Help/advice

[D3MNR]

I had a middle ear infection about 3 weeks ago which has cleared up but since then I have been suffering with fatique and body aches everywhere but particularly in my legs and shoulders. Can polymyalgia occur after a infection? I have fibromyalgia but never had a flare up that lasts so long.

[SheffieldJane]

Yes it can. It is one of the factors people report along with a period of stress. Unfortunately Fibro can exist alongside.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Yes - anything that puts stress onto the immune system can be the final trigger. No one thing causes PMR to develop, it is a succession of factors and eventually one thing breaks the camel's back. Stresses can be infections, trauma, surgery, environmental, emotional or physical in nature and genetic background can also play a role.

The difference from fibro is that the ESR/CRP which indicate inflammation) may be raised in 80% of patients although this doesn't happen in up to 20% (fibro isn't inflammatory). But the symptoms should respond to 15-20mg of pred - fibro doesn't.

[D3MNR in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for your reply. I read it tends to affect older people? Im 48, my mum was much older when she got it but has since been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to D3MNR]

It was always thought to affect the over 70s, but that has changed over the last few years. Seeing many more in 50s & 60s, and even 40s, but they are rarer.

Some doctors are still a bit behind the curve on that though!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to D3MNR]

The AVERAGE age at diagnosis was 73 - no idea what it is now. But if you know owt about maths you'll know that since a lot of patients are late 70s and 80s there must be a lot of younger patients too! That is also at diagnosis - who knows how long some had had it prior to dx - I'd been complaining for 5 years before I worked out what it was! I was 51 when it started.

There is someone on the forum whose rheumy said 2 months ago it couldn't be PMR, she was too young at 47. She has just had the admission (but no apology) from the rheumy that since they can't find anything else - it must be PMR, yes, you can have the pred we knew worked 2 months ago...

Late onset RA can present almost identically to PMR in the early stages and it isn't unusual for a PMR diagnosis to be switched to RA or something else later for maybe about 1 in 6 patients.