The Polymyalgia Rheumatica Patient's Sourcebook

By Stephen Trutter

Polymyalgia rheumatica affects hundreds of thousands of people. If you’ve recently been diagnosed, the chances are you’ve never heard of it before. Despite it being a relatively common disease, very little is known about exactly what PMR is and why people get it. This comprehensive book for patients and caregivers guides you through PMR including causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment to help you better understand PMR, ask the right questions, and make informed decisions about your treatment options.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andale LLC
• Release date: Apr 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311507334

Book preview

The Polymyalgia Rheumatica Patient’s Sourcebook

Stephen Trutter, MA, Sue Feher MD

Smashwords Edition

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Copyright 2014 Stephen Trutter, MA, Sue Feher MD

Cover photo: Valua Vitaly | Fotolio.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Introduction

What is Polymyalgia rheumatica?

Causes of PMR

Symptoms for PMR

Diagnosis

Treatment

Self help treatment

Giant Cell Arteritis

Recipe suggestions

Self Help Groups and PMR-related organizations

Internet Resources

References

Introduction

Polymyalgia rheumatica affects hundreds of thousands of people. If you’ve recently been diagnosed, the chances are you’ve never heard of it before. Despite it being a relatively common disease, very little is known about exactly what PMR is and why people get it. Patients – and even doctors – find navigating through the quagmire of symptoms to diagnosis a long and hard road. Diagnostic criteria are far from perfect and in fact, PMR is largely what physicians call a diagnosis of exclusion. That means you’ll only be diagnosed after more understood disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis, have been ruled out.

Perhaps the most important thing to know as a PMR patient is that you have an excellent chance of getting better. PMR will go away on its own within a few months to a few years – even without treatment. In fact, just over half a century ago, there was no treatment for PMR. If you did get the disorder (then called senile rheumatic gout, you would have been told to just put up with the (sometimes crippling) pain. Fortunately, physicians figured out that PMR and giant cell arteritis were linked (in fact, they are thought to be the same disease, with GCA being the more severe form of the two), leading to effective treatments for the pain of PMR.

This book is intended for patients and caregivers. Chapter 1 gives you an overall view of the history of PMR and what the condition means for you. The second chapter outlines the possible causes of PMR. Exactly what causes PMR isn’t yet known, but research is underway into many potential suspects, from genetics to infections. The next chapter covers common symptoms of PMR, which may help you to differentiate PMR from other disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis. The chapter on treatment guides you through treatment with steroids, which is currently the only treatment option available if you have PMR. The major downside of steroid treatment is side-effects, so we’ve included information on the most common side effects and what you can expect once you stop taking the medication. The focus of the final chapter is giant cell arteritis, including why it’s important to be aware of what it is if you have PMR. GCA is a less common, but much more serious manifestation of PMR. It can lead to permanent blindness and – as a worst case scenario – stroke.

At the back of the book, you’ll find a glossary for medical terms related to PMR and a list of organizations that you can contact for support. There are many support groups that have a presence online. Talking with other patients who are also going through what you are (or perhaps who have suffered from PMR in the past), can help you get through the initial stages of your diagnosis and provide support for the (sometimes tough) years that follow.

Although we’ve made every effort to provide a complete and accurate picture for PMR, this book shouldn’t be used as an alternative to professional medical advice. Rather, it should be used a complement to your treatment, to help you better understand PMR, to ask the right questions and make informed decisions about your treatment options.

What is Polymyalgia rheumatica?

Polymyalgia rheumatica (usually called just PMR) is an inflammatory condition that causes painful muscles (myalgia) in many (poly) parts of the body. While it can technically cause pain anywhere, the most usual areas you are likely to have pain is in your shoulders and hips. PMR can happen at any age from about 50 years-old, but it’s most commonly seen in people over the age of 60. It rarely occurs in people under 50. The median age of onset is 70 years old.

The British society for Rheumatology guidelines for PMR management states that PMR is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease in the elderly…There are difficulties in diagnosis, with heterogeneity in presentation [meaning symptoms], response to steroids and disease course. That statement sums up the fact that PMR is still a disease that is poorly understood. In fact, although PMR mostly affects older white women, there have been documented cases in people as young as in their twenties.

Women are two to three times more likely to get