Hello @frankenstein, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will notice we moved your post to an existing discussion "PMR initial diagnosis: Can there be an underlying disease?" so that you can meet other members with similar symptoms/questions. If you click the VIEW & REPLY button at the bottom of the email notification, it will take you to the discussion.

There are a couple of other discussions you might be interested in:
- Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr-meet-others-share-your-story/
- PMR and Cancer: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-and-cancer/

There is some information I found that may help you learn more about the difficulties in diagnosing PMR and why it's best to see a specialist like a rheumatologist. --- Polymyalgia rheumatica: pitfalls in diagnosis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281460/

You mentioned having more cherry angiomas since the flare up. Here's a 2018 article that has some information - Should I worry about a cherry angioma?: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312594

I have no medical background or training but I have had 2 occurrences of PMR that were treated with prednisone starting with a 20 mg dosage. The goal is to control the pain/inflammation with the prednisone and to taper off as soon as possible. The first occurrence of PMR took me 3-1/2 years to taper off, the second time 6 years after it went into remission it took me a year and half to taper off.

Are you able to get a second opinion with a rheumatologist in the UK?