In my case I came up with the PMR diagnosis through extensive internet research. I went through one disease after another and when I read the description of PMR I said "Bingo". In order not to offend the doctor (who had diagnosed me with something else) I didn't tell her what I had, just presented my relevant symptoms. She immediately said, "You have PMR". Unfortunately, I expect to have to do this for any medical problem I develop for the rest of my life. If I lose enough brain power that I can't do the research I'm sunk. Doctors don't have enough time for complex problems and are too distracted by the overload of information on their computers.

Nope - but I just may do it now. Some members of my family mentioned I needed to have an appointment with Dr House. In reality, for a long time I was not aligned with PMR for several reasons. One main reason was my pain was not bilateral. Additionally, no one would ascribe some of my symptoms like the anemia to PMR. Some of my symptoms I successfully diagnosed as not PMR related - doctors confirmed my self-diagnoses work and I received treatment. These problems would have been hidden had I been on daily oral steroids. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with my PMR diagnosis.