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What is the long term prognosis for someone diagnosed in their early 50s

Posted , 9 users are following.

adcan
adcan

I was just diagnosed. I am 52. It took several months, as my doctors second-guessed themselves. My ESR was normal but CRP was not. Prednisone is a miracle!! I can walk and move and am doing a lot physical therapy in the pool and outside. I understand that this goes away after a year or so of prednisone , or at least, it relapses, but since the average age of onset is 70, what does this mean for someone younger..... Is the likelihood of relapse higher as a result of sheer longevity with the chronic condition????? Will I be decrepit by my 60s or 70s given that this is still decades away????? Any help or reference to articles particulalry appreciated.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Jobaby
    Jobaby adcan

    Posted

    I am 50 & diagnosed 8 months ago. My rheumy says that because I am relatively young, fit and healthy, prognosis should be good for recovery. However, he has told me not to put a number in my head as to how long it will take to recover, as it can lead to disappointment and despondency if it doesn't happen in that time frame. (Unfortunately, some people suffer for many years with PMR, as folk will attest to here and on PMR Facebook). Also, nobody is able to say that a relapse won't happen after recovery/remission. Thank goodness for prednisone and also for me, methotrexate which is assisting in my tapering from the Pred. Good luck with your journey back to good health. You will find this site a wealth of information and solace, I'm sure.
  • Marilyn2501
    Marilyn2501 adcan

    Posted

    Hi like you I was diagnosed PMR within the last 4ish months and to start with the pred was very helpful and kept everything under control but I had aviralinfection so not a lot of my medication was being absorbed so I had a horrific glare up which is still with me

    I am on 20mg of pred a day plus 8 paracetamol and the pain is constant 24/7

    My gp has now referred me to a rheumatologist as the pred doesn't seem to have coped with my inflammation

    I'm not sure how long the PMR goes on for in a lot of cases approx2 years but like you I am new to the PMR my age 66 but I have been very fortune to have the backup of this forum as they give you a lot of advise the only advise I would give you is although you feel tons better you must rest

    Hope this is useful to you take care xx

  • EileenH
    EileenH adcan

    Posted

    The average age is 70+ - but the range is 50 to 80+! I was 51 when mine started - it wasn't diagnosed for 5 years and I have been on pred for nearly 5 years (now nearly 62). I'm not decrepit though I had a very dodgy time 2 years ago for other reasons that made the PMR awful. We know people who had it in their 50s, it went away and returned in their 60s - there is no rule for how or why, it's wait and see I'm afraid.

    I'm also sorry to tell you that "it goes away after a year or so of pred" is a fiction from doctors! About a quarter come into that classification but are more likely to have a relapse later. Not an awful lot of study is of relevance here - it just hasn't been looked at that closely and whilst I would give you references I'm on holiday and on the laptop, all my references are on the desktop at home! There is ongoing work though - but I hope we are long over our PMR by the time it is finished in the early 2020s! Ask more specific questions though and we'll try to answer them - I could write a book about PMR but this isn't the place todo it.

    There are other forums and a very good website run by the northeast support group - there's a link in a post at the top of the polymyalgia thread:

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/pmr-gca-and-other-website-addresses-35316

    Reliable and medically checked - so good articles.

  • cornishmaid
    cornishmaid adcan

    Posted

    Hello Adcan

    I was diagnosed 7 years ago (I am now 49) i came off pred about 6 months ago but am about to go back to rheumy as symptoms have returned with avengence, wish I had fought harder to stay on the low dose pred but gp was so adamant I had to come off and try Naproxen instead,

  • DQ73
    DQ73 adcan

    Posted

    I was 38 when I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago. 
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