for immune one will see consultant next week i refused steriods as coping well taking naproxen but will take advice given on next visit.point is my husband has had communication after recent blood tests stating his bloods show the possibility of having MGUS AND NOW HAS TO HAVE URINE AND MORE BLOODS.this is also to do with immune system.WE BOTH HAD CHEST INFECTIONS COUGHS COLDS LAST WINTER MOSTLY BLAMING IT ON KISSING SNOTTY NOSED GRANDKIDS GOODBYE! Strange!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tootired424]

There is a form of "PMR" that is a reactive one - i.e. it is the symptoms in response to an infection. PMR is just the name given to the symptoms - what the underlying cause is can vary. Even the PMR we talk about here is recognised by many doctors to be a very heterogenous illness. As we keep saying in response to question: we're all different and how long is a piece of string!

[markbenjamin57 in reply to PMRpro]

This rings a bell PMRpro.

The onset of my PMR was concurrent with what turned out to be a nasty bout of Bacterial (Community Acquired - the type you catch) Pneumonia following much, very tiring international air travel (bad air quality in pressurised flight cabins..?). I blame the spluttering bloke in seat 13D on the Brussels flight :-/. Also, it was quite a stressful time generally.

I've read somewhere that viruses / bacterial illnesses can trigger PMR but my Rheumatologist was non-committal about this.

It was a good 3 months before my GP eventually referred me for tests to confirm the Pneumonia: by which time, the PMR had clearly taken hold as well. Then, a further 3 months for the PMR diagnosis on the NHS. Mmmmm...

My gut feeling is that the lingering Pneumonia caused my immune system to go into overdrive, hence the residual PMR even when the Pneumonia had successfully cleared up.

What do you think..?

p.s. am still working around to the post about Personality Types and Change in the context of PMR.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to markbenjamin57]

Perfectly possible - it is almost always a case that something overloads a dodgy immune system and it goes mad. The fact a lot of people develop it shortly after an infection is probably what makes some people believe it is an infection - but nothing common to all patients could be identified.

Disappointed your GP was so resistant to looking for a cause to a protracted whatever - a chest x-ray is generally open-access and hardly going to break the bank. It is something I'm very edgy about - my husband had an chest infection that didn't clear. Three lots of abx later that had done nothing they decided, on the basis of a peak flow measurement, it must be asthma. A couple of days later he coughed up some blood - and a chest x-ray showed a massive tumour all mixed up with his lungs - the pressure was leading to the irritation (and the reduced peak flow). He could have had that chest x-ray 3 weeks earlier - and sorting the cancer would have been so much simpler!

[markbenjamin57 in reply to PMRpro]

Oh dear PMRpro, it sounds like you've both been in the wars.. makes me feel relatively fortunate.

On presentation of my symptoms to my GP, he did in fact refer me for an x-ray. Result: inflamed bronchial airways and lung linings. Because he knows I'm a light smoker, the verdict was 'smoking-related COPD', a tap on the wrist and 'see how it goes': despite my mentioning the recent air travel, 'fluey' symptoms, extreme stiffness in shoulders etc. It was only when the (as yet un-diagnosed) Pneumonia symptoms became scarily severe and I hammered on his door that he referred me to my local hospital's Emergency walk-in clinic for more tests. I've since learned why he was probably reluctant to refer me - 'big' tests would have come out of his surgery's budget. So, kick the can down the road.. as usual?

The hospital were brilliant: CT scan, bloods, lung function tests, x-rays, the lot. 4 hours later, conclusive diagnosis of Walking Pneumonia, and all other 'nasties' eliminated. Even my confession to naughty smoking was dismissed in the equation due to my overall fitness. Abx fixed the Pneumonia in 2 weeks. Phew..! Then, a similar journey with the eventual PMR diagnosis.

Verdict? Family GP's are very mixed bag in terms of expertise, vigilance and judgement. I'm sure that some just 'process' you against performance targets, and unless you're dying on their doorstep they don't want to expose themselves to additional costs.

Not that I'm bitter and twisted about it..!

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

Looking at my family, four first cousins share autoimmune and/or arthritic conditions with me. I only lived in the same household with them for about two years, so one must assume there's a strong genetic component, which probably made us all vulnerable to this kind of disease - manifesting differently in each of us. (The cousin in that family who doesn't have any of these problems is adopted. And he isn't the youngest.)