GCA, now PMR & Rheumatoid Arthritis as well

Hello everyone, I would be very grateful for your experiences and advice. I saw my rheumatologist last week and she has diagnosed PMR & Rheumatoid arthritis in addition to GCA which I’ve had since July last year. I am currently on 12mg of Pred and have been trying to reduce to 11 which has been difficult, and now this. I am being prescribed Leflunomide for RA and was told to stay on 12 for the time being. Problem is I’m in a great deal of pain, upper arms, shoulders and upper back particularly and I’m wondering whether I should increase the Pred? Sorry for the length of this post I’m feeling completely overwhelmed. Thank you

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi

Would say you probably had PMR all along but was “hidden” by the GCA doses.

..and now you’re down to 12mg it has come to light.

Upper arms and shoulders are certainly PMR like, not sure about back though.

And you don’t know if 5mg helps until you try it, so definitely worth a go, for a few days anyway until you can get more advice from medics.

What tests has she carried out to diagnose the RA? ..a why does she think that’s what it is?

[Hidden in reply to DorsetLady]

Hi, is that how you would expect it to be diagnosed? Thanks

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Maybe along with blood tests -see this from versus arthritis-versusarthritis.org/about-a...

[Hidden in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you, lots to learn. Blds are ok probably because of steroids I guess

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Hidden]

See this re blood test - different from CRP & ESR -nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoi...

[Hidden in reply to DorsetLady]

She did ask for an antibody blood test so perhaps this is it, results next week.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Probably -let us know please…

[Hidden in reply to DorsetLady]

Will do and thank you all for your advice

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Ditto to what DL says.

And why does the lady think it is RA? Is there concrete evidence to show it isn't "just" PMR which is likely enough,

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you both. She did an ultrasound on my wrists which showed inflammation, it looked like a firework display!

[Broseley in reply to Hidden]

I had an ultrasound on my ankles a few years ago which also showed inflammation, but I wasn't diagnosed with RA. Isn't it usually diagnosed with blood tests?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Broseley]

u/s does show the damage done by RA too

[Gossiplady]

Hi there! Poor you. You are having a rough time. The good thing is you can rant to us any time you feel like it. We are all listening. Keep strong. You will win in the end.

[Hidden in reply to Gossiplady]

Thank you so much. It does feel like wading through treacle at times as we all know, thank goodness for you all