More from Dorothy Byrne....

[Highlandtiger]

She’s followed up DID with an article in the Guardian about GCA this evening. 👍

theguardian.com/commentisfr...

[SheffieldJane]

Wow! A hard hitting article. More power to her! Thanks for posting.

[Highlandtiger in reply to SheffieldJane]

And PMRGCAuk gets a mention and a direct link which is good.

I hope some other media organisations pick up on it. I guess if anyone can get more coverage she can!

[SheffieldJane in reply to Highlandtiger]

It gives us hope. X

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Highlandtiger]

I put a link up to both on Facebook as well. The more the merrier.

Nieces have shared it as well.

[SnazzyD]

She’s dead right.

[Longtimer]

Hard hitting and downright honest!....

Thank you......

[Koalajane]

This is so frightening. I wonder if there members on here with just PMR who keep a high dose of steroids in reserve in case?

I also wonder how many doctors warn us PMR ers about GCA when diagnosed with PMR. I don’t think I was

[Highlandtiger in reply to Koalajane]

I definitely wasn’t told anything about it.....

[CT-5012 in reply to Koalajane]

I was given a “hand out “ when I was diagnosed with PMR. When I had sudden vision problems I phoned the surgery, frightened the receptionist, Dr phoned back a few minutes later with instructions to take 60mg of pred, go to A&E if any further problems and an early appointment next morning. Worked well for me as it should do for every one but quite obviously doesn’t. Why is it left to patients to educate doctors?

[maria40 in reply to CT-5012]

I am ever grateful to the lovely GP who first diagnosed my PMR and gave me all the warning signs of GCA to look out for. When it did rear its ugly head I was well forearmed to insist on a quick diagnosis. Everyone should have this knowledge at the very beginning.

[Orpheus82]

We love Dorothy ❤️

[Rimmy]

Good article - and YES ageism and sexism hasn't helped - no surprises there. In OZ we don't have as yet any 'fast tracking' I have ever heard of anyway .... I've tweeted the article with a few extra comments encouraging women to take notice especially if they can think of any rellies previously with certain symptoms and obvious fast loss of eyesight. But I am not 'big time' on any social media platforms so hard to get traction for something most people think will never be about 'them'. Still the more info out there obviously 'the better' !

[Highlandtiger in reply to Rimmy]

I was considering bookmarking the article on my phone so that I could present it to any doctor in an A+E department or GP surgery in the event of me starting to get probable GCA symptoms and not getting the appropriate response......

[Rimmy in reply to Highlandtiger]

Sounds like a really good idea !!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Highlandtiger]

Now THAT sounds a good move ...

[Highlandtiger in reply to PMRpro]

Also means it is to hand and easy to forward to anyone else who might need it rather than having to search for it.....it's a cracking article. Ok, I've done it now!

[Chrisellie]

50 year old... old!!?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Chrisellie]

It is to a 30-year old manager ...

[maria40]

I'd suggest that anyone who is on Twitter or Facebook should post or retweet this article. The more publicity we can get the better.

[granny-b]

I have GCA.

My headaches were ignored by my GP until I was seen by a doctor whilst taking a break near Bournemouth. Sent straight home to Norfolk for blood test. After a few more days, they couldn't find the test results, was called in and given steroids. It was six more days before I saw a different GP who sent me to the fast track service at my local hospital.

I was lucky that my sight was ok. I changed my GP six months later.

Thanks Dorothy.

[Jeromekjerome]

A few people sent it to me, I shared it wherever I could.

She has done a great job in getting the main point across - It should not be a case of which GP you have determines whether you go blind or not! They all should know the signs and action to take.

I am always so enormously pleased to hear people say on here about getting treated in time, it's how it should be.

[Marijo1951]

I should be getting over my resentment against my former GP who had evidently never heard of GCA and didn't even recognise my pretty obvious symptoms of PMR when I painfully entered his office. It was four and a half months between my first consulting him and being diagnosed and I'm so lucky that my sight wasn't affected. I remember the rheumatologist's sharp intake of breath and shake of the head when she found out what had happened.

So thank goodness for Dorothy Byrne and every bit of publicity she gives to these conditions. Maybe some people will hear her on the radio or read this article and be reminded later if symptoms start to show. I had never heard of either condition when I was first diagnosed.