Hi everyone- i just had my first phone call appt with the rheumatologist who thinks I dont have PMR?
The reasons he gave are that it took around 10 days to be relatively pain free after taking initial dose of 20mg pred and that my blood tests are in normal range.
So dont know what to think!!!
He wants to do xrays etc and says he thinks it will show wear and tear arthritis!- so I said bilateral pain and unable to use arms seems extreme for wear and tear- he said it can happen with some form of impingement thrown in!
Says it will be a couple of months before the appt so to carry on with pred for now.
I am flumoxed- any got any thoughts on what rheumy says?
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Lyndalou62
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Hi Mrs Nail- blood was taken before pred- i mentioned to him about the 20% with normal markers and he said those cases are diagnosed but not necessarily have PMR. Glad he is doing further investigations though.
Just to say, it took three weeks on 30mg for the pain levels to reduce to a reasonable level. Not everyone reacts the same way to PMR and pred.For me the inflammation levels were high before starting with pred, but have been fine ever since, and that is for six years.
Some people need more than a week and some need more than 20mg to get a good response of the sort he is obviously convinced happens to everyone! The stiffness and muscle pain improved for me in under 6 hours - but the improvement continued for a couple of weeks and even then there was some pain left. Hands, feet and hips took a few months. #
Up to 20% of patients with PMR and GCA have blood markers that are in normal range - but that doesn't mean they aren't raised for you. The normal range is the range of results that are found in 95% of apparently healthy people, not a range found in any particular individual. The range for ESR for example is 0-20. If your personal normal is in low single figures, like mine at 4, then running at 16-18 is very raised for YOU but still "within normal range". That was why I kept being told there was nothing untoward. How arrogant of him to say people with PMR and normal range results that he never say don't have PMR!! They haven't managed to identify anything otherwise for me - maybe he'd like to suggest something?
Hi PMR pro thanks for your reply. I Googled him and hes only been qualified for 4 years- not to cast aspersions on his experience with PMR- but it makes me wonder- hey ho- such is life- I guess I will just have to go with it and hope there is some kind of conclusion at the end of all this- he may well be right and then I will be grateful if he does come up with a correct diagnosis if it is something other than PMR.
It took me ten days on 25mgs Pred before I got relief - partly I think because it was a late diagnosis and there was a lot of inflammation. I was in so much shoulder and groin pain I was fast becoming housebound. Hurray for Pred, for getting my life back. Have faith, carry on for longer and check how your body responds before listening to your rheumy. The huge variety of advice shown in this Forum demonstrates what an unknown science it is! 😀
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