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Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis: the symptoms, who gets them, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with them
For someone past 50 whose shoulders and hips ache and stiffen every morning, someone with a new headache at the temples, a tender scalp or jaw pain when chewing, anyone just told they have polymyalgia rheumatica or giant cell arteritis, and anyone taking a steroid for it. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says these are closely linked inflammatory disorders that almost always occur in people older than 50, and that both generally respond well to treatment. It also says that sight problems from giant cell arteritis need a health care provider right away, because if left untreated they can lead to permanent vision loss within hours or days. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the symptoms of each, who gets them and how they are linked, how they are diagnosed and who treats them, the kinds of medicine, and the side effects of steroids and what helps. It builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
Right now
- Sight that blurs, doubles or goes dark in one or both eyes, even for a few minutes: call 911 or go to an emergency room now (ours). NIAMS says that, untreated, sight problems from giant cell arteritis can lead to permanent vision loss within hours or days.
- A face that droops, an arm that goes weak, speech that slurs, or chest pain: call 911 (ours).
- A new headache at the temples, a tender scalp, or jaw pain when you chew, after age 50: get care the same day, and say the words “giant cell arteritis” (ours).
More help
- Related: Arthritis · Stroke · Eye care · Osteoporosis · Getting older · Pain, bones and joints.
- Steroids and day to day: High blood pressure · Diabetes · Quit smoking · Symptom diary · Medicines list · Anxiety · Depression.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When medicine costs too much · Get ready for the appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 15, 2026 on NIAMS’s Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed February 2022), and on its shorter Spanish twin, Polimialgia reumática y arteritis de células gigantes (February 2022). Ours: calling 911 or going to an emergency room now for sight that blurs, doubles or goes dark, even for a few minutes; calling 911 for the signs of a stroke or chest pain; getting care the same day for a new headache at the temples, a tender scalp or jaw pain when chewing after age 50; writing down where it hurts, since when, and any sight changes; keeping a list of every medicine; not stopping or changing a steroid on your own; telling a provider soon about a fever or sign of infection while taking a steroid; asking what a test or treatment would change and what it costs; 988; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any medicine’s name, any brand or dose, any supplement, remedy or product, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.