I was wondering if people who have not got the correct blood results to give a diagnosis can still have this illness .Thanks
Hi Patricia, what is PRG?
I have no idea I cannot think why i put that in even , maybe I meant PR or Polymyalgia Rheumatica I am just guessing , that is what i meant. Would you guess i am quite new to this.
They normally check your ESR and CRP blood results. These show if there is inflammation in the body which can indicate PMR. Around one in five people do not have raised ESR and CRP, so you might have PMR, but it does not show up in your blood test results. Doctors theoretically should be aware of this. Other symptoms also could indicate PMR such as bilateral shoulder and/or hip pain. In my case this was excruciating, so much so I could hardly get out of bed or get dressed, I felt I was heading for a wheelchair and care home. Doctors discount other possibilities for other illnesses until they are left with PMR as being the possible problem.
Why did you go to the doctor originally, what were your symptoms?
Hi Patricia,
Yes, there is a percentage of people that don't have high ESR or CRP counts. PMR is diagnosed primarily by symptoms. The inflammation causes stiffness and pain (often debilitating) bilaterally in shoulders, arms, butt, thighs and legs although not always all these muscle groups.
Some of the very knowledgable members of this forum will be along with more information but I suggest you read some of the discussions on this forum. It is a wonderful informative and supportive site.
Best wishes on getting an early diagnosis for whatever is causing you pain.
Diana🌸
Sorry, meant to say is diagnosed by symptoms and relief from pain (70%) within a day or so of being treated with 15 or 20mg of prednisone.
Hi Patricia, hope I didn't sound cross, if I did - sorry. Ptolemy has said it all in his answer - and at the end of this answer asked the most important question. Keep in touch, J
I have had normal CRP and sed rates all along - never elevated, still am being treated for PMR. Supposedly I had GCA with temporal arteritis (my biopsy was sent to two different labs and one lab said I had TA, the other said I didn't have it) about 7 years ago and even then my lab tests were within normal limits.
To me the frustrating thing about PMR is that no two people seem to have the same set of symptoms or test results or recovery time. I hope you get the appropriate help and keep searching for answers.
Hi Patricia,
I've had blood work twice... At the onset of symptoms...painful hips, shoulders, neck and extreme fatigue. My results did not confirm PMR. But I had all the symptoms which were relieved with the prednisone. Just had lab work again .. No elevated ESR orCRP. I believe 7 to 20% of people have "normal " values.
People on this site can be very helpful. Were you given prednisone? Did it relieve your symptoms?
I wish you the best. Keep asking questions!
Hallo Patricia. I had extremely high ESR and CPR (over 100) when starting out on this journey (over 3 1/2 years ago). Prednisone has done it's job and I have now reduced to 6 mgs. For the last 6 months my blood counts have been in the "normal" range. However, I have the same pains as before (arms, wrists, pelvis and ankles).😒😒. So, as the majority of people on this site, I don't understand this illness! Never will!
Hope you get good advice from your doctor, and hope, too, that you haven't got PMR. You will get all the help you need from this forum, they are wonderful people on here, and there is always someone to help or sympathize.
All the best. Constance
I depends what they mean - is it just the ESR and CRP are "within normal range" or are is it other things?
As the others have said - about a fifth of patients who do have PMR don't have any abnormal ESR/CRP blood tests. You can also have a raised alkaline phosphatase in PMR - it is a liver enzyme and some doctors assume it is a liver problem. It isn't, it is often seen in PMR with no liver problems.
PMR should be diagnosed on the basis of the clinical history/symptoms and response to a moderate dose of prednisolone. It can appear similar to late onset rheumatoid arthritis (LORA) in its early stages and also to fibromyalgia. The difference is that fibro does not respond to pred at all and LORA won't respond as dramatically as PMR typically does to 15mg pred.
Try another doctor.
Originally i went to the Dr. with groin, thigh ,neck shoulders hip feet headache jaw pain tingling and numbness in my hands and fingers, fatigue . The pains came on first with my legs knees etc then my groin and thigh neck and shoulders. Dont want to get out of bed some days but force it and drag myself round all day feeling sorry for myself (lovely) Thanks to all the people who have answered my questions it is good to talk or listen to someone who knows what they are talking about, i have been referred to a reumatologist in Aug.
I have COPD and in April I had to call out the Doc and COPD nurses I was prescribed Premnisone and I could not believe the relief I had from the pain, the only thing different I had done was the Pred....so I went to Docs hence the blood tests and with the help of this site started to find out what i had had for about 3 or 4 years which had started about 20odd yrs ago and gradually got worse.
I do not to be honest understand my blood results, but Doc said something like one was 17 next time 18 and the other think she said 5. I had two blood tests but only remember these results.
Do you live in England? I feel so sorry for those of you who have to wait 2 or 3 months for an appointment with a rheumatologist. Here in Germany I usually only have to wait 2 or 3 weeks. If I need to see my doctor it is only 3 or 4 days.
You do seem to be going through it. It's hard to deal with this illness. Feeling sorry for yourself is normal - we all do at first. But it does get better. By the symptoms you have listed it does sound as though you have PMR and you really should be taking prednisone by now.
I do hope you get some help soon. Keep reading all the posts on here. Everyone understands and will help as much as they can.
Do you think you could convince your doctor to try out steroids for a few days? If it is PMR they should work like a miracle very quickly in a couple of days or so, some people have a result in hours, if it is not PMR you can stop taking the steroids and the doctors can look for something else.
It looks like your blood results were for ESR - 17 and CRP - 5, which are in the normal ranges. You may just be one of those people whose blood results just do not show signs of inflammation. This tends to cause more of a fight with the doctors of course to get them to believe it is PMR.