Went too a new Ophthalmologist this morning for a routine check of the eyes. He He said,"I've found that GCA patients experience light flashes on the cusp of a flare."
This is new information for me. A few months ago, I had experienced flashes and acquired a large floater just before my last flare. I'm on a taper. (16.5)
I wanted to pass this on for general knowledge and ask if anyone else knows of this connection. Have you, by chance, experienced it first hand?
This journey is ever changing. New pieces of information are constantly coming in and need processing/research.
Thank you in advance for input.
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Blurry62
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I'd say that SOME patients might have flashes - but in my experience of probably more GCA patients than most I'd say there is no common trait to be identified and that the various descriptions of visual symptoms in GCA vary widely.
We have had patients on the forums complaining of flashes - most of them have turned out to be caused by a harmless process called posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), which happens as you get older and sometimes by retinal detachment which isn't harmless. But certainly it should always be checked by an optometrist at least if not an opthalmologist.
About twelve months ago I rubbed my right eye too hard and produced what seemed like a bubble going across the eye. My optometrist told me a piece of the vitreous had become detached. I am still somewhat affected by it, but it has diminished in effect. Will it eventually go completely?
No l’m afraid those are the cells from the detachment that you can see.
I had this happen to me just before Christmas. What you will learn to do is look past them or move your head slightly, White Walls or very bright light show them up more & sunglasses help if it’s very bright.
I have two floaters to the left hand side of my left eye, they seem worse when l’m tired or in very bright light.
You will adapt, l thought it was the end of the world when it happened but l adjusted very quickly.
I I fund if l don’t think about it but if l discuss it l ‘look’ for them! I really didn’t think l’d get used to them but l did. Fingers Crossed yours will settle in time 🍀
Flashes can indicate retinal stimulation, e.g. a retinal tear. In my case I had flashes and floaters from vitreal tears. As the vitreous shrinks when we age, vitreal separations from the retina are common in our age group.
Vitreal tears are not dangerous like retinal tears are, but might need a visit to the eye doctor to make sure there isn’t something more serious going on.
Now I need to look over my health notes and see when my vitreal tears occurred relative to my PMR.
I have had vitreous tears too but when I saw my consultant yesterday he noticed my eyes were inflammed and watery asked me how long I think about month had GCA since January he now thinks I have pressure on eyes and waiting to see specialist this was caused by steroids still on for 25mg.Anyone else had this.It's feels like grit in eyes very painful.Also have nearly all side effects from steroids.fatigue GERD severed bruising like blood blisters on legs and also diarrhea.Isn't life grand? Oh and of cause moon face and neck! But worried about my eyes now
Inflamed and watery sounds far more like dry eye syndrome than raised pressures to me. How long must you wait to see a specialist? Are you in the UK? You can get your pressures checked at the optometrist without waiting.
You can get a full eye exam, pretty much everything the eye clinic would do, by going to a good optometrist - even Boots, Specsavers and Vision Express offer the services. You are entitled to a free exam every so often - not sure what it is now but used to be annually for patients on pred though that was cut - but the cost is well worth it for the reassurance it brings. If anything, the optometrists tend to err on the safe side - one said my retina was thin and I should see the ophthalmologist urgently - nothing found at either of the eye clinic appts since.
Me = GCA diagnosed Nov 2016. Now down to 5.5mg pred.
Have experienced a pretty full gamut of symptoms and side effects over the years.
I did have a lot of 'flashes' in the early days of GCA, more in the left eye than in the right.
After thorough examination, they didn't seem to be related to anything else going on in my eyes. I didn't notice that flares made much difference, just that they were worse at some times than at others.
They have gradually reduced as time has gone by. Daily, thick and fast at the beginning - worried me a lot - but I hardly ever experience them now.
It's never been officially confirmed, but I would say, from my experience, that they were just part of GCA.
This happened to me--the light flash followed by a big floater followed by a big flair. The "flair" was addressed by the eye hospital. My being very cross-eyed got much, much worse. For some reason they gave me a brain MRI behind the eyes. But it didn't show a non-GCA cause for what they were concerned about. They were not concerned that my optic nerve would die (I don't think)-just that my vision got very wacked. I got visual confusion; i.e., things would be in my vision like a paper towel on the kitchen counter and then my eyes would "erase" it and make me see continuous kitchen counter without the towel. Once it happened with a car in front of me, but I wasn't driving. Apparently the vision was getting so bad that my autonomic brain could not interpret what I was seeing very well. I had cataract surgery, ergo new lenses which helped my brain by presenting clearly what I was seeing (even though through both eyes I saw a few images). Then the brain interpreted better. All of this is beyond my pay grade. All I know is that all H*ll broke lose when I went in for my appointment with the "big guy" addressing me immediately, out of turn, ordering the MRI after the flash.
I have also had the vitreous fluid "thing." And when I was first diagnosed I had shaking mosaic, colored or black and white ???auras??? They are not definitive for GCA. The doctors thought that they were more like migraine headache "things" even though when the Pred. dose settled down, I did not have a headache. (60 mg. stopped them, stayed stopped at 40 mg., and 30 mg. started coming back at about 17 mg.) But after taking enough steady Prednisone for a while, I never got them again.
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