Adjusting to life with temporal arteritis

Likelihood of temporal arteritis? My dad - who is 94 - has been experiencing symptoms for over a month. They involve a headache or discomfort near the top of his head and going down to an area behind his left ear near his neck. We happened to be at a doctor's appointment last Tuesday and temporal arteritis was mentioned. We are in the diagnosis process. The doctor prescribed prednisone. This provided some relief though the symptoms have not disappeared. The doctor also referred us to a surgeon who has scheduled a procedure tomorrow for an artery biopsy.
Is this the right approach? I am concerned about the procedure at dad's age though he is generally fit and active. I am also concerned about his going under anesthesia. There is some history of significant sensitivity and he has experienced both very high and very low blood pressure. I have heard the biopsy can be done with a local but the surgery center seems to be scheduling more extensive sedation.
Anyone have feedback?

So I had the Ultrasound on my arteries yesterday. They had the results posted on my online chart in just about an hour. The results were that everything was "normal". So glad that even though I am currently sitting here in my recliner with one of those I shaped pillows keeping my head which is sore to the touch from touching the back of the recliner and my jaw is sore to the point that my wife says I don't open it all the way to talk and, my cheeks hurt, eyes are watery and blurry and feel like someone is trying to push them out of my head from inside and my temples feel swollen and hurt to the touch, that everything is fine and normal! So it's all just Normal! That must mean that everyone has this exact same thing happening to them too. I should just stop nothing the doctors and forget and live with this. So glad that I can finally move on from this because it's all just Normal!
😡

I have been diagnosed via a biopsy with temporal arteritis but have not yet started treatment. I don't have any of the symptoms so I suspect it was found early though I did have open heart surgery May 10, 2016 for aneurysm repair and arch replacement. I am 72 and ready for cataract surgery plus extensive dental work. My question-does taking prednisone preclude doing these procedures?

I have polymyalgia rheumatic which sometimes travels with GCA. I have also been on high doses of prednisone. At the time of diagnosis, I had the beginnings of cataracts in both eyes. Within six months, I needed cataract surgery. Prednisone is like fertilizer to cataracts. My ophthalmologist removed the cataracts, and my vision was vastly improved. I have, however, had further vision problems related to the dosage or prednisone. If you have time for research, you might want to research what prednisone can do to vision.

The rheumatologist I consulted at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, told me that I needed to quickly report any vision changes to my doctor and to have my ophthalmologist regularly check my eyes. What I have learned is that many ophthalmologists no know more about prednisone's affects on vision than what I have found online. I am considering seeing if I can get another appointment with Mayo.

May advice to you is to do extensive research and to become an assertive advocate.

I was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis/temporal arteritis over 3 and a half years ago. The steps your dad’s doctor has laid out for you sounds exactly like what happened to me. First I would like to ease your fear about anesthesia. I was just given shots in the temple to numb the area and the doctor took the biopsies and stitched me up. So far that has been the easiest part of this disease. I was put on 60mg of prednisone before I ever had the biopsy and have to say that I felt better within 48 hours. The problem comes when you have to reduce the dose of the steroids. I did fairly well until I got down to 20 mg. After that through trial and error We have learned that if I go down more than 1mg a month or sometimes 1/2 mg I start to have more inflammation and pain. I have been on a new drug for about a year now called Actemra which is a shot one day a week . The theory was that maybe it would allow me to get off the prednisone quicker but that has just not been the case. The up side is my bloodwork has been great while using the shot, but I still have relapse type issues but without the corresponding rise in c-restive protein or seed rate.
I wish your dad all the best

@bt56 Are you still taking Actemra? Has it helped?
I am a diabetic who just had my 4th injection and have high hopes it will help lower the prednisone dosage because it has elevated my blood glucose test results to dangerous levels. I could use some good news.

I was diagnosed with temporal arteritis 2 months ago and put on 60mg. of prednisone right away...I have been slowly tapering down and just started on 2 weeks of 25mg. but still have alot of jaw discomfort and the feeling of exhaustion all the time. Does anyone else get a feeling of numbness over the face and eyelids? Also, the areas of swelling of the face and around the front and back of the neck neck? I asked about a specialist that deals with this and was told that my family dr. would be handling things and would set at which rate the prednisone would be tapered off...Any other insight of things or what will be happening would be great to hear. Being diagnosed during a pandemic is also nerve wracking....I am 72 yrs and did have a biopsy for confirmation....

I was diagnosed with temporal arteritis 2 months ago and put on 60mg. of prednisone right away...I have been slowly tapering down and just started on 2 weeks of 25mg. but still have alot of jaw discomfort and the feeling of exhaustion all the time. Does anyone else get a feeling of numbness over the face and eyelids? Also, the areas of swelling of the face and around the front and back of the neck neck? I asked about a specialist that deals with this and was told that my family dr. would be handling things and would set at which rate the prednisone would be tapered off...Any other insight of things or what will be happening would be great to hear. Being diagnosed during a pandemic is also nerve wracking....I am 72 yrs and did have a biopsy for confirmation....