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PMR diagnosed but now headache for almost a month.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Aug 5, 2023 | Replies (18)Comment receiving replies
Hi@samara66, The short stabbing pains were mostly on the right side of my face and went from my ear to my nose. They were lower than the temple, and very short, like little flashes of lightening. They started a few months prior to my diagnosis and increased over time.
I had been prescribed a low dosage of prednisone a few days before I saw the rheumatologist via Zoom. The day before our meeting I counted 25 of the pains. When I told him about them he told me to take 40 mg of Prednisone and scheduled a Temporal Artery Biopsy on the right side of my face.
My mother in law had GCA, and she had a constant headache and jaw pain so b ad she couldn't chew her food.
Do you have short stabbing pains in your face or head?
Replies to "Hi@samara66, The short stabbing pains were mostly on the right side of my face and went..."
Those were indications of GCA for me, which was confirmed with a temporal biopsy.
Hi samarra66,
I hope you can have the temporal artery biopsy very soon. I had been on 20 mg prednisone daily for 2 weeks when I had my biopsy. I was told that any longer could give inaccurate results, saying you didn't have GCA when you actually did.
Best of luck to you.
Sharon
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Thanks for your reply! About a month ago I started having fleeting stabbing pains in my left temple. They lasted only seconds and I’d have two to three episodes a day. Then about two weeks ago I started having tooth pain while chewing. I was so disconcerted about this I contacted my gp and endodontist. The chewing pain seemed related to one tooth only and the stabbing pains in my temple stopped. Since I am still on 7 tapering to 6mg of prednisone, if it is GCA, maybe that is enough to control it for now. Not really sure how to proceed from here, but the possibility of GCA looms large.