Could it be Polymyalgia?

Hello all, I am new here. I am really struggling at the moment with painful symptoms and am getting absolutely nowhere with my GP. I suspect I have some sort of inflammatory condition or disease, and wondered if perhaps someone who has PMR would read my story and tell me if they think I am on the right track.

About a month ago, completely out of the blue I woke up with incredibly painful and stiff shoulders and upper arms. (I knew it was not exercise induced lactic acid muscle pain - I know how that feels, and I had done absolutely no ecercise over the preceeding days - the pain just came out of nowhere.)I found I could hardly get out of bed, and I could not lift my left arm above my head. I felt like I had been hit by a lorry. However, by the time I was moving around the stiffness had gone within about ten minutes, and the pain had lessened but I was aware of soreness in the muscles all day when ever I moved or used my arms. I thought perhaps I was getting the flu, or had a virus, or had slept awkwardly. However, it did not go away, and I have woken with this pain every day since for a month. It seems to be getting worse, spreading into all the muscles of my upper back, shoulders and arms, but I feel it mostly in my biceps and deltoids.The other day I leaned back from the passenger seat in the car to reach something on the back seat - and the pain was enough to stop my breath for a moment - a terrible pain that shot through my upper shoulder. I feel it is the muscles and not the joints. I am taking maximum dose Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in the morning and this helps the nagging, constant pain. I am aware of extreme pain with most arm movements such as wrapping a towel round me, putting on and taking off anything with sleeves...driving (turning the wheel) carrying shoppping bags, holding the dog lead at arms length. I just cannot do the simplest things without feeling pain. Some days are more painful than others and although I am not in constant pain, I have found certain movements will cause me to experience sudden pain which is really excruciating. I have never felt pain like it before, it is unlike any strain, or exercise induced pain I have ever felt.

I went to my GP two weeks ago, who told me I am 'anxious', and that aches and pains are probably perimenopausal in origin (I am 50)he really does not seem to understand just how painful this is. I am not one to argue with the doctor (yet!) so I just took his advice about 'massage' and 'relaxation' and left. I went back yesterday to see a female doctor, and told her I was feeling much worse. She examined me thoroughly (sods law I was having a good day and my muscles although sore, were pliable enough) and gave me a prescription for Naproxyn.'Myalgia' of any sort was not mentioned. I just don't feel they are taking me seriously and I don't know what to ask them to do next

I have also been thinking back over the last year or so, and realise I have experienced a host of strange symptoms. I seem to have 'dried up'! I had painful inflamed skin on the inside of my nose for a long time - it was very irritated and dry and extremely sore - I used to rub on E5 with a cotton bud to try to get some relief. I never went to the doctor with it, as I thought it was fairly minor and was just an allergy. (This symptom has actually settled down now and I only get occasional flare ups.) However, my eyes are also very dry - especially when I open them in the morning - I get a slight ripping sensation as if the lids are stuck to my eyeball - which is probably exactly what is happening. I have been to my optician who did a little test with paper, and told me I did indeed have very dry eyes, but - because I am still producing tears - he did not refer me on to a anyone, , I was simply given Viscotears oily gel to place into the eye. Around January of this year I notoiced my mouth was also unusually dry.I find it hard to eat meals without water, and wake in the morning with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I also have a very strange 'taste' or sensation all the time. I find this very hard to describe as it is not really a 'taste'...more of a change in how my mouth feels. The inside of my lips and tongue feel irritated and almost tingly all the time. And this sounds comletely mad - but I have a genuine sensation of cool mint all the time, almost menthol, which I can feel on the surface of my eyeballs too. Almost like the sensation when you open a jar of menthol rub and breathe in the vaopur.

And lastly, I have a constant burning/tingling feeling on the skin of my face. It feels like mixture of sunburn, and that irritated nerve feeling when you are getting the flu.

I hope someone can identify with anything I have said and give me some advice. Thanks for reading.

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