It sounds like nothing most people have ever heard of: polymyalgia rheumatica. But more than 700-thousand Americans learned about it the hard way.

“It causes sudden onset of pain and stiffness mostly in the shoulders, back of the neck, around the hips,” says Lee Memorial Health System rheumatologist Juan Bustillo.

An inflammatory condition, it’s usually found in people over 50. It’s painful and sometimes disabling.

“I’ve had patients that have gone sometimes more than a month without being diagnosed and they’ve actually come in here in a wheelchair,” says Dr. Bustillo.

Most people feel the pain in their muscles, but it is actually the joints that are involved. Doctors aren’t sure what triggers polymyalgia rheumatica although it is an autoimmune disorder. Meaning the body turns on itself. While it may be fast and furious, it is also treatable.

“The diagnosis is made when we implement the corticosteroid and we see how the patient responds. Usually the symptoms resolve within 72 hours; very quickly,” says Dr. Bustillo.

Patients stay on medications for up to a year or longer. They must be monitored for long-term affects.

“If we’re able to wean the patient off slowly and off completely without any return of symptoms, about 60% of the patients can eliminate it for good,” says Dr. Bustillo.

Some people experience a relapse and return to treatment, again with a fast turnaround.

“A lot of our patients when we diagnose them they say I’ve never heard of this. And then all of a sudden they start meeting people that they’ve had it,” says Dr. Bustillo.
If treated appropriately, there is mostly a happy ending for this friendly-fire disorder.

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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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