Does GCA affect eyes in an all-or-nothing way, or are there degrees?

[Bunchberry]

Hello GCA folks,

I am on month 3 of prednisone (currently 15 mg), after PMR diagnosis in early June. Age 60.

My question for you is: when your GCA came on, did you experience a sudden loss of vision, or did it come on gradually? And if gradual, did it affect all ranges (i.e., near, mid- and distance), or just one range?

In January, I had an in-depth eye exam by my optometrist, which was all normal. My GP sent me, as I was complaining of headaches. This was several months before my obvious PMR symptoms came on. (For decades I have worn progressive glasses, and I also have an astigmatism).

At appointments in June and July, GP and rheumie questioned me closely about nature of those headaches, my vision, etc, and at the time I felt vision was fine. But in last few weeks, sometimes I wonder if things are a bit off. When I take off my glasses and try to read something at close with just my right eye, the words are blurrier than they used to be. Maybe even seeing double? But just for reading, not for distance or mid. No headaches, but perhaps a slight sensation in right temple?

Mind you, I have a covidy-type virus right now (and very tired) and am also going through a period of extreme family stress. It’s so hard to know if I am imagining things. Or maybe it was always that blurry without glasses and I am only paying attention to it now? Also I tend to be on high alert for eyesight, as my sister has glaucoma, our mum has macular degeneration, and our dad had detached retina on two occasions.

Anyways, would be interested to hear if a possible slight decline in reading in one eye is cause for concern or if any of you experienced that on the road to GCA. In any case, after typing this all out, think I’ll call my optometrist and doctor tomorrow.

[SnazzyD]

Eye issues with GCA can at the extreme end be sudden loss of sight with no warning but there are signs of possible trouble first. The link below lists them.

healthline.com/health/giant...

Pred can mess up one’s focus and I found that my ability to change quickly from one depth of field to another was impaired. As my dose changed so did my focus.

In the run up to GCA I had fleeting black spots when out of breath exercising. I also had nighttime symptoms where is would see sparks of light in the dark and if I laid on my right side my right eye temporarily could see only grey rather than black in the room. This went on for a few months before both eyes started to shut down over about an hour or so by which time was already in the hospital.

[Bunchberry in reply to SnazzyD]

Thank you for this, and actually an impaired “ability to change quickly from one depth of field to another” describes part of what I am experiencing. It feels similar to when I first started wearing progressives (i.e., prescriptions for close, medium and far contained in one lense) and had to get used to shifting fields. So perhaps a prednisone effect.

[Angelsmummy]

hi bunchberry,I had overnight sight loss with my GCA.Had months of head/ neck/ ear pressure,,awful groin pain .NO Dr picked it up!!Even went private!!Anyway,on the Saturday,had kaleidoscope vision,went to optician as an emergency,he said all is ok then hey ho ,woke up Tuesday morning with left eye vision gone.The rest is history in my case.Everybody is different I guess but good luck to you and just stay vigilant for any sudden changes !xx

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

As already stated there can be many differences, but any new sight disturbances do need to be check out, so please arrange appointments asap. Please let us know how you get on.

[Sophiestree]

Perhaps you should contact them and say that your symptoms are worse than before. I don't have GCA, but LVV but my sight was something they definitely hung on to when describing my symptoms. But what i have noticed since taking pred is that my near sight is shot, I used to be able to read the tiniest print very close up, now I can't read anything. If I am doing close work then normal reading glasses are fine, but looking at my computer is pointless sometimes. I also have floaters along with the blurriness so I have no idea what is what any more. Anyway, I had my 6 monthly check up last week and my near sight in my left and right are are completely different, hence not being able to look at my laptop and so I am having glasses with that prescription just for that purpose. Hope I have made sense in all of that.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

All of the above really - no fixed rules.

Like Snazzy I had trouble focussing in the early days on even the moderate doses of pred used for PMR. I solved it by moving my specs to a better position on my nose because it worked and saved paying for new specs that would be out of date next week! I still find adjusting to depths of field after an entire morning on the computer with those specs and then wanting to drive with distance ones. I think I'm blaming aging now!!!

[jarn]

You have had varied input and will add my 2cents worth. Overnight blindness in right eye, but that followed WEEKS of trouble chewing food (claudication) and then loss of weight. One morning, had double vision which cleared after an hour or so. Rang Optometrist and they could find nothing wrong. Next morning, I was blind! So we are all affected differently and you must listen to your own body. Learned that not many doctors (all varieties) understand or know much about GCA!! Tricky business. Good luck to you