How many of us have both Polymyalgia and fibromyalgia?

[Louisepenygraig]

Has any one ever done a survey to see how many people with Fibromyalgia also develop PMR?

I notice quite a few people on here (including me now) that they have both.

I'm also curious as to how easy people find it to distinguish symptoms as there are differences but also quite a bit of overlap when it comes to aches and pains and tiredness!

[Rose54]

Hi

I was only wondering that yesterday

I belong to Fibromyalgia site as well , thier have been many who are having further investigations. Due to inflammation levels in thier blood which you do not get with Fibro.

I don't have Fibro but joined that site before I knew what I had

[lesley2015]

Hi - I have both, GCA/PMR - Fibro - inflammatory arthritis and to be honest I often have no idea what is causing my pain, my bloods have settled so pain seems more consistent with fibro - always fatigued though.

Seems PMR often leads to fibro or inflammatory arthritis .... apparently.

Best wishes

[Louisepenygraig in reply to lesley2015]

That's interesting, although I had fibro first.

[lesley2015 in reply to Louisepenygraig]

Well I guess if many people go on to get fibro , it may work the other way too if there is a connection.

[kay7954]

I was diagnosed with Fibro in 1993. Then 4 years ago my pain was different, between my shoulders, hips and legs, lots of xrays, physical therapy, neuro consult, but cause of increased pain not clear. In April I started having severe headaches and the pain between my shoulders and my hips was unbearable. That is when they ran my Sed rate and saw that it was elevated. Started me on Pred 60mg. For me the fibro pain is soreness in the muscle with fatigue where my PMR pain is stiffness, stabbing pain in my joint of right hip, pain traveling down my left arm into my fingers and then the stabbing headache. The fatigue is really bad with GCA/PMR, much worse than fibro.

[Louisepenygraig in reply to kay7954]

My story sounds similar to yours. although for me the fatigue has been the biggest issue with both. From my reading it's probable that I have CFS with Fibro. I generally don't get the very severe pains that most people with Fibro describe unless I eat bread made with yeast (sourdough is OK) I found that yeast caused problems getting on for 40 years ago when I was taking brewers yeast tablets to, supposedly, help with energy levels. Eating wheat results in weak muscles and tiredness but spelt is ok. About 5 years ago i started researching fibro after some one I know said she had it and mentioned the same symptoms as I have. I wasn't sure though because of the lack of pain. However just over 2 years ago I was getting a lot of pain and, with hindsight, realised I'd let yeast back into my diet! I was getting more tired so had stopped making sourdough spelt bread and was buying commercial spelt and gluten free bread instead!. When i went to the doctor in August 2016 it was to ask about fibro. He didn't rule it out but didn't confirm it either. At that time my bloods were normal though and i didnt follow it up. By spring 2017 my lack of energy was a lot worse and I was getting some new pains round my neck so I went back. This time my ESR was high and the doctor diagnosed possible PMR and put me on steroids which resulted in a dramatic improvement. The doctor didn't seem particularly interested in discussing fibro after that and I didn't push it either so I kind of forgot about It! The fibro symptoms come and go, I think quite a lot depends on the weather, and diet. When I had an official diagnosis my first reaction was relief as it explains so much for so many years, followed by a 'down' spell because I think I'd been kidding myself that once the PMR had gone I'd have some sort of energy levels that I've never actually had! Now I'm optimistic again and hoping that knowing this will help.

[Daisychain12]

Hi Louise, yes I have had fibro diagnosis for nearly 30 years with all that entails. The pain for me was different early this year, nothing touched it and knew so did my GP that something else was going on, yet all my bloods were "normal". Luckily he tried me on pred as an attempt to see if it was PMR and like magic the new pains went in hours. I don't know of any link between fibro and PMR but I bet there are a lot of people with one or the other with wrong diagnosis.

[Louisepenygraig in reply to Daisychain12]

It's interesting that all your bloods were normal. Going by my rapid decline in energy (rather than pain) I've wondered if my PMR had started before it showed in my bloods.

[Daisychain12 in reply to Louisepenygraig]

Louise the only reason I have not mentioned fatigue is that I do not have the language to describe the depths of fatigue and exhaustion I have been through over the last three decades. I honestly don't think there are words for it. xxx