crhp194 (@crhp194)

It is my understanding with temporal, you have pain in your temples, headaches jaw pain,and other aches. For GCA, I had no symptoms and it just means that the cells are large. My GCA was discovered during surgery and before that I was totally unaware I had anything. John Bishop can probably explain this better.

I have only GCA which causes no symptoms. It was found during open heart surgery at Mayo in 2016. For GCA, I have been on prednisone and methotrexate. Tapered off the prednisone but continue to take methotrexate. Luckily , I have had little to no side effects from either med. I do not have temporal arthritis which does cause symptoms. However, the meds are similar. The meds seem to take care of any symptoms rather quickly. I hope the best for you. Just want you to know that life can still be the same even with these two diseases.

Thank you, mrsjaxx727. If you have more questions, please ask.

Yes, quite sure you will see 75. Most doctors will not operate until it is a 5 as there is usually no danger until then. I had open heart surgery at Mayo because mine was over 5. Found out accidentally that mine was a 5+. Yours is growing very slowly. Best to you and no need to worry for now.

Alas I am unable to help as I take methotrexate for Giant Cell Arteritis. It is an anti- inflammatory drug. I have taken this since August of 2016 and have had little to no side effects. Carol

We travel about 400 miles to Mayo from Illinois. It has not been a problem to be away from there as after the first year which involved 2 post op checkups, I now go once a year. Because I take methotrexate for giant cell arthritis, I have my blood checked every 3 months but this can be done at home. I am much closer than you so I understand your dilemma of whether or not to move.
BTW, Dr Pochettino is the best, I think.
Carol

My surgery was done by Dr Pochettino at Mayo in May of 2016. As I have said, I got along well. Surprisingly, the pain was easily tolerable and for me, it was the drains afterword that gave me discomfort but they come out after 5-8 days. Good luck, Deby!
Carol

If you have questions, I would be happy to try to answer them. I had an aneurysm bigger than 5cm. At that size, surgery is indicated. At the age of 72, I had open heart surgery to repair the aneurysm at Mayo. I really got along fine after the surgery and was back to feeling very good within 2 weeks. Then I did rehab starting after 4 weeks and have had no problems. At the time of the surgery I also had giant cell arthritis which was treated with prednisone and an anti- inflammatory. All has gone well. Best to you, Carol