I’ve just been offered an online educational test scoring job, I’ve done this work before at times. I have GCA/PMR, diagnosed January 1918, put on 40 mg pred and now down to 10 mg. I’m 75.
My question? Would this be bad for my eyes? I would be working at the computer for a 4 hour shift, total 20 hours a week. I’m very near-sighted and have some astigmatism. Pred has made my baby cataracts worse but not bad enough for surgery, so far just glare from lights and some loss of detail. I just had eyes checked by an opthomologist and my excellent optician, and my vision had gotten a little worse but not much at all.
I live with my son who really should be on disability, he works part time but I’m not sure how much longer he can do it.
We really need this money but I don’t want to do anything that would harm my vision.
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Mstiles
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I am surprised that neither of them suggested re-actolite rapide glasses, if you wear glasses. For very bright lights, perhaps plain glasses tinted. Pred and sunshine don't go together, particularly if you have cataracts it can cause them to grow. I would ask that question of both. It was an opthamologist whose Mother had PMR and he came to the support group meeting and told us all about the relationship. I then knew why my Optician immediately changed my glasses and those small cataracts have never grown in the past 10 years.
If you do decide to take the job, take a little alarm with you and get up every hour and leave the screen for 10 minutes. No-one should sit longer than 1 hour without getting up and walking around for 5 minutes.
I wouldn't worry about it. I spend better than 12 hours a day in front of a computer screen. I don't have GCA, but I'm in my 3rd year on Pred, and just had new glasses made.
According to my opthamologist, my prescription hasn't changed.
Add the bblue light filter and the coating that keeps you from staring into your own eyeballs as reflected in the lenses. You also want polarized lenses. My lenses also automatically adjust to light levels indoors and outdoors (that's branded as Transitions here in the US.)
Also, I don't wear bifocal or progressive lenses for computer work. You really need the whole lens area to cover the top of the desk, the keyboard and the screen.
I find it much more comfortable to use a wireless keyboard and mouse, and to have an adjustable screen - up, down, and tilt. Just making slight position changes in one or all several times a day keeps me from getting so stiff.
If you can, place your screen in a position where you can stare across a room or out a window for a minute or so when you get to a place where you can stop. Focus on something a few feet away or across the yard or whatever. It does help rest your eyes, believe it or not.
Now if you also have a chair that allows you to adjust the height, the back support, the arms....
I also work at least 8 hours a day on computer. While I don't have CGA, I am on prednisone for PMR. Make sure that you have your screens position in such a way that there is no reflection of the any strong light ( from outside or within the room). Also it helps to make glasses for computer work. Your screen(s) will be most likely 2-3 feet away, so reading glasses will not work, nor will glasses for distance. As someone already suggested, take a frequent breaks and try to look into a distance. Also I find helpful to move my eyes in diagonal pattern ( from lower left to upper right), it relaxes muscles in the eye because they usually move horizontally as you are reading the screen.
Hi, I have GCA for 3 years, cataracts and glaucoma. I wear contact lenses and over the counter reading glasses. I have used a computer many hours a day throughout. I have just finished writing a doctoral thesis and am writing papers. The only difficulty I have is stiffness from sitting down. I have to keep stretching. Screens are our life now. Just get a comfy set up. Because I am only 5 ft I find computor chairs impossible. I have a little chair and cushion that suites me. Enjoy the job
The comfort setup also includes how you set up screen colours (forgive me already mentioned.) You can change the "page" colour, the text colour and in accessibility setting you can change the screen. You can get coloured screen covers to suit you. Good luck🌻
I have just included this as an example. You can go to pc shop and try them there.
It is unlikely to harm your vision because of GCA. All my specs are single vision - could afford but refuse to buy over-priced variofocals! And I use ordinary prescription sunglasses when I go out the door.
I don't have diagnosed GCA but did have symptoms early on - but for the last probably 15 years with PMR and 9+ years of pred I have spent a good 8 hours a day and often more using a screen. A decent size screen helps so you can make it brighter and get an ideal magnification for you. I did find (and still do sometimes) I may have to move my computer specs up and down my nose - saves changing lenses and costs less. I never use a phone screen - small laptop is much easier.
I do tend to have the TV on while on the computer these days - I can look up at it to rest the muscles. And it makes me move - hate watching live TV so record and get up to jump the ads!!!
From a GCA/ PMR perspective , if you feel your condition is under control , that you have had your eyes checked ( including eye pressure test it's not just eye vision that is important) and you are not suffering a flare or from migraine side effects it is worth trying the job out for size if you feel you can cope with it.
You can suffer from more blurred vision and headaches from computer use with GCA in a way that will differ from the experience of PMR sufferers. This can happen quicker if you also suffer from other eye problems , especially light sensitivity and astigmatism . Dry eyes are another side effect increased by screen use.
Four hours a day doesn't sound like alot to people who have worked full time , but it is with GCA/ PMR depending on the severity of your daily symptoms and it may need some management if you want to be able to keep it up.
Can you choose when you do your four hours or must it be at a specific time in the day in one block?
Being able to have regular breaks from the work on a screen is the most important thing.
If you can choose your times , that is perfect , I would suggest you then do the work in one hour blocks , with at least half an hour potter , stretch and sit in a comfortable place away from a screen .
This will give your eyes , head and neck area time to rest and restore between screen time and reduce the chance of you getting headaches , a flare , eye strain and then fatigue which would mean having to give the job up.
If you find it is too many hours a week for you and you do feel it is starting to cause symptoms , just don't keep trying to push yourself to do it all.
You could always find a solution and check and see if you can reduce your hours to a more manageable amount rather than giving up completely. Some extra income is better than none in the long term
Someone already suggested wearing tinted glasses and they do help with screen time on computers to prevent the blurred script and headaches starting. I use dark glasses for screen work or in bright light anywhere ( strip lights in shops and hospitals are the worst!).
Do you need to have other equipment or books around you or use a stationary computer like a PC?
If you don't need to use a computer at a desk or table that you must sit up by that will help.
Working on a computer in " desk stance" is often the reason you begin to get tired and other symptoms come in like blurred vision and dizziness . It can increase your Fatigue by the next day if you sit at a desk for more than an hour or two which again could lead to you having to give up.
Making a workstation around a comfy chair were you are sitting in a supported , comfortable position with back support helps , away from other bright light sources if possible , I often have a curtain closed to reduce light in the room to ambient level when using the computer. A neck support pillow is also good , and a drink on the go all the time to stop drying out causing dry eyes and a headache.
Taking a drink of cold water before getting up after sitting still for awhile prevents dizziness , and having a little walk up and down and stretch every hour is a good thing to prevent getting stiff and causing next day pain in your neck , head and shoulders.
Most importantly , just because it is inactive physically , don't be deceived that it will not be tiring.
Mental work , especially on a computer , with GCA and some levels of PMR , is tiring and will need you to make adjustments in other activities and chores you do in a day.
Four hours brain work , sitting in " desk stance" , will be like a healthy person doing eight hour shifts with a long commute either way .
If you try and do house chores and other social or physical activities on the days you work you will Burnout , pretty quickly , get Fatigue or cause a Flare.
So doing the job will mean adjustments to your other activities as well , making sure you have time to properly relax and rest your head and eyes after finishing work . A warm damp compress on your eyes and temples is restorative with the head related version of these diseases when you have been busy.
And get someone else on dinner , tidying up etc on work days and leave social life arrangements or very physically active things to days off.
Don't forget , you will also benefit from a full day of proper restful relaxation .
Just like God , everyone , even Miracle Workers , needs a full day off!
Hope it works out for you and these tips help , good luck with it , bee xx
A million thanks for your in-depth, empathetic, and very practical reply to my question, it was a gift at the perfect time for me.
This job was with a company I had previously done scoring for, (before PMR/GCA when I was adjunct teaching and looking for extra income), and I had only a day or so to accept it. I was very pressured to accept it because of really needing the money, but I found it would only last 3 weeks at the most until the project was finished. It involved an onerous “on-boarding “ process I had to complete the following day, and paid only $12. An hour. And I had 3 doctor’s appointments that week that I had waited quite a while to get scheduled
The past few weeks have been very stressful with my son having recurring problems, and I don’t have anyone else to help with shopping, meals, etc. so thank you for reminding me of the energy costs of all this. Plus working on my old laptop is stressful, it really needs updating, etc , and I don’t have the right glasses for that distance, I need different readers, etc.
Long story short, I didn’t take this offer, but the company has lots of scoring projects and they may contact me for the next one when When hopefully I’m in a better place.
I think It’s hard for us to balance self care with these illnesses and everything else that needs doing. I’m down to 10mg from 40mg thirteen months ago and I decided not to add the stress of this new job right now. I feel kind of guilty for turning it down, but as I said they may offer me another project later, the scoring season goes on through most of the summer.
I have worked full time through PMR diagnosis 8 years ago and GCA diagnosis 2 1/2 years ago. About have my day is spent in a computer screen and it has been fine (with a couple of glasses prescription changes along the way!) My rule is 20-20-20. Every 20 minutes look 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
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