Christmas Greetings

[tina-shelley]

A big Hello to you all,

Well what a year! Not only have you all had to contend with your own PMR / GCA journeys but with cancelled hospital appointments and the general worries this pandemic has brought. Things will get better!

As many of you know I was diagnosed with PMR in 2013 aged 52. Pre diagnoses I was in a terrible state, under the care of a GP who admitted she didn't have a clue what was wrong with me and so with no medication other than Ibuprofen my heath deteriorated to the point where I was bedridden. Forward wind 3 months and all that changed following an appointment with a Rheumatologist. I was very lucky, yes I suffered a couple of flares but in general my recovery journey was very straight forward. After my first flare I religiously followed the Dead Slow & Almost Stop reduction method which was fully supported by my wonderful and very understanding Rheumatologist.

After a journey of 5 years I took my very last .5 of Preds on 31 December 2018 and since then I've been PMR free.

I repeat this story every Christmas because I want you all to know, especially you newly diagnosed that things won't always look so bleak. Most of us make a full recovery and those who don't will hopefully remain on low doses of Preds but will see their lives return as near to normal.

I haven't forgotten you all. I still read your questions and yes I know that I rarely answer but that's because there's little I can add following the experts replies. I always found this forum so informative and a huge comfort and I hope you do too.

May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and all Best Wishes for a Peaceful, Happy and Heathy New Year.

With Kind Regards, Tina.

[Kendrew]

Thankyou. That's very encouraging to hear. Merry Christmas to you too.

[123-go]

Thank you for your uplifting comments. Our journeys may be long, the road may be bumpy and full of twists and turns but eventually we find ourselves on a smoother path and can look back on how far we have come. Have a peaceful Christmas .

[TheMoaningViolet]

Thank you tina, so nice to hear from someone who is at the other end of the tunnel. Have a lovely Christmas and let's hope that the coming year will be better than the current one.

What an amazing date to take your last Pred on! Vx

[Pollyanna16]

Happy Christmas to you too Tina. Lovely to hear your positive thoughts & so glad you are still PMR free!

[tina-shelley in reply to Pollyanna16]

Won't it be lovely us all meeting up again next year? Here's keeping our fingers crossed!

[Abbey17]

Thanks Tina that’s an encouraging post, I am doing a slow taper to 5mg and doing okay so far ( less debilitating fatigue periods) I haven’t done a lot of posts but read others every day and find them so helpful. I count myself blessed that I have an amazing supportive proactive GP

Happy Christmas to you and everyone here and I’m positive we will all get through this 💜