PMR and diet

I also found that after changing my lifestyle for the better, increasing my exercises at gym, cross training, rowing, bells etc , I was going great, looking good, losing weight, after a few weeks of stopping I was in agony diagnosis PMR, coincidence? My gp said yes, I having increased lots in weight . All around my mid belly, I am more concerned about diabetes as my hba1c is 45, so I am sticking to sugar free diet where possible.

I don't really know what a keto diet is, but when my blood sugar got too high at beginning of pred I cut out virtually all carbs from grains as well as sweet things. Never put on weight, and my sugar levels went down, although not completely normal until pred dose around 4 or 5, certainly of less concern after dietary changes.

If you were to come over to the HelathUnlocked forum you would find a load of us using a low carb diet to reduce the adverse effects of pred. It doesn't always have to be as extreme as keto - just low carb is enough for many. And we have quite a few Canadians there too.

I lost over 35lbs of PMR and pred-associated weight by going low carb. I still eat little in the way of carbs and have had few problems with weight gain. I also use intermittent fasting - almost always all my eating is done between lunchtime and dinner time - 1.30pm and 8.15pm. It isn't really deliberate - I don't "do" breakfast, never have done.

I have always found this site useful - good illustrations what make it easy to remember what's good and what's not:

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

and good recipes/food suggestions.

Controlling diet is the very best thing you can do. As soon as I was diagnosed with pmr Dec 2015 I cut down heavily on carbs and sugar, bulked up on chicken, fish and veg, enjoyed fruit and avoided alcohol. Didn't touch a biscuit or a crisp for 18 months. I was really disciplined and it became a way of life and a challenge with no weight gain. It really paid off although I had to give up exercise because of extreme pain during the 1st year due to rheumy dropping pred too fast. I now have a few special treats and am back in the gym to strengthen my gluts and get fitter. Reached target of 5mg pred by tapering like a snail once under 10mg and here I shall sit for a number of months.

I was diagnosed with PMR 3 years ago and started on Prednisone. Gained a lot of weight and was generally very irritable.

Started a keto diet 9 months ago and kept daily carbs below 15 grams. Amazing results in terms of weight loss (30 lbs) and reduced inflammation blood markers down to normal. Over time was able to quit prednisone and felt great. While happy for me my Rheumatologist commented " PMR can reoccur ". this was a month ago.

I'm at my target weight so splurge on carbs every once in a while - for me that means having a hamburger with bun. over the last three days I have splurged (not 3 hamburgers!)and this morning the PMR is back and I'm in a great deal of pain. Not sure if the increased carbs caused the flareup but sure feels like it.

My advice to PMR sufferers is to try a well formulated low carb high fat diet to get inflammation under control. it's a lot easier to do then you think.

I started with PMR in April 2019. It started with a mild stiff neck that progressed to shoulders, arms, hips, gluts, thighs, knees within three months. However, I had been on the Paleo diet continuously before starting in September of 2018. I lost 68 lbs. I was not eating sugars, carbs, or ANY kind, and was only mainly eating steak, veggies, and salmon, and occasional pears, and apples. When the PMR hit me I had not suffered from any maladies or been sick. It just appeared out of nowhere. The pain was so bad I could not turn over in bed without crying out. Now the thing is....When I first started with the neck pain, I went to see my GP who placed me on a step down dosage pack of Prednisone for 8 days. And immediately after I took the last pill is when all of my symptoms started (with in a week of stopping the pred) I am now wondering if I had servere withdrawal symptoms from the Prednsone. Any info would be appreciated.

The Keto diet is problematic. Google this: "Scientists who studied the diets of more than 447,000 people around the world are zeroing in on the ideal dose of carbs for a long life"

I eat plenty. I've been on a whole food, plant based diet for decades although I do eat non-vegetarian food sparingly. I lost 4 kg weight in the month I contracted PMR. Two years later, I have not regained the 4 kg, despite my best efforts.

I exercise strenuously and am pain-free on 5.5 mg pred.