PMR and CGA

[Myhandshurt]

I am new on here. Recently diagnosed with polymyalgia. What does PMR and CGA mean?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi, and welcome,,

PMR - Polymyalgia Rheumatica

GCA - Giant Cell Arteritis

A bit more information about you on your profile would be nice.

[Christophene]

My hands hurt too.

Seriously, PMR and GCA are sister diseases. They are both autoimmune diseases that attack blood vessels, muscles and often joints. One can have just symptoms of PMR which means Polymyositis Rheumatica; that is the one that causes musculoskeletal pain, all over, but often starts in the shoulders and upper arms, back of the neck, but it can cause pain in the hips, knees, buttocks, hands..

GCA is giant cell Arteritis. It attacks larger vessels in the head, chest, abdomen where the large vessels are. It is dangerous because it can cause irreversible blindness if not treated quickly; any visual disturbances should take you to the emergency Dept. of your nearest hospital.

Both initially cause fatigue, sometimes debilitating.

Your doctor must have prescribed Prednisone. I certainly hope so. And at what dose? I don't want to overwhelm you with too much information. The group will join in. Unfortunately, it does not go away quickly; most of us have been dealing with it for years; September 21st was my third year anniversary, if you can call it an anniversary. It gets better;it gets worse, and so on. It has to burn itself out which can take longer than we like.

Were you prescribed Prednisone, and at what dose? Did your doctor explain any of this? What were your symptoms that made you seek medical attention? Was your blood tested?

You have found the right place to learn, ask questions, and there are no dumb questions. If you read old and new posts, you will begin to grasp the complexity of these diseases. In short, your body is attacking itself. Hope that helped a little.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Christophene]

They are probably not sisters but the same disease. That is accepted by some of the top people now.

I do like Christian Dejaco's paper about it

academic.oup.com/rheumatolo...

Polymyosotis - no, polymyalgia rheumatica. Polymyositis is a totally different disease that should, however, be part of the differential diagnosis.