How do you think your PMR started? | Arthritis Information

Just curious as to how you remember how your symptoms started? Infection, stress? I'm pretty sure my PMR started with stress. My mother was real sick and in the hospital off and on for two months (died in the next month). It was a very stressful time for our family.
I have autoimmune diseases in my family, so that might be a factor, and had a lot of stress in 2009. (diagnosed in Jan 2010).

I also am questioning antibiotics, an antiviral med, a shingles vaccination in 2008 and even IV anesthesia for dental work as being culprits! Maybe everything just added up to "the perfect storm," as they say.

As far as I can tell, pmr didn't happen to me suddenly. I felt "off" the entire year 2009.

freesia
freesia2010-06-26 20:28:20Parker

Have a look at this and perhaps fill it in. Some of your curiosity will be answered.

http://www.quantisurve.com/cgi-bin/pmr.asp

PMR came and stayed after an extremely stressfull time and also a virus flu that I could not seem to shake off.

Put me down for stress and flu.

gentle hugs, Lyn

I think that maybe stress is the cause of my PMR too, I started a new job last January and felt more stressed than I ever have in my life before.

I was going through diagnostic facet injections in my lumbar spine when I started having some symptoms but the day after finally having radio frequency ablation completed mine went into hyper-drive. Had full fledged symptoms from then on out until I got started on prenisone.

My rheumatologist also thinks I have fibro but when I asked her if this could have been a fibro flair she just kinda shook her head and said she's not sure but something definately happened. But steroids wouldn't have made such an impact on fibro.

So anyway, I too think that stress brought mine on.

thanks for all the responses it is very interesting to hear how all of you believe stress was a factor in possibly bringing PMR to a full blown problem keep the responses coming in I'm quite interested.I doubt stress is a factor. Half the world is stressed so there should be many more of us. I can't figure out how I got this. I was healthy in body and mind till 49.it is how some people process their stress.i used to take antidepressants for about 9 years while going thru perimenopause..had loads of hormone issues..
well after menopause..i decided to stop antidepressants..
and tapered for 6 months..i just wanted to be drug free, loose weight, get in shape..
it was 2 months after i quit taking them that i got PMR
what a slap in the face that was..and depression was quite a side effect in me for pred

so i began to take a different antidepressant ..
one that hopefully wouldnt cause weight gain since i was on steroids.
anyhow..i weaned down on the steroids and the antidepressant
for the past 2 years and
after quitting the antidepressant a few months ago..
i just had a major flareup with my PMR ..a relapse..

so is there a connection? probably somehow in my body it must be...
but who knows..

also , when i was at the dentist, she saw my tongue..it is varigated..(like there are lines on it) and she said..do you have an autoimmune disease? i said , yes, and she said, yes, it shows on your tongue.."
that was a new one to me..i have had that type of tongue my whole life..so there is obivious tie ins to all of this..but who knows?
Cathi, I'm so sorry to hear about the flare-up, must be such a big disappointment after doing so well and getting as far as you did. Hopefully it is under control and that you will be able to start reducing the steroids soon. Good Luck.
As far as stress is concerned I agree with the comment from Cowgirl, continual stress keeps the body on "red alert" and results in a variety of metabolic processes which are part of the "flight or fight" syndrome. In the long term this has a detrimental effect on normal body function, and the risk is that something will eventually "give", usually at the most vulnerable point. So it might be a heart attack, infection, migraine - or even PMR. I am sure in my own case the two traumatic and stressfilled years leading up to the onset of my PMR were the cause. Unfortunately I seemed to be in a situation that I couldn't change, nor could I say "no" when in retrospect I should have.
I would be the first to admit that I have an over-exaggerated sense of responsibility, I always feel it's up to me to "sort it all out". Typical of the eldest born child in the family, I'm told! Anyone else out there know that one? I agree in how it is how some people process their stress I was always a stoic kept all the bad stuff inside and did not let the demons out I think this is payback there is medical literature I read some time ago that stoics tend to die earlier than those who "act" out their feelings etc and just like when a persons back goes out because they bent over in the shower to pick up a bar of soap stress especially in my case was cumulative and several very stressful events sorry for the poor puntuation my hands will only cooperate so much! CathiB, I'm sorry about all you have been through with this. I hope you are doing better now. I know that some anti-depressants cause weight gain, even after the person quits taking them. Even though medical experts say otherwise, I think there could be a link between medications and pmr. But that's just my opinion, of course.

Polly-Anna, I'm an eldest child also,with 3 younger siblings, so I know what you are talking about! I had to be the responsible one while everyone else got to have fun--or so it seemed !

I agree with you and cowgirl about constant stress, it is not good for the body. It just wears one's immune system down.....For those of us in stressful situations that we have to live with for awhile, I wonder if there is a way to help the mind deal with it? Besides valium, etc. !!

freesia freesia2010-07-08 13:58:27Hi all!

I'd had the symptoms on and off but at a cope-able with level for about 4 years before being admitted to the ER with a TGA episode: transient global amnesia, I lost about 5 hours of one evening and had a shortterm memory of about 2 minutes! Scary for my other half, I didn't know anything about it! However, within a couple of days I couldn't move, much worse than I'd ever been before. Two idiot consultants at the hospital didn't help - one insisted it was a TIA (mini-stroke) and the other wanted epilepsy investigated once the TIA dx was binned.

A history of a stressful event or infection before PMR appears is common and there are some thoughts that it MIGHT be the final straw for a previously existing problem with the HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals, all associated with production of essential hormones in a complicated feedback process) and you then develop your autoimmune disease of which PMR is just one manifestation.

BTW - depressive mood is one of the manifestations of PMR and I had had years of problems earlier in my life. I had made a major change a few years ago which seemed to help some (a lot of my problems had been reactive depression, husband with cancer, difficult life situations etc until I had a major burnout crisis). When all is said and done - anyone would be depressed with PMR with the constant pain and restrictions!

MrsE