Does my case of potential PMR seem abnormal?

Hello there! Fellow Canadian here. It certainly sounds like PMR in many ways. Certainly the areas of the body that you are describing are similar to the areas that affected me at the outset. The differences that I have noticed are that your symptoms seemed to come on over an extended period of time whereas my symptoms appeared overnight, starting with shoulder and neck pain and over a couple of days progressing to my arms and back of legs. The other difference is that my pain was worse when sitting still. If I sat down for any length of time, my pain and stiffness quickly settled in and I felt unable to stand up or walk again without being all bent over for the next couple of minutes. I was no longer able to drive any more than a short distance because the pain was so intense. I also used 1000mg Naproxen in the morning to combat some of the inflammation in the beginning before diagnosis and it was somewhat helpful. I also took Robaxacet at night and that relaxed me enough so that I was able to sleep. After approx 8 wks of nightmare, I was diagnosed and given Prednisone. It is truly a miracle drug and gives us our life back! One word of warning though, Prednisone has a way of elevating your sugars and can make you predisposed to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. You can beat these side effects completely (for me) or at least to some extent by going on a no sugar/low carb diet. Good luck with your diagnosis. I hope you can get to the bottom of your discomfort.

It is sad you have to wait so long to be seen by a specialist... I hope you get a diagnosis and effective treatment soon!

My symptoms were extreme bilateral pain around hips, buttocks, pelvic girdle, upper thighs and hamstrings. My shoulder / upper arm pain was minor. However, I felt as much pain sitting still as moving. At night I often paced to deal with the pain. Prednisone took the pain away with in 24-48 hrs. Also you can have sero-negative PMR. I also have RHEUMATOID Arthritis. 2 docs dismissed my complaints, but the 3rd was a woman and she diagnosed me accurately in 10 minutes.

PERSIST in searching for good care.

You really are having a time of it, so sorry to hear your struggles, hopefully your doctor will extract themselves from their holiday soon and sort you out. To be honest I think the only real way to find out if you've PMR is to take prednisone, as the difference is amazing and quick if PMR is present. CRP and ESR readings can be very high in some patients and relatively low in some, but doctors always seem to dismiss lower readings as not being PMR, but from experience I can tell you it can be present with lower readings, an on going argument with my (useless) rhumy!! If you dont mind I'll give you a brief account of my experience so you can compare with yours. I already had Fibromylgia so was dealing with pain and fatigue and really thought it was that that was getting worse. I felt I was wrapped and wracked in pain and severe stiffness and the fatigue was overwhelming. Being still for even 10 minutes became painful and moving was more so because there was so much stiffness. My shoulders and upper arms, severe pain, neck and back and only being able to turn in bed in very painful centimeter increments but kept thinking Fibro. Painkillers of any kind wouldn't touch it & would feel nauseous. But when I went back to rhumy and said it'd spread to my buttocks and hips, he then said PMR, 10mgs pred and 4 hours later I was a different woman, incredible! As a point of interest, last week I went to a new consultant and she said that my blood readings were significant to her in that my White Blood Count was normal, meaning there was no infection, so the ESR and CRP readings showed her that the increase was driven by Polymylgia. I'd never, in my 3.5 years since diagnosis, was ever given a that explaination, so that's something you could look at with your bloods and suggest to you doc when they get back. The thing I'd say about your symptoms is that generally PMR symptoms seem to be more bilateral, and yours have come on in one area at time, but I'm no expert, just can go on my experience. Prednisone is key and until you can try it, I don't think you're actually going to know. It's been a difficult journey and for me, very hard to control, so I'm not sure I'd wish it over something else, as it can bring on other challenges! Can you travel to another doctor, or is it possible to find access to an online doctor? Either way, I really hope you can get some help soon!

Read through your message again and this part definitely rings true to me and to my knowledge, noted symptoms of PMR "Have had evenings with night sweats, and occasionally nausea. Also have had bouts of major fatigue and certainly a downturn in overall mood". Your age tho is very young but as you've said, not unknown! Wishing you the best of Luck. Please let us know how you get on!

Your symptoms and progression of pain and stiffness were almost parallel to mine. I was first diagnosed with some shoulder bursitis; then two partially torn rotator cuffs; then finally a good rheumatologist diagnosed PMR.

I'm a year into my PMR journey and I've gone from 20 mg Prednisone to 6 mg currently.

I religiously do about 40-45 minutes of stretching exercises and use a few light weights; leg and core isometrics, and then 20 minutes of TENS. Frankly, other than stiffness and a little pain at night when I shift, I'm almost back to a normal day. I'm 73 and play golf 3 times a week and I'm hitting the ball farther than most of the guys in their 60's. Also, from 6 months ago, when I dreaded putting on a seat belt, or driving any distance longer than about 15 minutes, or having to left a coffee cup to my lips with two hands, I'm now almost back to normal.

One of the things you learn from this great sharing website is that everyone is different and you should listen to your body about what works and what doesn't

My pmr flares almost feel like a tingely pain and stiffness. It's like I feel the inflamation going through my body. Mine started with neck but Ihave some arthritis there so Istill have to deal with dr telling me its arthritis when it feels so much different. Pain eventually went into shoulders and down arms. Couldnt even open a can. Then it went into hips and down thighs. Couldn't pick something up off of floor, trouble getting dressed, out of tub etc. If I sat for awhile my legs would stiffen and I would have to work to straighten them out before I knew I had to get up. This came on me at 56. I was super active and otherwise healthy. Good luck to you. Hope this info helps.

PMR does not have a simple diagnosis but as Mrs Hobbles says if you take steroids for a few days and a miracle happens it is probably PMR. All the comments on this thread bring back memories of the awful pain before diagnosis. My GP told me it was nothing serious and would go away although he was not sure what it was. I went to see a rheumatologist privately in the end who diagnosed PMR in about five seconds.