Diet

[greengages]

has anyone found being vegetarian helps with PMR??

[DogAgilityObsessed]

No but I haven’t seen any suggestion that it doesn’t. However some diets including vegetarian can contain lots of carbs which many on pred try to avoid to at least some extent.

[Janstr in reply to DogAgilityObsessed]

I am vegetarian of sorts as I do eat fish. I have switched to a low carb diet & have lots of fresh ginger. I’m not sure whether or not my diet has helped PMR

[Anna21]

I have been a vegetarian all my life. It certainly has not helped me. I have had PMR for 8 years plus. I have tried to keep to a strict diet, this has not stopped me putting on weight about a year after taking Pred. I have wondered if I had eaten fish and meat my heath might have been better.

[Marijo1951 in reply to Anna21]

Sadly, if I'm anything to go by, eating meat and fish hasn't been any help either with preventing the disease or avoiding weight gain.

I'm quite open to the idea of food as medicine. As I've mentioned before, my daughter who is now 49 was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 14. Her hands were so bad she had to give up her two favourite pastimes, synchronised swimming and learning to play the flute, because of the intricate hand and finger movements required. She became vegetarian shortly afterwards and vegan at 16 for ethical rather than medical reasons. The pain almost immediately subsided and she could stop taking the strong painkillers that had been prescribed. She's remained vegan since and her RA is still there but very much under control. Occasionally she has to stop knitting for a few weeks but it doesn't last and she's very active, regularly doing 15-20 mile hikes at the weekend. As I was originally bracing myself for her being in constant pain all her life, and eventually confined to a wheelchair, I'm grateful that she found this solution for herself.

I tend to eat what I've known all my life out of laziness and, if it seemed possible that being either vegetarian or vegan would help me to be well, I could easily adapt. As two others of my four children are vegetarian, I'm well aware of the deliciousness available. However those of us taking pred are strongly advised to eat a low carb diet which I've finally embraced and, at last, find I'm slowly losing weight. This must be far more difficult to maintain without animal protein, eggs and dairy.

[Theziggy in reply to Marijo1951]

"This must be far more difficult to maintain without animal protein, eggs and dairy." True, but it is by no means impossible

[Bonnie-ma]

The short answer is No. I have been vegetarian since the 1970’s and have PMR.

[Mazxstitch]

I was advised to go gluten and lactose free for 3 weeks in December 2019 in order to cut the inflammation and therefore, the pain. It worked! I was diagnosed with PMR April 2019.

I occasionally have pasta or make a sauce with milk and do not suffer any I'll effects, but prefer to be gluten and lactose free.

[greengages]

Thank you everyone, your replies have given me lots of information and new things to try. I just found this site last night and already Im learning so much from you all. Thank you so much its great to know there are others who are in a similar position

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Unlikely since we have a lot of vegetarians on the forums who have developed PMR!

An RA study did find that a strict vegan diet improved joint pain in half of the subjects but it returned with even a small amount of animal protein being reintroduced. After the study was completed few of the patients for whom it worked remained vegan - the diet was too extreme and inconvenient to maintain for most of them. I suppose it would be easier to try now but many vegan products are high in grains and gluten - something else claimed to make inflamamtion worse. That was for rheumatoid arthritis though - and PMR does not involve the joints in the same way.

If you exclude all the things claimed to make inflammation worse you will end up with a very restricted diet that is in itself unhealthy. It is better to keep a food diary and work out what sort of things make you feel worse. Many people find a weekend of more sugar than usual makes them flare, or certain food items. You have to find what is YOUR poison.

[greengages in reply to PMRpro]

Good advice thank you very much indeed

[S4ndy]

I tried a vegetarian diet for a year then added two portions of fish a week. Put on loads of weight unfortunately and my IBS became really troublesome. I now know why that was as I have been following the FODMAP diet for the last two years. This is a diet for IBS sufferers to help identify their trigger foods.

At the challenge stage realised that a lot of the foods I had been eating were triggers. I had been eating loads of fruit and veg and have discovered that quite a few of them cause me to get a bout of IBS along with pulses.

I am still overweight but am gradually getting more exercise which I have found difficult with PMR. I try to eat low carb along with my diabetic hubby but I have found I can't do ultra low carb and keep my digestion under control. I am currently doing a slow reduction from 6mg to 5mg and was diagnosed with PMR in 2016. My aim is not to put any more weight on and to get back to cycling. Have an electric bike which has really helped. I think where diet is concerned find something that you can live with and that's healthy and varied and allow yourself a treat every now and again.

[greengages in reply to S4ndy]

thank you for you reply and advice

[Theziggy]

Well I have been a vegetarian for many decades, am in my second year of PMR so can't really surmise whether I would be worse if I weren't vegetarian

[greengages in reply to Theziggy]

that's what's coming across loud and clear, find what suits you, it may or may not be the diet

[greengages]

Thank you for that Miss-Diagnose, there is a lot to think about and try

[Sandradsn]

I've been a vegetarian for 14 years and had pmr for almost 5 years🤷‍♀️

[Dorsetgirl17]

Hello been a vegetarian for 35 years and got pmr last November, so no. When I went on pred took the low carb approach, which has helped me lose weight so some good has come out of it. Why did you ask?

[greengages in reply to Dorsetgirl17]

Hi Dorsetgirl17

I am also a vegetarian and got PMR last October, I read that eating meat can help with the protein, so started to eat oily fish, but since finding this site and reading about all the differing approaches it makes sense as individuals we will all differ. However I have been given some very useful approaches that I haven't tried and as Ive nothing to loose and everything to gain I will try them out. We grow our own organic veg and berries so we are very lucky. Reducing the steroids but have a lot of hip pain. Since reading about other peoples journeys wondering if I shouldn't ask to increase them so the hips feel more "normal", but wanted to be off steroids due to their side effects. My weight is fine but like yourself was veggie when I got PMR after an ear infection. As eating fish is not helping wondered if going back to veggie would help. After reading all the replies Im going to lower carbs first then try the gluten and lactose free approach as Ive not done either of these. Thank you for your reply and input, this site is fantastic, learnt so much more than from GP

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to greengages]

If the hip pain is due to the bursitis that accompanies PMR then ignoring it and hoping it will go away and reducing the oral pred dose at the same time is most likely to make it worse rather than better.

If you do go back to vegetarian - just be aware and careful to keep the protein intake up as pred increases the need for protein to keep muscle bulk.

[greengages in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for this advice I didn’t know pred increases the need for protein for muscles, I will keep the fish in the diet and next telephone appointment ask about increasing steroids for hips although I just wanted off them I’m realising I could be making things worse. Have a telephone appointment with physio later today to decide if I need MRI as have had numb knee for over 6 weeks . Thanks again for advice it’s very helpful and an eye opener.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to greengages]

I have had trochanteric bursitis as part of PMR - and while an oral dose helps, the best relief has been local steroid injections - in the soft tissue at the most painful point, not into the joint. My rheumy is a genius at finding the bit that hurts most!

[Dorsetgirl17 in reply to greengages]

Agree with you this site is very helpful, I feel not left in the lurch now GP not to hand any more. Don’t know what you eat for protein but canned beans put into any menu works for me. Also Quorn mince/pieces. Have found a lower carb tasty bread Hovis Low Carb, it is not a large loaf Sainsbury’s/Morrisons are the only outlets I’ve found. Have also gone down route of no white rice, pasta, or bread, brown fills you up more anyway. Won’t you find gluten/lactose a bit restricting, is there a reason for choosing these extra options?

[greengages in reply to Dorsetgirl17]

Someone suggested gluten and lactose free as it helped them with inflammation so thought I would give it a try. My friend is coeliac so I can get advice from her. I also use quorn products plus tofu beans and legumes and eat walnuts daily as i love them. Also eat kefir yoghurt. Talked to physio today who was great and seemed well informed about PMR and he advised me as others have on this site to not put up with hip pain but to increase steroids . Just spoke to doctor and he has increased them back to 10 for this week to see if it’s the PMR or nerve impingement causing numb knee. This site has given me so much support and advice I feel very privileged and have learnt so much. Thank you all so much

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to greengages]

Careful with the gluten-free - don't inhabit the free-from aisle because manufactured gluten-free substitutes are very carb and calorie dense! Even if g/f jaffa cakes are better than ordinary ones!!!

[greengages in reply to PMRpro]

Yes thank you for that something else to keep in mind. You are all such a fount of information soooo glad I found this site Thanks again