GCA flares and eyesight

[Gladys911]

Thank you to everybody on this site – I have found it very helpful. I was diagnosed with GCA in September. I have to say my GP and Bath Hospital were excellent though it was a shock. My sight tested OK in the Eye Clinic. I started on 60 prednisolone reducing, and I am coping quite well, but I am paranoid about a flare and losing my sight so my worries are twofold:

Firstly I have an astigmatism in one eye so have always had some distortion in focus especially when I am tired - I am anxious to know how will I know if there is a flare? I know the visual symptoms but is it more likely when I get down to lower doses, or when I have just reduced, or? Will the headache also return before or when I get visual disturbances, or other symptoms?

Secondly my eyes are very watery – is this the prednisolone? I am a bit reluctant to tell the drs as I am on enough meds already and do not want to take more or change what seems to be working but it does make my vision blurry.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi and welcome

Can understand your worry about a flare and sight loss, but the most dangerous time for sight loss is before diagnosis and Pred…so don’t be paranoid, just mindful of any changes - and should that happen then seek advice… you should have a number for Rheumy helpline at hospital.

But if your doctors allow you to reduce sensibly there is no reason why your GCA should flare…

Watery eyes are very common -and ironically can be caused by dry eye -and there are plenty of eye drops etc that can help, many on here use over the counter eye drops - couple of good ones here - and maybe discuss with your local optometrist/optician. Pred can also cause blurry eyes

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

If you want to read others GCA stories -see here -

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk....

Eye drops

[Gladys911 in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you Dorset Lady and PMR Pro - very reassuring! I will look for some eye drops...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The watery eyes are probably due to something called dry eyes! It sounds crazy I know but your eyes aren't producing high quality tears properlay to keep the eye surface healthy so the eyes produce large amounts of thinner poor quality tears which overflow and make your eyes teary. You can get drops, gels or sprays to use to relieve the dryness from the chemist or an optician.

[Grammy80]

Welcome and so glad you are here....the journey is far less stressful when you are given knowledge and receive support. I was diagnosed in 2019 and this forum kept me going.

DorsetLady and PMRpro have said everything I was going to say and covered all your questions and concerns. Be patient and kind to yourself...sounds like you are in good hands.💞

[Broseley]

If you are at all worried about your sight, get an eye exam at your local ophthalmologist. I have GCA and have now had two instances where I panicked because my vision went blurred in one eye then another time I could see zigzags dancing about. A 24 hour visit to A&E has put me off that again. I now use our local opticians. They do a very thorough exam (whereas at the hospital none of the eye exam equipment worked!) They also offer a retinal scan which shows the layers of the retina in cross section (sorry I can't remember what it's called) for an extra £30. Well worth it to put your mind at rest.

My eyes were fine by the way. Too much screen use was blamed - now I must get off this phone!

PS the opticians also wrote to my GP with the notes from the eye exam.

[Gladys911 in reply to Broseley]

Thanks Broseley - I think too much screentime is probably part of my problem too! I have just bought the recommended eye drops so I am hoping that will help with the watery eyes.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Gladys911]

A computer is lots better than a phone - you can have big font for a start. And resting your eyes on something much further away every 20 mins is also a good habit.

[Gladys911 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes and a lot of my problem is that I am still working part time as a uni lecturer so have lot of screen time - mostly on my laptop so I can adjust it. But for me it helps to stay working while I can.