I had a lot of symptoms of GCA. I had pain in my cheekbones that was the worst when I was in bed at night, because of the pressure against the pillow. I had night sweats, low grade fever for several hours each day, weight loss, tenderness around my ears and on my scalp, and a lot of fatigue in my jaw muscles when I was chewing. I eventually went to the emergency room when I lost the vision in one eye for a few seconds. While I was at the hospital I had several more episodes of temporary vision loss in that eye. They started treatment immediately for GCA, and my vision turned out ok.

I never had any headaches, and I didn't pay attention to my temporal arteries. They did do a biopsy, and it was positive for GCA. I just googled headaches and GCA, and it said 10 - 30 percent of patients with GCA don't have headaches. But I had most of the other symptoms.

Are you currently being treated for PMR? I had PMR for maybe 8 months or so before I started having symptoms of GCA. Have you had a rheumatologist check you for GCA? It can be very dangerous.

Get it checked as soon as possible. Say exactly what you just wrote and a medical professional should want to see you sooner rather than later. Today wouldn't be too soon. I just did a Google search of your symptoms exactly how you wrote it. Artificial intelligence said the following.

"Based on the symptoms you're describing, particularly the swelling and tenderness in your temples, the headache, and the visible bulging artery/vein, this sounds highly concerning for Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA), also known as Temporal Arteritis."

I was diagnosed with PMR and possible GCA, July 2024. My GCA symptoms were headaches that were over my eyebrows and radiated across my temples, over and behind my ears. Sometimes, they'd just be over the temple. Sometimes, behind my ears. I never noticed bulging temporal arteries. I had a bilateral temporal artery biopsy, within 8 days of starting 60 mg. of prednisone. The biopsy report was 'negative', but it also stated that that didn't mean I didn't have GCA. The doctor may not have gotten a sample of the affected artery. Don't ignore your symptoms.

HI, @sbtheplumber, best to seek medical help immediately. If you experience any visual disturbance, go to an Emergency Room. GCA can cause loss of vision and blindness. It needs to be treated quickly.
I had PMR for a number of months, then GCA and relapsed once so far. I had short stabbing pains in my face, from my nose to my ear, scalp tenderness, a dry cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, an itchy torso, and visual disturbance, three times. I could only see white out of my right eye. Fortunately, I didn't lose any vision.
Are you currently taking anything for PMR? GCA requires a pretty high dose of prednisone - 40 - 60 mg daily, depending on the person's size, I think.
Anyway, immediate access to appropriate medical treatment is critical for GCA.