1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

Medications for Temporal Arteritis/Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA)

Posted by charann2000 @charann2000, Apr 25, 2018

Anyone out there who has been diagnosed with Temperol Arteritis (Giant Cell Arteritis). I am undergoing testing and most likely have it. Would like to know how anyone is doing with it and what type of medications they use and any side effects, etc.

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Teri | @tsc | 2 days ago
In reply to @kmn1957 "Thanks for responding. I have more energy, the chronic fatigue isn't near as bad. The artery..." + (show)
@kmn1957

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.

Jump to this post

Hi @kmn1957, your symptoms sound suspicious to me.
I had PMR before GCA and the lower dosage of PMR I was initially given got rid of my PMR pain, but I still had intermittent head pains, and a scalp tender to the touch.
With GCA, I had many symptoms that were not constant, but came and went. My symptoms weren't "textbook" by any means.
I've had GCA twice now and my symptoms were different both times. My mother in law had it as well and her symptoms were different from mine.
The Rheumatologist ordered a biopsy of the temporal artery, which was positive. It wasn't a difficult procedure to go through.
GCA is nothing to mess with - you could go blind without much warning. If you have any visual disturbance, go to an Emergency Room immediately.
Best to advise your doctor of your symptoms immediately, and as @jeff97 suggests, see a Rheumatologist asap.
Good luck!

REPLY
1 reply
kmn1957 | @kmn1957 | 2 days ago
In reply to @tsc "Hi @kmn1957, your symptoms sound suspicious to me. I had PMR before GCA and the lower..." + (show)
@tsc

Hi @kmn1957, your symptoms sound suspicious to me.
I had PMR before GCA and the lower dosage of PMR I was initially given got rid of my PMR pain, but I still had intermittent head pains, and a scalp tender to the touch.
With GCA, I had many symptoms that were not constant, but came and went. My symptoms weren't "textbook" by any means.
I've had GCA twice now and my symptoms were different both times. My mother in law had it as well and her symptoms were different from mine.
The Rheumatologist ordered a biopsy of the temporal artery, which was positive. It wasn't a difficult procedure to go through.
GCA is nothing to mess with - you could go blind without much warning. If you have any visual disturbance, go to an Emergency Room immediately.
Best to advise your doctor of your symptoms immediately, and as @jeff97 suggests, see a Rheumatologist asap.
Good luck!

Jump to this post

I'm in the 60 mg prednisone. But not sleeping maybe 2 hours at night ,
total. Ì have read that the biopsy could miss it too. Just because it's
negative doesn't mean you don't have it, right? I don't seem to have the
typical symptoms. Mauve i caught it before it got too inflamed? I will see
my headache doctor in an hour. Maybe she will know what to do. I only
have 2 more days of the prednisone so either someone had to fill it or
decide no. My primary has been too busy to get to see. So it's always
been a doctor on call.

REPLY
1 reply
Teri | @tsc | 2 days ago
In reply to @kmn1957 "I'm in the 60 mg prednisone. But not sleeping maybe 2 hours at night , total...." + (show)
@kmn1957

I'm in the 60 mg prednisone. But not sleeping maybe 2 hours at night ,
total. Ì have read that the biopsy could miss it too. Just because it's
negative doesn't mean you don't have it, right? I don't seem to have the
typical symptoms. Mauve i caught it before it got too inflamed? I will see
my headache doctor in an hour. Maybe she will know what to do. I only
have 2 more days of the prednisone so either someone had to fill it or
decide no. My primary has been too busy to get to see. So it's always
been a doctor on call.

Jump to this post

Wow, 60 mg is a high dose, but not for GCA. And you're supposed to taper gradually off prednisone, not quit cold turkey.
On my first 40 mg I couldn't sleep much, but this time round I had no problem sleeping.
I hope you can get to the bottom of this and find out what's wrong.

REPLY
1 reply
jeff97 | @jeff97 | 2 days ago
In reply to @tsc "Wow, 60 mg is a high dose, but not for GCA. And you're supposed to taper..." + (show)
@tsc

Wow, 60 mg is a high dose, but not for GCA. And you're supposed to taper gradually off prednisone, not quit cold turkey.
On my first 40 mg I couldn't sleep much, but this time round I had no problem sleeping.
I hope you can get to the bottom of this and find out what's wrong.

Jump to this post

Like @tsc says, if they don't renew your prednisone prescription, make sure and ask if you need to taper off of it. It can be dangerous to stop taking it or cutting back too much, depending on your dose and how long you've been taking it.

I had bad insomnia too as long the dose was about 40 mg or higher. But I was sleeping about 5 hours a night. My sleep really improved once I got below 40.

REPLY
elainemel | @elainemel | 12 hours ago

My biopsy came back negative but report says cannot be ruled out. Since I am still having symptoms I am being sent to rheumatologist. Prednisone has been lowered to 20 mg daily. Still waiting for a call with my appointment day/time.

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