He's now gone down from 25mg to7.5mg. And his eyes aren't any better. This has only been 2 weeks. Shouldn't his eyes be better by now if it's the prednisone? He has GCA very badly. He's had two operations to repair his aorta. He had a triple A repair. He now has two anyourisms. Can anyone help about his eyes. Can it be the prednisone or is it GCA.
It could well be the pred - but without a proper examination and/or a more detailed description of what you mean by "really bad" it is difficult to tell. Has he seen an eye specialist? Has he had checks at the optician for eye pressures (like in glaucoma) and for cataracts? This is something that should be done at least once a year when on pred and is something you can check for yourself by going to a proper optician who can do all the examinations - not just one who does sight tests and dispenses glasses. Others have used Boots, Vision Express and Specsavers in the past.
I don't quite understand what you mean about his dose though - 25mg isn't a high enough dose for GCA at the beginning and dropping from 25 to 7.5mg in a few weeks is very fast if that is what you mean. He has had a rough time hasn't he, I'm so sorry.
Hello Marilyn.. What a terrible time your husband is having and of course you with the worry. I am no expert, just a fellow PMR sufferer but it does seem an enormous jump in the pred Dosage. If it was me, I would get a second opinion and see an ophthalmologist ASAP.
I would think it's important for your husband to see an ophthalmologist who understands autoimmune diseases, and especailly GCA, rather than any old ophthalmologist.
But it's also important not to delay, so if that isn't easily available, see 'any old', do the tests, and then try and see a specialist as soon as possible after that.
I have RA and PMR with secondary keratitis, which connects to the RA, so my eyes are bad in the sense they are extremely – and I mean extremely – dry. My rheumy was very insistent I saw an eye doctor who knew about RA.
I would imagine it's the same for your poor husband.
I agree with the others, too, that the drop from 25mg to 7.5mg preds in two weeks seems extremely fast.
In terms of the "why can't I see well" question, as you mention, the first important info can be identified by a good optician - and examination of the eye is needed, they can do that and can do it immediately. It can be seen if the blood flow to the optic nerve is poor, they can see if there are cataracts and can measure the pressures. On the basis of that they can send a patient to hospital or the GP for referral if it isn't quite as urgent. A GP can't do that - and a referral to the hospital that is an emergency needs that sort of information backing it up.
Once you get to the specialist medic point - absolutely, an eye doctor who is aware of autoimmune problems is essential. But then - a rheumy who knows about PMR/GCA would be a help too! And that isn't always the case.
hello do check his eyes he needs to have an eye test i developed cataracts from taking prednisolone. its specific to this drug and it causes clouding of the lens not like normal cataracts.i am sorry love you must be worried sick. the gca can cause damage too.so best safe than sorry. hope this helps