Hi @lyndee58, I had PMR for about six months before I started with GCA. I was not diagnosed until a year after my symptoms started because my inflammation markers were only slightly elevated. With GCA, my symptoms included a neck so stiff and painful I could not turn my head, extreme fatigue, scalp tenderness where I touched it, which lasted a few weeks, two incidents of not being able to see out of my right eye which lasted about 20 minutes each time, an extremely itchy torso (with no rash) for a couple of weeks, a dry nonproductive cough in the evenings, and short stabbing pains from my ear to my nose, right side. They were like little lightning strikes. It started with a few a day, and the day before my appointment with the rheumatologist, I counted 25. He ordered a biopsy of my temporal artery, which was positive.
My mother-in-law had GCA and her symptoms included problems chewing and night sweats.
The dosage of prednisone prescribed for PMR is usually half of that prescribed for GCA. I started on 40 mg of prednisone about a year and a half ago, with tapering every couple of weeks at the beginning, then more slowly as the dosage lowered. I've been off prednisone for a few months now.
As John mentioned, left untreated, or not treated properly, GCA can cause stroke or blindness so it's important for you to pursue your symptoms with your physician. A friend who is a very good doctor told me that if I ever had problems seeing again to immediately go to the ER. In my experience, different symptoms of GCA came and went for a while.
I wish you the best.