At Little Herbal Company over the years, I have listened to many stories of pain and suffering. Some of the worst of those have been auto-immune conditions, caused when the body, confused and stressed, turns on itself, resulting in a huge variety of problems.
I was diagnosed with PMR in July 2016 after suffering from chronic pain for 8 months. The pain was in my shoulders, upper arms, hips, thighs and knees and was exactly the same on both sides of my body. At times the pain was unbearable and I could barely get out of bed. I couldn’t drive because I couldn’t get in and out of my car and I couldn’t even climb the stairs. Getting up from sitting in a chair was excruciating.
I had suffered from two bad falls in September and December 2015 and this stress to my body clearly caused PMR (which became apparent retrospectively).
However back in December 2015 I was told it was an arthritis flare up (I had never had arthritis or even any aches and pains) then I was told it was damaged vertebrae causing trapped nerves. This misdiagnosis was to cause me months of unnecessary pain and despair. I had to put my life on hold, unable to do the smallest things. Later I wondered how many more people have been misdiagnosed with this condition, which is relatively common in those over fifty years of age.
I visited a physio who gave me dry needle acupuncture and then a chiropractor who treated me for 4 months during which time I was getting no better and in fact the pain was worse. I kept asking the chiropractor why I had pain on both sides of my body – he didn’t know was the answer. After 4 months he told me I was 20% of the way better.
So, in July 2016 I decided to stop the chiropractic treatment and after a great deal of thought I realised that there was a good chance it was PMR. I visited my fantastic GP, Simon, and told him what my symptoms were and that I didn’t think it was trapped nerves but that it was polymyalgia.He said he was pretty sure it was PMR too and sent me for some heavy duty blood tests. The results came back – ESR and CRP (two inflammatory markers) were elevated, everything else normal. I was the healthiest person he had ever seen with PMR he said ! All he could offer me was prednisone ( prednisolone) which he said would take my pain away immediately but that there were drawbacks to using this steroidal drug. I declined and said that I would devise my own protocol now that I knew what I was dealing with. So with his blessing off I went still in chronic pain but determined not to resort to steroids.
I was due to return for a further blood test after a month to see how I was doing.
I devised an ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROTOCOL (see below) which included two of my Little Herbal products, Simba and Filisa, along with specific vitamins, minerals and supplements. I needed to get my immune system back into balance quickly and lower the inflammation.
My first follow up blood test in August showed a significant reduction in both CRP and ESR levels compared to the previous test in July. Simon was surprised and delighted and we agreed that I would have a blood test every month so we could monitor my progress.
Now nearly 8 months later my ESR is perfect and my CRP is back to being almost normal. I have virtually no pain and am doing everything I used to do before PMR. With no drugs !
And it’s not just me – I have a customer in the UK whose husband (S.D.) was diagnosed with PMR back in August 2016 after also suffering from chronic pain. He stopped taking prednisone at the end of August 2016 and his ESR and CRP are both normal again after 6 months on my protocol.
Simon, my lovely GP, who has been such a tremendous support to me, and who has maintained an open mind throughout this journey of mine, is now sending his PMR patients to me and monitoring them closely whilst reducing their dose of prednisone. If they have the same results both I and my UK customer have had and we can prevent the need for steroidal drugs that would be amazing.
It’s so strange to think that 18 years ago Little Herbal was born because of my knee injury. Maybe PMR has been a gift to me in order for me to be better able to understand chronic pain and, in turn, help people who are suffering with this much misdiagnosed condition.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which literally means 'many aching muscles', is an inflammatory, auto-immune disorder of the muscles and joints characterized by muscle pain and stiffness, affecting both sides of the body, and involving the shoulders, arms, neck, and buttock areas. Patients with polymyalgia rheumatica are typically over 50 years of age. Stress is a major cause of PMR – this can be physical or mental stress.
The symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica may at first appear similar to those of other inflammatory illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and lupus. In fact, polymyalgia rheumatica has only been recognised as a distinct disease since 1969.
Diagnosis is generally made from blood tests which look at the inflammatory markers ESR and CRP. Both are usually raised in this condition.
Prednisone is the only conventional treatment option for PMR. However, there are potential side effects from prednisone and treatment with this drug cannot simply be stopped. Any reduction in dosage must be done in conjunction with your GP or specialist.