Does PMR come back again?

[Loco99]

After a few hiccoughs I have managed to get my cortisone down to 2mg. I'm hoping that my PMR may be on the way out and I may be able to get off the cortisone completely. Is it possible to be completely 'cured' of PMR or are relapses possible? Can you be clear of PMR for years only for it to come back again?

[steph1]

from what i understand you can have a relapce

steph

[Hidden]

Quite by chance I asked my GP this same question at my recent check up. She replied that it can come back and the number of sufferers affected is about 10%.

PatM

[missrat]

I had 2 years clear, but am having a relapse at present.

[Hidden]

PMR and GCA go into 'remission'. There currently is no known cause or cure.

Yes, some people can be in remission for years and then back it comes.

[Clammy65 in reply to Hidden]

I was diagnosed with PMR in my late 50's which really surprised the doctor. I was on meds for 2 years and then was fine. Just lately at age 70, I feel the same sort of symptoms. I will be making an appointment with my doctor when I return from vacation. I will let you all know what I find out.

[Kpittman in reply to Clammy65]

What is the difference in pmr and gca

[nellie78]

I am also on 2mg prednisolone and have been for about 2years. I tried reducing to 2/1mg alternate days for 2 months, then 1mg daily, but the aches all came back. Am now back on 2mg and feeling better. My Rheumatologist suggested the reductions, but doctor agreed to going back to 2mg and seeing if it helped. I don't feel I am ready yet to reduce - seeing the Rheumy again in late June. I've had PMR for 8 years now - am nearly 83 but otherwise in good health, except for the usual creaky joints! Good luck with your reductions! Nellie78

[Pipistrelle]

My rheumatologist says it varies. He does not think all forms of PMR are necessarily in remission, as the cause isn;t understood and the causes may vary. For some people, he thinks the issue may be a vascular problem generally that emerges, for whatever reason, as PMR/GCA. In other cases, he thinks that PMR is likely a once-off caused by accident. stress, another condition etc.

I don't think there's any clear agreement on any of this. My best friend, a radiologist, once said to me that rheumatology conditions are the worst to get in some ways because they are all so poorly understood in cause and hard to diagnose sometimes; and many are not clear diseases, but syndromes with a range of possible symptoms that often overlap with other conditions.

I know some studies of relapse have been done but even those, when I read them, seemed to define relapse very broadly -- not differentiating a 'relapse' during the course of treating PMR and a 'relapse' perhaps years later (maybe I am not recalling them correctly and if so, please do correct me! ).

If only 10% of PMR sufferers get a relapse many years later, it wouldn't suggest to me that it only goes into remission, but that some people have vascular issues present that retrigger PMR perhaps? 10% would be very low and that's about what my own rheumatologist suggested as well.

One issue that might skew understanding of 'relapse' is that this is generally a condition most often diagnosed in older people. If average age of onset is 70 and average lifespan is early to mid 80s now, information on relapses won't extend for as long as they would for, say rheumatoid arthritis or cancers or other conditions that might affect someone earlier on.

[jinasc]

Short, sad answer is year.

There is currently no cure. PMR and GCA come when they want and go into remission when they want.

The only comfort is you learned the first time round how to cope.

Other people have lapsed and had a shorter journey, others longer.

I sincerely hope yours is a shorter one.

[deadeye in reply to jinasc]

If the GCA comes back after five years..is it necessary for another biopsy if you had one five years prior? (that one was neg.)