Medications for Temporal Arteritis/Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA)

Hi,
Ice only been on the prednisone 1 day. My pain is would always chock up to either ankylosing spondylitis, or fibromyalgia, or osteoarthritis. But it feels more like in my muscles and tendons. Neck, shoulder, back, hip area. My feet my ankles, when that happens i can hardly walk. They send me to therapy, which helps maybe a little, but it always comes back and the pain can be every one of these places at once or just one. Is it just getting older? It's getting harder to deal with.

PMR is mainly in the shoulders, neck, and hips, so it could be that you also have PMR. I made the mistake of thinking that my problems were just due to getting older, and I suffered quite a bit unnecessarily for about a year, plus I risked my vision. If you start feeling better from the prednisone fairly soon it would be a good sign that you have temporal arteritis and PMR. Maybe other people have experience with your symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, etc.

If I don't respond quickly to the prednisone, does that mean that I don't have either?

I'm not a doctor so I can't say much more. I hope you get things figured out and get the help you need.

I'm sorry, i didn't mean to put you on the spot. I'm guessing if I don't respond in next few days from prednisone. Then maybe I don't have it. The high c- reactive protein test is a general test for inflammation so maybe it's just my arthritis. Swollen artery isn't bad. But was never there before.

I have read that some people feel about 70 percent better after beginning treatment with prednisone. So it's possible that it could help you that much.

It sounds like you need to see a rheumatologist. If you do have PMR and or temporal arteritis, they can manage your prednisone prescription and tell you how and when to taper, and also what other medicines and supplements you might need. They also do lots of blood tests to monitor your levels of inflammation and to look for problems caused by the prednisone and any other medications you're taking.

Hello kmn1957
PMR and GCA are closely linked inflammatory disorders. They can cross over. PMR diagnosis with a 15-20% incidence of developing GCA. Symptomatology is key, but serial lab draws, ultrasound and temporal biopsy’s are crucial to diagnosis. Eye exams are also beneficial in particular if your sight has changed in any manner.
Best to you.

Prednisone is the go to drug for GCA in very high doses. The biggest issue is loss of vision. Your doctors should be well aware of this.

Hi @kmn1957, Cecil and Goldman's textbook of medicine, Chapter on PMR/GCA advises that Prednisone, when prescribed in the proper dosage (15 - 20 mg for suspected PMR) should result in a "dramatic clinical response" and if it doesn't, the physician should consider other disorders - infection, malignancy, connective tissue disorder, hypothyriodism.

GCA requires a higher dosage of prednisone. I started at 40 mg daily (I'm a small person).

Thanks for responding. I have more energy, the chronic fatigue isn't near as bad. The artery still looks swollen but no pain in the area. Still had 2 migraines over the weekend that involved the temple area but not just there. It eventually went all over my head. So maybe this isn't temporal arteritis and it's something else. My c- reactive protein was high and same time list year it was high but I suppose it could be just general inflammation from something.