Fed up now

I visited my doctors for weeks and week all she gave me was Naproxen, eventually I was so swollen and couldn't even move my neck.  I went to the hospital A and E dept and they gave me a 6 day course of antibiotics which soon had me feeling great.   Problem was getting it again afterwards, but when I eventually got to see a 'good' doctor at my surgery the fact that the steroids were so amazing and symptoms reappearing after stoppage, all helped towards a firm diagnosis of PMR.  Maybe you could take the same route?  I very often think back and shudder, my friend is always telling me of steroid 'danger', but I never want to go back to those horrible pain days, so I'll keep on taking them.

Good luck.

I had to call and freak out on the receptionist to get some response, and right away they called over a script.  They don't realize how bad the pain is. If they did they wouldn't make you wait so long. Give them a call and kick up a fuss.

Maybe try Bowen?

Peppermint Oil essential oil can often give me temporary relief. 

Rest as often as you can. 

My GP got me started. Rheumy came later. 

Bless your heart, I'm so sorry. Hope you feel better soon!!!!!

Try hard to get your mind off pain (I know, easier said than done), think of things you are so grateful for, sometimes it eases the anxiety which I personally feel in my entire body. Horrible feeling...pain. 

Yes definitely distraction helps.  See friends helped and cinema and walking outside. 

PMR is not the disease - PMR is the name given to the symptoms which are caused by an underlying problems, which can be one of many different things, some banal, some serious. Your GP should already have ruled out several of those with the first tests they did.

However, unlike the others, I'm now going to say I suspect it may NOT be PMR. You say in your later post that you have a high muscle enzyme result. This means your GP is actually quite right to insist on a referral to a rheumy because you do not get a high muscle enzyme result with the PMR we discuss on this forum. You DO get raised muscle enzyme results in something called myositis and there are several causes of that 

If you google myositis you will find a very good and easy to understand article about it on WebMD. There are different sorts of myositis as well as other causes so a rheumy is needed to do the "differential diagnosis". If it is one sort it will be pred that is needed to manage it - but at higher doses than is usually required in PMR but if it is due to some of the other conditions then other drugs are used.

I'd certainly be disappointed my GP hadn't requested an emergency appointment but at present you probably don't show any signs of being an emergency - but should the weakness and other symptoms get worse then it is probably worth either calling the hospital clinic to ask if there is any possibility of an earlier appointment or going back to the GP explaining you can't manage any more. One lady I know who was diagnosed with polymyositis had got to the stage of needing a wheelchair and couldn't get to the upstairs toilet from downstairs - her GP was being a bit of an idiot until someone went with her to the doctor to explain the seriousness of the diability and he then had her admitted immediately - a diagnosis was forthcoming very quickly!

Part of the problem is that each clinic only has so many "new patient" slots because one rheumy can only see a small number each clinic. Follow-up is done by more junior doctors or even GPs with a "special interest" - the first one is always with a senior doctor. How long you wait for that first appointment depends on how many consultants there are and how many new patients. 

Hi Kadge , so sorry to hear you in so much pain, I myself was in pain for 9 months and GP kept putting it down to a nerve trapped in back , gave me every pain killer going but nothing worked,a physio told me to change doctors which i did and new doc took blood test and refered me to rymi..I was lucky and got an app within 2 weeks and PMR was dyognosed straight away  and was put on 15mg pred and was pain free in 2 weeks .. please dont wait ,cause a fuss, as nobody understand the pain we do be in , hopefully you get relief soon.