I think it can be divisive that patients need to check on their doctors' diagnoses and treatment pla

If this forum can help raise awareness of GCA and PMR, that would be a very good thing.  Those of us with just PMR are very glad to be "forewarned" to watch for pain in the temples, jaws and for a tender scalp.  From what I read, one should go straight to the emergency room with these symptoms.  Can you do that in UK?  We can here. 

   No doctor should resent educated patients.  And no doctor is all knowing- that is why specialists exists.   But it is also good to attribute what you have learned to the site from which you learned it.  There are so many horrid places for health care advice, that you need to reassure them that what you learned came from a reputable source.    For example, I might talk about what I have learned from members of this forum or from the Mayo clinic, etc.  My GP had a good laugh when I said people from this forum disliked their "rheumies" for trying to disprove their GP diagnosis.  And she sited a similar experience that she had had. 

Just one more thing to add- PMR is not rare. 0.6 per thousand (in the age group >50)  is about as common  lung cancer. The incidence ALL cancers is 4 per thousand.  My guess is that it is also often missed because most people don't even think to complain to their doctors about stiffness and just put it down to another aspect of old age.  I know my stoic mother would never have complained. 

I think now a day we have to stay on top of what we have and not alway give in to Drs., they can make mistakes. ALso al long the lines not well know, whan I tell people what I have NO one knows what it is!

I too have only known 2 peoplr who had it a short time 1 or 2 years, but no one else.   M Dr says few and far between from out of no ware. To all the suffer with I it is tough, but this sights make me feel less alone and I have learned from it.

I was told some time ago, by a consultant friend of mine, when I was in casual conversation with him, that GP's are 'jack of all trades' and are not normally expected to have answers to everything - the clue is in the 'General'.  This is why if they have any doubts you are sent to a specialist.   My own regular GP didn't get it correct when I was describing the classic signs of PMR on my first visit, I went back a week later as I had not improved and saw another doctor in the practice and he sent me fora blood test but said he had a good ideal what it was but wanted it confirmed first.  He saw me just 2 days after the results came back and instantly arranged another appointment for 5 days later to see how the steroids were doing.  He explained, after I told him I was 95% better and mobile again, that his diagnose was correct and passed on his findings to my regular GP.   When I saw my regular GP a few week later, he was very apologetic and had now 'clued' himself up on PMR.   I have a good relationship with him, and over the months have had conversations about treatment and dosage, and my 'research' has been very well received by him.  He asked me how I'm doing and if there is anything he can assist with!!   I'm not a medic, my profession was until retirement an Electronics Engineer.  He like a lot of professionals are willing to continue a lifetime of learning and not claim to know it all - would be good if they were all like him?

My post subject matter was about GCA not PMR. I agree that using another GP at the same surgery is often sought, even for the smallest matters, as GPs do specialise and have different qualifications and experience. However, if a GP misdiagnoses GCA, this is a much more serious matter. Blindness, heart problems, strokes and dementia are just a snippet of the possible long term consequences of insufficient medication and living with the anxiety of these disabilities is distressing with a condition which is known to cause anxiety and depression. What is needed is for GPs to be educated, for opticians and others who might see a patient with GCA (which is a medical emergency). Try telling a GP that their colleague misdiagnosed you with an illness which damages your arteries and you will find them very defensive indeed because they all want to avoid the no win no fee route to improving their treatment of patients.  

I think you are one of the lucky ones, Oregonjohn. For those without the special relationship that you speak of, it can be an anxious and depressing trial trying to get responsible treatment, especially if they have inflammation of their large and medium arteries. If the inflammation is not properly controlled, sight and hearing loss, increased risk of stroke, heart attack and dementia are just a few of the disabilities that are possible. There is a huge emphasis on having a temporal artery biopsy where they cut an inch out of the inflamed cranial artery (I had pain both sides so for me I would have had a double TAB), stretch and suture the two ends and give the patient an extremely high dose of prednisone to compensate. This procedure is only 50% likely to reveal the offending giant cells. Doctors are no longer listening to patients, only interested in 'evidence'. However, you can lose your sight without ever having a headache, or without ever having high inflammatory markers. GCA is a truly terrifying illness. I had typical PMR and GCA symptoms but because I have high eye pressures and glaucoma in my close family, high glucose, and am highly strung, I did not want high dose pred so I said I needed to avoid the high pred needed after biopsy. I was given 15mg and my heart pain was dismissed as acid stomach and pain in the groin and in what might have been my femoral arteries was described as sciatica. I kept asking for a higher dose of pred but it was radically reduced by 2.5mg every 2 weeks and I had some sight loss in both eyes. When I did get to see a consultant it was only to cover up any problems the GP had caused and he refused to treat me unless I had a biopsy. I had been on Pred for five months. I had also been taking asprin (which might have caused bleeding). He was very abusive, shouting "Do you know you could go blind?" "What sort of treatment do you think you should have then?" etc. The consultant who he said trained him was my next port of call. He said I had no physical problems and was hearing voices! This was part of the cover up. He also said I was 'in remission', a stupid term if ever there was one. My CRP was 32 at the time. Now I am unable to get a referral to a consultant because they don't want to discover that I have damaged arteries caused by all this mishandling. I am young to have GCA and could live for 30 years with the dangers of severe disability so I've made my will and downshifted and cleared out my cupboards awaiting my final hour. Every time I say goodbye to my friends and loved ones, I really mean it!