What does GCA feel like at first?

[Trevgrrl]

I just wondered. For a week or so my right eye has been hurting, almost like a bruise, but I've not hit it or anything.

[fmkkm]

It varies, I had a very bad headache, swollen temple arteries, sore and tender scalp, flu like feeling and high sed rate and crp.

[SnazzyD]

That could be many things, so you need to get it checked out by an eye person sooner rather than later if it doesn’t get better in a day or so.

Mine had been building up, with hindsight, for a long time but nothing doctor worthy. For months I had an intermittent tingle in my temples, right much more than left but being used to tingles prior to cold sores I didn’t worry. My scalp started to become tender and in the the last 5 days the tingle stayed but it wasn’t pain and I noticed a slightly prominent vein over my right eyebrow as I was thinking how my hairbrush felt so sharp. Over weeks my pillow just didn’t feel right but by the end I couldn’t put my head down for long and the scalp pain turned into what I can only describe as acid all over my skull, though I’d say I’ve had worse headaches in the past. My eyes felt ok but when I was exercising hard on my bike going to work I got black spots in my vision that quickly resolved each time I slackened off. At night I had occasional white sparks behind my eyelids and sometimes when getting up for a wee, my right eye could only see grey but by the time I got to bed it was gone. I would wake in the mornings with pain in the base of my skull and my neck had a niggle that was resistant to massage, but these resolved when I got to work. I got jaw stiffness while chewing in the last hours before I went to A&E by which time I felt on a different planet. People’s descriptions do differ in the detail but what made me self diagnose was the suite of symptoms all coming together and I felt something was very wrong deep down in a calm way. I’ve had a bruised eye feeling in my life that has gone away but it was my only symptom and didn’t last for more than 1 or 2 days.

[SheffieldJane in reply to SnazzyD]

Such a helpful wealth of detail there Snazzy.

[SnazzyD in reply to SheffieldJane]

Aka droning on! 🙂. I also forgot to mention sudden right hearing impairment and tinnitus, but the doc didn’t no anything because the test didn’t show a big drop even though it was noticeable to me.

[SheffieldJane in reply to SnazzyD]

Not droning at all!! I have the odd high pitched noise in my ear too. If we don’t add up the dots, who will?

[Jeromekjerome in reply to SheffieldJane]

My mum was told that her hearing loss was likely to have been caused by the GCA- same side as the first eye that went. The other ear is fine.

[SheffieldJane in reply to Jeromekjerome]

That is interesting.

[Rosbud in reply to SheffieldJane]

Do you find some noises Agravate , even what would normal tv levels drive me mad ?

[SheffieldJane in reply to Rosbud]

Yes come to think of it, just as much as the light sensitivity.

[Rosbud in reply to SnazzyD]

My Gp picked up on A sort of bruise on the inside of my right eye , I just thought it was A smudge from A bad night x

[FnF36]

The first indication I had of something being amiss was really, really bad headaches around my right temple. The side of my head and scalp also began to hurt, followed by right side jaw pain when eating. I also lost my appetite - unheard of! - and began to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time.

Blood tests confirmed inflammatory markers off the scale. I didn’t have pain associated with my eyes.

As has been said, GCA can seriously affect sight so either GP or optician consultation asap is probable for the best.

Wishing you well.

[Trevgrrl]

Thank you all for the comments. Snazzy, that as quite a build-up of symptoms! I have noticed that my hair/scalp is sensitive on the top of my head, and that my ear feels full of wax on that side, too. I see the optometrist in a week; I guess I can wait until then. Also my right eye tears up all the time.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Trevgrrl]

I think I would get that ear looked at - fair enough if it IS wax but it may not be.