polymyalgia rheumatica (pmr). My friend has fibromyalgia. They are different disorders completely. Her diagnosis was fairly quick for fibromyalgia, but her doctor's "diagnosis" is psychosomatic fibromyalgia. He is among the doctors who do not believe that it is a real, physical disorder.
My polymyalgia rheumatica has some specific traits to aid in diagnosis, which the PA missed, so I fault the PA for misdiagnosing it. She immediately thought "arthritis" and stuck with that. She ordered X-rays which showed very mild arthritis in one hip. My pain was much stronger than "mild" and extended far beyond that hip. It was also chronic, every minute of every day and not flare ups. I think she believed that I was exaggerating the pain. She suggested that I relax more, think positive thoughts, and take Tylenol.
Tylenol does not work on pmr. Only Prednisone does. I was unable to climb any stairs. Just going up a curb when crossing a street was agony. Standing from a sitting position was so painful that I delayed it as long as possible and cried just knowing that I had to stand up. I could barely dress myself. I woke up every morning with burning pain in my shoulders, hips, and knees. I lost some range of motion in my arms.
That PA left the medical practice. The new PA dignosed it correctly in 2 minutes the first time I told her about my limited arm movement. The inability to raise both arms above chest height is a classic, defining symptom of polymyalgia rheumatica. There is no specific diagnostic lab test for pmr, but corroborating evidence was in my chart, which the new PA took the trouble to read - my age at the time (65), being female, recent repetitive bouts of viral infection, and northern European descent. She did order blood labs. I don't recall the name of the specific one that she said convinced her that it was pmr, but she said it indicated muscle inflammation. She gave me a script for Prednisone and within a few short hours after taking the first pill, it felt like a miracle had occurred. No pain. I could walk, sit, stand, move my arms.
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