@liz26

I was diagnosed with GCA in April of 2025 with similar symptoms but thankfully no vision loss. Was started on 60 mg of prednisone which immediately eliminated my symptoms. In June, I added the drug, Rinvoq, which enable me to more rapidly taper my dosage of prednisone. Rinvoq had just been approved as a drug to control GCA while reducing steroid intake. I took my last dose of prednisone in January 2026 but will continue to take Rinvoq through spring of next year. I have been in remission since August of last year and have had no relapses. Since remission, life for me has returned to normal so my hope is that I will stay in remission following my Rinvoq taper next year. The worst part of this journey for me was dealing with the sleep disruption side effect from high prednisone use. Fortunately that eventually settles down with dose reduction. I will add that I was a very fit and healthy 74 year old with an excellent diet and no other heath conditions when I was hit with this and I have found this to be true of others as well. I hope sharing my journey with you has been helpful. I know what a shocker it is to be initially diagnosed with this condition but rest assured it can be managed.