Hi, another newbie. Had mild pain in temples for around 8 days and been to hospital for bloods. They think could be GCA and have prescribed 50mg steroid which I will get to tomorrow. Biopsy is TBC
Bit scared to be honest. I’m 46yr male usually fit and healthy?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
Thank you
Hi, and welcome.
Sorry to hear you may have GCA, but it’s good that treatment has been started and things in motion so quickly. Wish that it was always so.
If course you are scared- that’s natural, it’s an illness that isn’t as widely known about as we would like, so you are (like most of us at the beginning) stumbling about in the dark.
You are at the younger scale of the illness, but previously fit so that will help, but it’s still a shock.
I’m going to send a link I wrote a while ago to help newbies - it’s a bit long and maybe daunting to start with, but hopefully it’s a realistic view of what you might expect.
You will have plenty more questions, so please ask - no matter how trivial they may be. Most on here have PMR, many have GCA, some have both, many still with the illness, but also some who have come out the other end.
Good luck and keep talking -
Hello there. It’s tough I know, especially when you assumed you were fit and well. Same happened to me at 54; very fit and active, working, general action woman. Went to work on Friday and by Sunday I was tanked up on steroids. There is so much to learn too, but this site is great. For a starter, when you take your Pred, expect to feel a bit jazzed up and perhaps jittery too. It can also make your mind race so try to rest and let your body get used to it. There are a host of potential side effects but you won’t necessarily get them all. A good thing to start is to control your diet because high dose Pred gives you the raging munchies. So to avoid putting on a few stones in weight and risking diabetes, cut out carbs and eat a high protein, high veg diet with fats. There are supplements that you need too like magnesium but I’m sure someone else will tell you about these.
The biopsy - you can get false negatives from this test but if it is positive it really is. For every day you are on Pred the likelihood of getting a negative result increases. Mine was negative but they still had to treat me because of the symptom history. Some people here have refused because the management would be the same and they didn’t want an invasive procedure. Some have got a positive result so know it’s all worth it.
I’ll stop now as that’s quite enough. Strap in but it will get better!
Gca and lower legs cramps
Tapering off Presnosone with GCA.
GCA/PMR changes plans
