Hi I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia but have been unsure as my symptoms seem to differ from a lot of other people who have it, so I put in all of my most serious symptoms and a website came up with PMR, although I am only 46! I read it is very rare for anyone under 50 to have it so it probably isn't but thought I would ask advice on here. My main symptoms are extremely severe hip pain - this is the worst! I cannot sleep at all cos of it. Shoulder pain is getting gradually a lot worse, my knees are the same and sometimes go purple for no reason, sore fingers with those hermywotsits on my knuckles, my toes get really sharp pains through them too and random pains that just stay in the same place for a day or two then move on, oh and fatigue! Anyone give me advice? Thank you.
Nope it is not as rare as you have read. It is just that stats are done on a bell curve and the mean average is taken.
A young lady of 22 has posted on this site a couple of days ago.
The NHS site has the guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment and on this thread there is a pinned section which leads you to the Charities for PMR & GCA.
Reading your post you have the classic symptoms of PMR. You really need to talk to your GP and take the guidelines with you. If you can get him/her to give you 15-20mg of prednisolone and the aches and pains diminish within three or four days (it won't all go away) then that is the clincher. Fibro does not respond to Prednisolone.
Thank you, that makes sense. I have read that prednisolone will help with this. I seem to remember someone I knew taking it for the same type of pain as me and I asked my gp could I try it. Cant remember why he said no, but he did. You know what they are like, I will go in telling him I have the symptoms and he will say you're too young. I am so desperate for some pain relief! I dread falling asleep cos I wake in agony throughout the night, so dont really get any proper sleep. My depression is getting so much worse too cos of the pain. A lady of 22? Wow that is young! Had she been diagnosed?
Sort of, but we all chipped in and helped her out and progress has been reported on this site.
On the right hand side of this page, there is a box with an alpabetical list of illnesses, scroll down and find Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA, click on it and you will see a whole load of info.
I will thank you
Have you tried Prednisone at all. After 3 x 5mg tablets my pain dimished and by day 2 was just an underlying background ( you know its there but it doesn't worry you pain) pain. It seems this is a good indication as to the cause of the symptoms.
I haven't as my doc would not prescribe them but I will see another doctor in the practice to see if I can. At least, if nothing else, it would eliminate it they should surely see that. I have been suffering with constant hip pain for over a year now and it is literally driving me mad! At times I just want to take all my tramadol and co-codamol and be done with it.
Hi Don;t do that!! once they get to the root of everything the pain will be bearable
I won't cos I can't I have two children and they would never understand or forgive me, as much as i want to at times
Shazzywazzywoo (love the name so just had to type it!), go to your GP and tell him exactly how you feel about being unable to cope with the pain. Ask him to put you on a trial dose of 15mg of Prednisolone. If you have around 70% relief in your symptoms within hours or at the most a week, then that can be taken as confirmation of PMR. If they don't produce this result then it is easy to just taper off them after a short while. Nothing to lose but everything to gain. Good luck.
Thank you thats a good idea. I will go tomorrow. I cant cope at the moment. I am in so much pain from my hips and legs I am in tears as I cant get any relief, even though I have just had two cocodamol, 2 tramadol and shortly after a big swig of liquid morphine, I am gonna see doc defo, if that prednisolone could give me some relief I may jjust feel i have something to live dor!