GCA Osteoarthritis

[Kittymom7]

I saw the rheumatologist today and he tells me all my organs are performing normally. He did see scoliosis in my back and osteoarthritis in my neck and lower back. He did not mention PMR so presume it’s off the table. My neuro opthamologist is treating my GCA with prednisone at 5mg/day. The rheumatologist wants to treat the osteoarthritis with 30mg of prednisone and he also mentioned Actemra infusion. Not really sure what to do. Vision is opthamologist area but arthritis is rheumatologist specialty.

[Sharitone]

Actemra for OA? Is it possible he didn't mention PMR because he was just taking it for granted? Would it be possible to contact him and ask for some clearer information? It seems rather unfair to leave you in a quandary like this.

[Kittymom7 in reply to Sharitone]

Thank you. I’ll call him tomorrow.

[Bcol]

Hi Kittymom7, I think a phone call is a good idea. I can't see any reason for treating OA with Actemra and 30mg of Pred.

[Kittymom7 in reply to Bcol]

Thank you, Bcol. It’s been difficult to get any information from my neuro opthamologist. I hoped the rheumatologist would be more forthcoming. I’ll call him tomorrow.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Strange recommendation - as stated you need clarification from your medical guys…

Have to say I’m never quite sure why so many different specialists get involved in the US, seems to complicate matters.. but guess it is what it is.

[Poshdog in reply to DorsetLady]

Money?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Poshdog]

More than likely… 😊

[Kittymom7 in reply to DorsetLady]

You’re right, Dorset Lady. I don’t understand the plethora of specialists here. Seems like there should be at least some communication between them. It’s not good for the patients. Thank you for your reply.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Kittymom7]

No it’s not good for patients- and here’s us thinking that’s what they were there for! It’s seems not all too often!

[piglette in reply to DorsetLady]

Because the way the US system works the doctors have to cover their backs, so they try and ensure that any blame does not come back to them if they get sued. They also tend to give a plethora of drugs so they can say they had tried everything if things go wrong. The UK is starting to have this culture as well sadly.

[Kittymom7 in reply to piglette]

Hi, piglette. There are also physician assistants who see patients instead of the doctors. The visit is less costly but I don’t feel I’m getting the benefit of a physician’s experience or knowledge. Our health system is not very good.

[piglette in reply to Kittymom7]

At least we don’t spend quite as much time as US patients suing their medical professionals ….. yet.

[Kittymom7 in reply to piglette]

Hopefully you won’t. We wish for a healthcare system like the rest of the world.

[piglette in reply to Kittymom7]

Sweden maybe, France definitely no.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

"My neuro opthamologist is treating my GCA with prednisone at 5mg/day. The rheumatologist wants to treat the osteoarthritis with 30mg of prednisone and he also mentioned Actemra infusion"

I think that you may have misunderstood what your rheumy meant. Pred isn't used to manage osteoarthritis but a dose of 30mg pred is more appropriate for GCA than 5mg/day which is far too low. Actemra is the newer approach for GCA and allows you to get the pred dose low quite quickly - which is why it is offered alongside pred.

And at a guess what the rheumy said was giant cell arteritis, not arthritis, but they do sound similar when said quickly.