1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA

From Gillian

Posted , 8 users are following.

gillian29193
gillian29193

I.ve been diagnosed with GCA since. March, but despite swinging up and down with steroids the symptoms remained. Then one morning I woke with a full blown migraine that I have never had before and realized that I had eaten cheese the night before and before the first onset of symptoms back in March. The biopsy was negative, I don't have joint pain or jaw pain and my scalp isn't  tender. ? Dairy allergy. I'd like you'd thoughts

0 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

Prev
  • misdiagnose
    misdiagnose gillian29193

    Posted

    Gillian, Why did you swing up and down with steroids and what dose were you started on in March? Did you diagnose the migraine yourself? Are you sure it was migraine and not an inflamed temporal artery? Many people have migraines without ever eating cheese. I had migraines every month around the time of menstration and I don't eat cheese. Cheese does not trigger Giant Cell Arteritis. If you only have a diary allergy, your doctor has misdiagnosed you and put you on a complex drug treatment. If you were diagnosed with GCA in March, and have been up and down since, you must still be on a huge dosage. Can you explain please?

     

    • gillian29193
      gillian29193 misdiagnose

      Posted

      I started on 20mg which did relieve most of the symptoms but not completely. It was reduced to 15 mg and the symptoms came back so it went up again, then down as far as 18mg and again more symptoms so up again. Currently I'm on 19mg for 4 weeks. The cheese thing may be just a coincidence I know. I'm 67 so it's not related to a menstrual cycle. My mother suffered from food allergies (some imagined I think) and had migraines and couldn't eat cheese or drink coffee. What I had was a massive headache with vomiting, if not migraine - what else? I've cut out dairy now for the past 3 days and the pain in my temple has gone, but it does disappear for 2 or 3 days sometimes so we'll see. I'll eat a yoghurt and see what happens, then I might have something concrete to tell my GP. Or not
  • janet08828
    janet08828 gillian29193

    Posted

    Hi Gilian - It was me that "lit up like a Christmas tree"!!

    I would have thought that if you do have GCA the steroids should have got the symptoms under control pretty much within days - they say that is one of the definites when diagnosing - they think "this is GCA" - they give a large dose of steroids - and if you feel a great improvement it seems to be confirmation of the illness.

    Are you thinking dairy allergy rather than GCA?

    Probably worth having a chat about it with your gp - what symptoms do you have?

    Waiting to get a diagnosis is tiresome - once you have a diagnosis and some meds that do the trick you feel ike there is a light at the end of the tunnel - finally you are on the road to recovery - hope you get on the right road soon.

    • gillian29193
      gillian29193 janet08828

      Posted

      I'm pretty certain it's GCA but As it is an autoimmune disease, I wonder whether a food allergy could trigger it. I have read that dairy can cause inflammation of the cardiovascular system. It's not like lactose intolerance that affects the gastro intestinal tract. It makes the body fight against itself as if it were a foreign body if you know what I mean. You read a lot and it's hard to work out and I think the docs are guessing nost of the time too. Perhaps, like us, they're googling the answers too most of the time. I've given up dairy for a while so we'll see.
    • EileenH
      EileenH gillian29193

      Posted

      It's more likely that the autoimmune disorder is casing the food allergy than the other way round. I am allergic to something in wheat, not gluten but something else. It started about the same time as the PMR symptoms and is felt to be another manifestation of the problem.
    • gillian29193
      gillian29193 EileenH

      Posted

      Been off dairy now for the past 9 days and apart from one minor flare up I have been completely symptom free. No tenderness in the temple, no jaw pain, no eye pain and no shooting pains in my head. Coincidence? Maybe. I'd like to test it by going back on dairy briefly but I don't want to go back to the symptoms again. Still on 19mg steroids. Maybe they've finally kicked in. Haven't seen GP yet but I'm sure she'll say it's not a dairy allergy.
  • misdiagnose
    misdiagnose gillian29193

    Posted

    I have just discovered that migraine headaches can occue with Giant Cell Arteritis Gillian, which is probably why it was flagged up.
Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.