Sharry
Hi Kay, I would like to find out the cause of Polymyalgia too! I was a very active and health conscious person until PMR hit me overnight and out of the blue in December of 2000, just about when it hit you. I've read that it tends to occur in women of Northern European ancestry, and the average age of onset is 70. I'm in my 50's. I've also read and heard on the news just recently, that people in teaching professions have a higher incidence of autoimmune diseases, such as Lupus. Our disease is also in autoimmune category, as is rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers believe it may be related to viruses that young people carry and expose their teachers to. The jury is still out, though, but research is leaning toward some genetic predispostion and an environmental trigger. In the job I had, I was around a lot of children, and I did come down with respiratory illnesses more often at that time than at any other time in my life. I was found to have strep twice in the last couple of years of working too. Of course, I was treated and recovered just fine. Best wishes and I hope you are feeling much better! Sharry :)