GCA Concerns, Cold and Eyes

[Lenore58]

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as I did, despite our health battles. I flew to Arkansas where 2 of my adult kids and 4 of my grandkids live. 2 other adult kids and their spouse and fiancé came, and it’s been a wonderful time.

A cold was going around, and I caught it. Just the sniffles, really, but my right eye has been hurting, (an aching around the socket, back of eye) especially upon waking, and this morning it’s puffy and watering too. I’m constantly concerned about losing my sight. Still having the double vision which they are attributing to the steroids, not the GCA. Started at 60 mg. when diagnosed in October, after reducing I am now down to 25 mg.

Do you think the eye aching could just be triggered by congestion or should I be worried? I fly home this afternoon; however my rheumy is out of country till mid January, Also, are people able to recover normally from colds on pred and Actemra? Wondering if I should skip my next Actemra dose on Friday if I’m still sniffling?

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Here they tell us to miss Actemra if we are unwell. And the sore eye is something a family doctor can look at ...

[spacevoyager]

I also have sore eyes with painful pressure behind the eyes, soreness when I move them and extreme redness. I was also worried about GCA but my headache goes away when I take Tyenol. Went to the ER for an exam and they diagnosed viral conjunctivitis. Takes about a week to begin to get better.

[Lenore58 in reply to spacevoyager]

Thank you for your reply. So glad you don’t have GCA! Tylenol relieves the eye pressure/pain in my case too. Just got back home today and put in a call to my eye doc. May head to urgent care if she can’t see me. My eyes are not really red; only slightly. Not itchy, as conjunctivitis usually causes. But who knows?