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PMR diagnosis

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Posted 12/5/2019 2:00 PM (GMT -5)
Finally after months of this severe muscle, joint inflammation with new Lyme's WB and Bart positive testing, I have been diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica. I thought it was solely the Lyme's so just got retested with the WB to see. Have been on doxcy (3mths) and now azithro (1 month pulsing) with no changes. Will update LLMD but really dread starting prednisone as well. Anyone have input about PMR with Lyme's? Last entries about PMR was in 2013!
Posted 12/5/2019 2:29 PM (GMT -5)
Prednisone is a steroid. Steroids are contraindicated with Lyme/coinfections.

I would NOT take oral steroids. Talk to your LLMD.
Posted 12/5/2019 2:55 PM (GMT -5)
My guess would be that Lyme is causing the PMR. It's an idiopathic condition, right, thought to be triggered by pathogens or something else environmental? I don't know much about it, but I thought that polymyalgia rheumatica was a description of a set of symptoms; it's a syndrome (description of symptoms) and not a disease (a thing with a known cause), so my perspective is to treat the underlying cause whenever possible. I second avoidance of steroids. I hope that someone here with joint issues as a primary Lyme symptom can weigh in, but I would recommend focusing on Lyme, since that's almost certainly the impetus for developing an inflammatory condition.
Posted 12/5/2019 4:06 PM (GMT -5)

WalkingbyFaith said...
Prednisone is a steroid. Steroids are contraindicated with Lyme/coinfections.

Well, not entirely. Small doses can be useful for treating disruption of sleep or blood sugar or electrolytes, which comes from dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

If you've got muscle or joint pain, it's probably because the bacteria got in there. The only way steroids would help that is if you took enough to suppress your immune system, which you don't want to do.
Posted 12/5/2019 7:51 PM (GMT -5)
I was tested for Polymyalgia Rheumatica when my dr was trying to find out what was wrong with me.
The tests I had: esr, crp.
Those being high means you have inflammation - which could easily be from lyme and coinfections.

Steroids in doses for autoimmune diseases are not recommended when we have lyme.
Posted 12/5/2019 7:58 PM (GMT -5)
I am being treated for Lyme and coinfections. Several months ago I was diagnosed with frozen shoulder.
Prior to this I had been dealing with neck pain, pain between the shoulder blades and some pretty severe morning stiffness which I assumed was Lyme. Since my father had frozen shoulder and was later diagnosed with PMR I have been referred to a rheumatologist later this month. I was told the diagnosis is based on inflammatory markers CRP and SED rate along with symptoms? If this is wrong please correct me!
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