I'm wondering about allergies (just thinking out ... - PMRGCAuk
I'm wondering about allergies (just thinking out loud). Anyone any experience of anti-histamine tablets causing any relief of GCA symptoms?
No, and I simply can't see why anyone would think they give relief from GCA? I could see that if someone had hay fever/pollen allergies/seasonal rhinitis that if they took anti-histamines they would be relieved of those symptoms -which of course affect the head - but GCA is a completely different kettle of fish!
GCA isn't an allergy. It is an autoimmune disorder that leads a part of your immune system to attack your own tissues. Histamine has nothing to do with it.
Well I felt a lot better when I took Cetirizine for my allergy. That's why I asked the question polkadot.com I have every right to be here and to ask questions. State your problem and the qualifications that you think entitle you to be so rude! If you wish to delete the question, please say so and be direct.
WendyUK, I don't think I've got the problem.
My problem is that I was a disaffected patient before commencement of my 'treatment', and I have had to tolerate the intolerable (including an abuse of my rights as a patient) from medics during my 8 months of GCA. The vast majority of patients swoon with adulation over medics, I am contrary to the normal behaviour of patients. I find the abuse of power abhorrent, where-ever it orginates.
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Don't assume too much.. There aren't many here of the 'vast majority'.
You made me laugh Polkadot 
I'm sure a lot of people who have looked up GCA online - and many I've spoken to have diagnosed themselves - have found, either not enough, or misleading information online. With an illness that even some doctors have crazy ideas about, questions arise in the minds of the afflicted which could be irrational which is why forums and helplines and meet-up groups are so vital. I'm not a hypochondriac but it's not an easy illness to bear. Thank you for your time. 
Of course they have found misleading/incorrect/downright wrong information. Until very recently it was considered to be a problem which concerned the 'elderly' - and I've put that in quotes because it depends on where you stand what 'elderly' means - and it was therefore not financially worthy/problematical enough/or just plain not trendy to pursue. By anyone. Pharma companies, medics, research bods.
There are a lot of people who have worked hard over the last few years to bring you the information on this website (plus a couple of others) are you including them in your diatribe? What we have here is plain honest information without the frills, miracle cures, or bogoff remedies.
And .......if you think you're having a hard time now, just try and imagine how I felt 15 years ago. You have us here ........I had literally nothing. Thank you for your time, too.
I don't have much experience of this site as I have recently discovered it. The PMRGCAUK helpline supporter was the first adequate person I found after 5 months of immense distress but they have no medical training (though many years of experience). I'm 61 (going on 101) but in some categories, I suppose I pass for an elderly person as opposed to 'the elderly' en masse. Please don't be rude by referring to my posts as 'diatribe'.
I couldn't think how else to adequately describe it. It could well have been me you spoke to on the helpline, too. I do have years of experience.
I did look up polkadot.com but it was an unrelated page. Certainly I am sorry that anyone could have either of these complex illnesses. They lend themselves to emotional upset as does the medication, add to this all kinds of opppressive and neglectful professional treatment and it is a recipe for immense distress. People with a disability have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of the origin of that disability. I have spoken to people who believe that avoiding eating tomotoes will assist their recovery from GCA! This is a site which offers to assist with questions. If you refer to a forum enquirer explaining their circumstances as a 'diatribe' you are being extremely judgemental rather than supportive.
Of course it's unrelated, polkadotcom is my user name. I don't have a website, wouldn't know what to do with one.
How are you so sure that every patient with either PMR or GCA or both has received the same treatment as you seem to have done? Until very recently we have had only the minority on here - those with problems, whatever they might be - but many patients have textbook symptoms and treatment and sail through it all without turning a hair. They are the ones who haven't needed our services.
However, times are changing, as they say, and now we are beginning to pull in those newly diagnosed. Whatever you may feel, not every doctor/consultant is useless and to make sweeping generalisations as you have done is not only unfair but worrying to those new patients.
For the record I have both PMR and GCA, late-onset asthma, T2 diabetes, fibromyalgia, ostetoarthritis, hypothyroidism and several others I can't be bothered to put down. I'm not so much disabled as un-abled, if you see what I mean.
Well, you are extremely able here to answer complex queries on serious health issues and are using your great wealth of experience, which has been hard won. Some people always find a way of shining through the darkness despite great obstacles and hardships and I'm sure you are immensely valued. I have had a series of bad experiences, and each complaint was met with discredit and victimisation which led to a psychological breakdown which no-one needs even when physically well. No-one can know what another person goes through. I can't change the circumstances of my treatment to suit another forum user. I can only speak my truth and would hope others would do likewise. Maybe if more people spoke out about bad treatment, it would change for the better - that's how I see it. I wish I had been warned and would have known what to look for. If a post is unsuitable or misleading, I would have thought you would delete it from the forum.
I'm sorry that you have had such bad experiences, presumably with other conditions too and I am also sorry that you are so angry about it, but what would you have done had I deleted the posts, or parts of your posts, that I didn't like? Would that have helped you? I don't think it would.
Of course you can't change the circumstances or situation you are in, no one can, and I quite agree that only by speaking out about them can we help or prevent others facing similar problems. Your experiences are just as valid as anyone else's so have a look round and perhaps find ways to help other posters. But 'helping' is a positive, remember.
There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes at PMRGCAuk. Some of it research, some of it on plans to 'educate' the medical profession in general and some of it on treatment. Wish us luck. We are a very very small charity up against the big boys and need all the luck we can get.
I would assist in any campaign to get better treatment. I know a 67 year old man (who does a great deal for voluntary groups) who was sent away by his GP without even a blood test, pulse or blood pressure check. He lost sight in one eye and went to casualty. Fortunately, his sight returned and he could afford to see a GP and hospital consultant privately. I hear that ordinary people who own their own home, are pushed into private treatment. GP practices are now a business and they don't want to spend money on older people who have paid in all their life to the NHS but have assets, such as a half a million pound home! It's disgraceful behaviour and one that needs exposing. Personally I think many people are not angry enough. People don't like to complain, especially against medical practitioners. They are afraid of victimisation. The abuse of power requires exposure too! I'm happy to campsign single handed if I have to. One person's angry voice can be louder that a whole group of people who are afraid to rock the boat!
Sorry so late, Wendy, been AWOL for a couple of days.
The problem with anger is that when it's unchecked it's like a spooked horse - you never know where it will go. A cool head is better for a sustained battle and we are battling on behalf of all the members of our Charity. We can't take on any more than that, even if we had the funds to do so.
If you really want to help, then contact PMRGCAuk - the details are on the front page - and ask what you can do.
Not sure where you are located, but we need more support groups and helpline volunteers. There may be a group already in your area where you could help out, or you could think about starting a new one. Just swelling the number of members of the Charity is helpful as the bigger we grow the louder we can get.
Please don't apologise. It's not urgent, unlike some posts might be. Even one person can shout louder than a large number of people, if the large number are concilliatory and compliant. Many people (I have spoken to a large number already) are too terrified to complain because doctors are not above abusing their power and position of trust and they all belong to the same masonic lodge and they protect each other as priority. I was brought up to have the courage of my convictions regardless of cost to myself, speak truth to power, and if someone is failing in their role of responsibility or integrity, to challenge them. (It could be one of their relatives who is next in line for appalling treatment and they should not forget that.) "Evil flourishes when good people remain silent." etc., etc. It is hard to be a human rights activist who has received appallling treatment. Doctors can be extremely spiteful and subversive if you dare to complain about them or their colleagues!
