Polymyositis & Dermatomyositis Support Group

Polymyositis (PM) is a type of chronic inflammation of the muscles (inflammatory myopathy) related to dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis. The inflammation is predominantly of the endomysium in polymyositis, whereas dermatomyositis is characterized by primarily perimysial inflammation.

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freelee 03/07/2012

Question: does anyone else get painful stomach muscles from use? Like a cramp that does not go away? Until now I have only had pain in upper arms, upper legs, shoulders and neck and jaw. new this last month is stomach pain.
MY BACKGROUND: i have been diagnosed with inflammatory myopthy as they were not sure from biopsy which one> They ( specialists ) have said polymyositis, though there was some disagreement. being treated with immunosuppressants as prednisone did nothing.

deleted_user 03/07/2012

Freelee the worst pain i had was from my diaphragm below the stomach in the stomach muscle region. It was awful and made it hard to breathe. It felt like i had done 3000 crunches and i had not done any. It hurt for a long time. Once i got on Steroids it tapered off and went away. i have not had that pain again, but i would be very concerned if i had it again.

What are you doing for treatment of your Poly??
Shawna

deleted_user 03/07/2012

I have a lot of pain in my core muscles but then they are waking up from the brain surgery. Legs are slowly beginning to move.

trpt1 03/07/2012

Freelee, I do not get stomach pain or cramps, but I do have weakness in my chest area from time to time. I had an upper & lower GI that was done last July and everything looked fine to the doctor. A CT scan showed I might be in the process of developing inflammatory bowel. I do think the prednisone played an important role in healing up my intestines before the upper & lower GI. It is important to have a good gastroenterologist. A big complication and break down of the body happens in the stomach & intestines with DM/PM. I would see the gastro doctor if it has been a long time since your last visit. Prednisone can also cause ulcers so make sure you drink a 9 oz glass of water and have food in the stomach when taking the medication. So many things can go wrong with our disease. If the pain stays around then see the doc.

freelee 03/13/2012

Thanks for your replies.
"A big complication and break down of the body happens in the stomach & intestines with DM/PM. I would see the gastro doctor if it has been a long time since your last visit" I never knew this. What happens in stomach and intestines?
Prednisone did not work for me so I am on immunosuppressants and pain killers and do mild exercises everyday.

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