Pmr

[Hboy]

What can i do to help myself with pmr

[123-go]

That's a very broad question. To give some answers we'd need to know a bit more about you, e.g,

When were you diagnosed?

What dose of Prednisolone did you begin with and what are you on now?

Are you in pain?

Just to start us off....

[Hboy in reply to 123-go]

I stopped prenisalone 6 months ago and feel as if the pmr is back. I don't want to start the steroids again

[123-go in reply to Hboy]

When were you diagnosed and how many milligrams of Pred did you begin with? It may be that you tapered too quickly. If the PMR is back ( it may be that it has never really gone away) I'm afraid you have no choice other than to restart. Not what you want to hear, I know, but steroids are not a cure- they manage the inflammation which causes the pain. Please don't let the inflammation build up but speak to your GP or rheumatologist as soon as possible.

I do sympathise.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Hboy]

Well to be honest if your PMR is back - although having no knowledge about what’s gone before - it’s probably never gone away, just not been troublesome enough to notice until now, the only help is Pred.

No one wants to be on the medication, but it’s really the only way. If you tell us what the issue with Pred was, we may be able to suggest ways of dealing with it.

But as 123-go says, we do need more info.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The symptoms of PMR being back within 4 to 6 months of stopping pred is very common and all it means is that the underlying autoimmune disease hasn't yet gone into remission and is still causing inflammation, which is what causes the symptoms. Many people are able to keep it at bay at doses well below 5mg, even 1mg can be plenty. But zero isn't. The reduction was never relentlessly to zero - it was to find the lowest effective dose. Not the same thing at all. Even a low level of disease activity creating a tiny bit of inflammation will eventually build up - like a dripping tap will fill a bucket when left long enough.

You may not WANT to go back onto pred but the longer you leave it, the worse it is likely to get and the more pred you will eventually need to sort it out. You have experienced PMR without pred originally, there is no other real option to make it go away. I lived with it for 5 years, nothing I tried relieved the pain and disability like pred although I did remain mobile with very selected activities.

[Koalajane]

To help yourself you need to go back on prednisolone