GCA

[Skrtjg]

Has anyone had a fever of 105 before being diagnosed as having GCA. Also the predosone is at 50 and doesn't seem to help him feel better. Sick feeling all the time along with exhausted .

[PMRpro Ambassador]

How long has he been on pred at 50mg?

If the symptoms have not improved at least to some extent with 50mg of pred then there has to be some question as to whether the diagnosis is correct - unless of course it has been confirmed by biopsy. A positive biopsy is 100% accurate in confirming GCA. On the other hand, a negative biopsy does not mean the patient does not have GCA. If there has been no improvement at 50mg then you need to contact the doctor as an emergency - sometimes an even higher dose is required.

It is also possible there is something else going on. If his temperature has remained at 105 for more than a couple of hours despite treatment that is a situation that should be regarded as a medical emergency and needs treating immediately by a professional.

Do I assume you are in the USA since you use Fahrenheit temps? If so I think you should call 911, 999 in the UK or whatever your emergency service number is in another country.

[Skrtjg in reply to PMRpro]

He started this April of 14. Diagnosed in July of 14 after going to 3 hospitals. Has not had a high fever since being on predosone. Was released from hospital on 60 and slowly lower to 20 and had surgery on back and had to go back to 50 . Has been on 50 for 3 weeks. Also they had him on methotrexate which he had to be taken off of for surgery. Now back on 25 mg once a week. He has never felt well are you always unwell. Also his left calf feels like someone stuck a knife in it and that started 2 yrs ago.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Skrtjg]

Both methotrexate and pred suppress the immune system and makes it much more likely you can succumb to infections. Under the circumstances I really do think you need to call a doctor - GCA can cause mild fevers, 105 is rather more than mild and suggests he has an infection that needs to be treated, possibly with antibiotics but definitely by a doctor.

This sounds much more than "not feeling well" - please call for a professional opinion from someone who can examine him and treat if necessary. No one on a forum can do that and one call too many to a doctor is better than one too few.

[Skrtjg in reply to PMRpro]

Sorry I must not have explained it right. The 105 temp was at the beginning prior to being diagnosed with GCA.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Skrtjg]

In that case - fair enough.

Some patients get elevated temps, but I haven't heard of one as high as that, mild fever is the usual term used.

It isn't unusual for patients with severe large vessel vasculitis affecting several arteries to feel ill for some considerable time - and really it is still possible he needs some more pred. But the only people who can really make that sort of decision are his medics - and do return to them if you are concerned.

[Asbeck in reply to PMRpro]

Skrtjg: PMRPro is an expert. As a personal anecdote: Before I was diagnosed I had a mild fever everyday and often it got as high as 102 F, but no higher. I know someone else who had a blood infection (not anything like GCA). He mentioned that 102 F is the highest fever that blood infections give you. Recently I got a fever of 103.5 F. I don't know if it was related to GCA or not. I had other GCA-like symptoms. But I did call 911. With 1000 mg of Tylenol and some liquid pumped into my veins, the fever went down. The hospital was clueless about GCA and diagnosed me with an unspecified virus. The lung man increased the Pred (doubled it) for 3 days. My Rheumy said that I was correct to call 911 and to go to the emergency room. I did recover rapidly, and therefore, think that it had something to do with GCA, or maybe Wegener's crossover. (I felt as if my trachea were closing, breathing problems, GCA headache, etc.). But there is some authority for the proposition that the fever related to GCA is usually 102 F or less.

[Skrtjg in reply to Asbeck]

Thank you for the info. I appreciate all info I can get

[Skrtjg]

Our doctor see him once a month and I have called and he has seen him that day. He gets blood work once a mo . And sees eye doctor in June again. I think Drs don't know a lot either as to how it affects people