Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis: A Survival Guide

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) are linked rheumatic inflammatory illnesses that affect older people - generally, people over 50. They are chronic autoimmune conditions that cause untold misery, pain and debilitation. More acutely, undiagnosed GCA can lead to blindness, which is irreversible. In the United Kingdom each year, there are an estimated 40,000 new cases of PMR and 10,000 new cases of GCA, with a significant degree of overlap, many people having both conditions together. This book is written to give people who have polymyalgia rheumatica, or giant cell arteritis (sometimes known as temporal arteritis), and their friends and carers, information about these illnesses, drawing on recent research. It also aims to give insights into what it is like to have these conditions, and how sufferers and those close to them can help themselves in the self-management of their condition towards recovery. It is not intended to replace information provided by your doctor or clinician, and it is complementary to the booklets provided in the UK by Arthritis Research UK. The author, Dr Kate Gilbert, PhD, is not medically qualified herself, but is a semi-retired lecturer in management development in a UK university. She has spent several years, as a PMR survivor, studying these conditions and working as a volunteer with the PMR and GCA charity, PMRGCAuk. A former Chair of Trustees, she is currently a trustee and helps to edit the charity's website www.pmrgcauk.com and its regular newsletter. Opinions expressed are the author's own, and she accepts full responsibility for the contents of this work.