Is there any proven research to link stress with a likely increase in PMR symptoms?

[PMRfacebook]

Hi I'm having problems with my employer who was refusing to make reasonable adjustments to allow me to return to work. I want to be able to tell them that all this uncertainty is causing stress which in turn is making my symptoms worse but ideally need to be able to provide proof that this is the case. Diagnosed Feb 2018, tapered to 8 mg

[PMRpro Ambassador]

health.harvard.edu/blog/aut...

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

webmd.com/balance/stress-ma...

I searched "links of stress to autoimmune disorders" and got a load of links to articles about these studies. These are just 3.

[teesher]

Check out 'PMR/GCA at Work - Your UK Rights', posted by TonCh 14 days ago for advice.

[Blearyeyed in reply to teesher]

Yes , check this post , it is from a forum member who works in Health and Safety and has specified on it what are your rights and your employer's responsibilities .

If you haven't got anywhere with your employer , talking to them about how they are stressing you out and making you feel worse won't do you as much good as proving to them the cold , hard , legal facts that they have no choice but to make alterations to your work environment and your schedule to make it possible for you to do your job.

If you haven't had an inspector to your place of work yet to assess what your employer should do to assist in your work needs .

If they are just being reluctant to follow your requests , telling them you will have to contact the inspectorate to check things out for you to "help them" know what needs to be done for you may well be enough to push them to satisfy your requirements , no employer wants to be inspected , they usually end up being told to do far more than the employee requested.

If you have already been inspected but the employer has not complied , or won't contact the inspectorate , just contact them yourself without trying to deal further with your boss , leave them to come in and take on the stress of that job instead of you.

Good luck

[Pristina]

Hi my Rheumy said emphatic NO when i asked him if stress was cause/factor as my flare started following 2 months of extreme stress at work, i am convinced it does however, not that that helps you!

[GlynisE]

I totally believe that stress caused my PMR n the first place.

[Sandradsn in reply to GlynisE]

Me too!

[stellafmdm in reply to Sandradsn]

Me too but in my case it was physical stress (hill walking)

[Iloveholidays in reply to GlynisE]

Me too!

[Sandradsn]

I am going through a stressful situation in my family at the moment and I ache more on a bad day when I let it get me down.

[Hellyowl]

There was a thread some time ago when we had a long discussion about links to stress and GCA PMR. I am pretty sure stress was a factor in developing GCA

[Lonsdalelass in reply to Hellyowl]

Wasn't that from TonCH? See teesher's reply above.

[Lonsdalelass in reply to Lonsdalelass]

Sorry, meant that to reply to SnazzyD!

[SnazzyD]

Wasn’t there a post recently from someone here whose job it is to deal with employer problems and they offered advice?

[Thelmarina]

Funnily enough I was discussing this recently. One of my relatives has discovered she has very high blood pressure. She has an extremely stressful job but says she doesn’t feel stressed, manages well and they are still looking for an underlying cause for the blood pressure. We use the word stress quite loosely - what does it really mean? I think I’ve come to the conclusion that sometimes we are confronted with events that cause the body to go into overdrive to cope. The upside is survival, the downside is that the effort takes its toll depending on our individual wiring and well being. Situations that make us physically tense don’t help but it’s not a simple issue and difficult to assess.

[SnazzyD in reply to Thelmarina]

I don’t think feeling fine is evidence of it being ok, more like we are not registering the physical distress it in order to keep going.

[Hidden]

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

crunch.co.uk/knowledge/empl...

[Hidden]

When I was working the PACT team came twice and assessed my workplace and made several suggestions as I had back problems and surgery, the second for diabetes and fibromylgia. The first time was good as they provided chairs and foot rests and general things the second was more detailed about ensuring lunchtime being at some point between 12 and 2, no meetings in certain buildings, some free periods between tasks for rest/exercise, speech to text software. None of these were implemented and I eventually stressed out, burned out and seriously ill on sick for months. They terminated my contract and I wasn't heathy enough to argue. So the assessors were excellent but a toothless tiger in the long run. However that wouldn't stop me getting them to assess me again if I were well enough to work.

focusondisability.org.uk/em...

[Lonsdalelass]

Hi there PMR Facebook. I had a risk assessment done at work a few months ago, on the advice of one of our wonderful members on this forum. Since then I've had my hours reduced which has been so much better and I'm a lot happier as I feel it's much more manageable for me. Its still not ideal, as there are a few things still needing to be done, but the assessment definitely helped. Perhaps this is something you can pursue? I do feel for you, and wish you all the best. Its a fight we can do without.

[Hellyowl]

Short lived stress can be good, especially when it is attached to something we enjoy, like pushing to meet a deadline and achieving it, putting on a happy event, going a bit further to help someone, but it is the unremitting day in day out stress that is very damaging to our bodies. I had a heart attack out of the blue a few years ago, no warning signs, good cholesterol ect. It was down to working at a stressful job I loved and enjoyed for 8 years, 60 hour weeks, disturbed sleep, working in the middle of the night, no proper holidays. Consultant said i had placed un-realistic amounts of stress on my body and basically it broke. Couple of years later I developed GCA. I believe to two are connected.

[Blearyeyed in reply to Hellyowl]

To be honest even that short term stress isn't good for you with PMR and other Fatigue related Chronic conditions , even if it is towards taking part in something we enjoy , as stress ( both mental and physical ) does impact on our energy and pain levels no matter the cause , good or bad.

That's why we need to pace ourselves and take plenty of rest , take longer to plan or arrangement things , plus delegate more tasks to others we would have easily done before ourselves , even when we are doing something fun like a party or holiday .

It's because we don't have the adrenal function , or physical energy, levels to do what we did easily before without leaving us pooped , potentially in pain , or with a mini flare fir days afterwards that doesn't help us recover in the long run.

Chronic illness takes as red the saying , "even if the heart is willing , the body is weak! "

[Daisyfield]

I think stress was a major factor in my PMR as a cause...many commitments, elderly relatives, teenagers, work, family illnesses and a close bereavement. I have always felt (so far) mentally strong, so it felt as if something had to break.

I know ii have to slow down but finding it hard, as I have family commitments, and also work is important not just to earn money but also for mental health.

So this week, when I have done much too much, I am paying for it...usually would have been ok, but now exhausted and v achey.

I know I'm going to have to do less, but it's hard.

Not sure how you supply proof...just shows how 'silent' illnesses like this are so hard to cope with. I wished I'd taken crutches with me today. Not even my husband quite gets how debilitating it is.

[Purplecrow]

Yes to stress having negative impact. Docs and scientific community may not have huge amounts of empirical evidence, but anecdotal reports seem to support the idea.Works for me.

Jerri,

PMR diagnosed 2013. Currently using 7.5 mg pred

[JulieR2]

Hi there firstly the condition is covered by the equality act so your employer has to consider reasonable adjustments. But you may need support from an occupational health team to advise what is reasonable. So it depends what has been catergorised as reasonable. If you are in the uk your GP could have used your fit note to say anything that needed to be done in terms of your fitness to work.

[tangocharlie]

I've always wondered. Many times I've read that our bodies are programmed to respond to stress by 'fight or flight'. But as when we take Pred our adrenal glands are suppressed and therefore can't respond by pumping out additional cortisol, so what happens physiologically if we get a sudden or even prolonged stressful event? For me it seems to be that I get a flare of PMR symptoms, but why?