PMR and a keto diet

I did the opposite of what you done. I got PMR and two months later went on the Keto diet. I went from 208 to 170 lbs which I think helps keep the pred induced diabetes down. I cant see how a diet like Keto could cause PMR but maybe Eileen will come in on this and have a answer.

No single thing causes PMR although one final thing probably triggers the immune system to go haywire and start to attack the tissues in the body as foreign by mistake as it doesn't recognise it as "self". People will blame the flu jab, the flu, an operation, an accident, emotional stress.

The keto diet may have contributed, no-one can know - but if it hadn't, it could have been any one of many other things. The weight loss also may not have been entirely the keto diet - it is a common symptom in PMR. I have eaten low carb before, it didn't cause PMR then. I eat low carb now, not keto probably as I have to get to a very low carb level to get into keto. But it is definitely a positive in PMR and being on pred as it reduces inflammation and reduces the risk of developing steroid induced diabetes,

It's interesting that you would bring this up. In most cases, you would be correct that a "keto" lifestyle would reduce inflammation rather than trigger something like PMR. That said, the word "keto" means different things to different people. For many, it's high protein/high fat, including high animal protein, tons of meat and cheese, etc etc. "Functional keto" minimizes the protein levels. I follow a way of eating called "The Plant Paradox", which is a high fat/moderate protein (which an emphasis on minimizing animal protein)/high fiber diet that ends up being fairly ketogenic by nature of how we eat. Dr. Steven Gundry, the author of the plan, has had excellent results with reducing inflammation markers related to AI disease (focus on RA) and has presented his scientific papers in that regard all over the world. We are encouraged to do intermittent fasting and more recently sessions of a "fasting mimicking diet" on a regular basis. In my case, prior to PMR I had been eating this way for a year with excellent results. Weight loss, reduction/elimination of arthritis symptoms, normalized blood pressure, increased energy, so many issues resolved and felt the best I had in decades. I started (on my own) doing 5 day water fasts at the end of each month, and I loved how I felt and looked forward to them. And then, suddenly, within 24 hours of completion of a fast, I had PMR. Woke up with it, you all know the drill. It took me 3 months to figure out what it was (on my own, with no help from doctors by the way). The question in my eating groups has always been "How did I end up with PMR eating a diet protocol that is actually designed to eliminate inflammation/markers? If it can cure it, why didn't it prevent it?" In the meantime, I have been fortunate to become a long distance patient of Dr. Gundry. When we discussed it, he said that (as we know) we don't really know the exact cause of AI and there are likely many. He feels that leaky gut is the body problem behind all AI (which makes absolute sense if you understand it), but that there are many causes of leaky gut and diet is only one of them. He mentioned people losing weight too much/too fast on popular keto. Because fat stores toxins, those get dumped back into the body to process when people lose weight too rapidly. He also mentioned as of yet undiscovered virus and bacteria infections, which given the sudden onset of PMR in many people also makes sense. Interestingly, I have an acquaintance who is a neurologist, and he said the idea of unknown virus and bacteria particles is widely accepted in his field. So who knows. This all said, I did stick to my eating protocol and had an easier time than so many people that I hear about. I was able to get off Pred completely in 11 months, probably could have been sooner but I was being very cautious and weaning very slowly. I did not gain weight (in fact lost another few as was the plan with my way of eating) or really have any Pred side effects. I attribute this to the eating style, because I had taken oral Pred several times before for spinal issues and it had been an absolute nightmare for me. I am hoping that this is all behind me but only time will tell. At least if I have a reoccurrence I will know what it is.