Effects of Prednisone on Eyes

while on steroids my eyes were always glassy. It would seem some days worse than others. I did not have an eye exam. However, my vision improved greatly when off the steroids. I just had my eyes checked and similar to my 5 year ago checkup. While on steroids my cholesterol went from 220 to 300. My blood pressure went from 115/65 to 150/75. My A1C went from 5.6 to 6.0. I did not have a bone density test but that can be a problem. I developed a gastritis that has not gone away. I am now taking cholesterol and BP medications. I have not tried to treat my A1C or gastritis. I was only on steroids for 6 months.

My husband has diabetes and asthma …and the drugs of choice are always steroids. He does not take prednisone because it raises his blood sugar to terribly high levels.

Same here … 6 months - and so many physiological changes. I wonder what happens to those on steroids for years.

@tuckerp
I’ve seen a difference with my eyes, also. I do get yearly diabetic eye exams that have tested ok, but my vision has been affected and had to get new glasses.
Of course it has affected my diabetes, but not too bad. On my current base dose of 7.5 mg prednisone, my HbgA1C is 7.8, normal is up to 7.4, and my doctor said it’s just “adequate” but I need to work more on diet and activity. Unfortunately right now I need prednisone for my asthma—it’s a dual purpose drug for me..
You should really speak to your PCP about your gastritis—make sure you don’t have an ulcer or that your medications are not affecting it! Prednisone can certainly cause gastritis, and life stressors too.
Take care and be well, Tuckerp

I have had asthma since I was a kid. I usually use benydrl. Its not my favorite due to decreasing brain cells but it works for me. I did have the gastritis checked. All was good. Dr said I had a mild hiatal hernia. Who knows how I got that. My nerves have always given me a bit of IBS. Take care as well.

I’m glad to see this topic for discussion because I have daily watery eyes from using Prednisone. My ophthalmologist says that it is because my eyes bulge from steroid use and when I blink they do not close completely. This results in “dry eye”. He prescribed eye drops but they really don’t help. To complicate things, I have had trouble tapering my steroid use and have just started taking a biologic. I hope that this will finally help me to get rid of steroids and all of the side effects. Good luck to all of us hoping for the same! ❤️

I have been on prednisone for 3 years. After the first year at higher doses, from 20 down to 8 mg, I had my eyes examined and everything was fine, no change in prescription and eye pressure was actually low so no glaucoma. I'm more concerned about giant cell arteritis (GCA), which can cause blindness and people with PMR have a 20 % risk. On a video that Dadcue posted, the presenter said that research showed that 25% of people with PMR had subclinical GCA. I had a persistent headache that wrapped around the outside of my left eye. My vision seemed OK but often blurry in the morning. After I started Kevzara 4 months ago the headache went away and AM blurriness seems less. My optometrist thought I was being overly cautious considering the prednisone dose I was on. He told me he had only seen severe eye problems in people on higher doses than mine. So I have waited 2 years and will go in for another exam. My blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol have stayed good while on prednisone. Methotrexate caused some bad changes in labs plus side effects. So far so good on Kevzara but I haven't had cholesterol checked yet.

Can PMR or the steroids while on PMR induce vitreous cobweb floaters in one eye? Can steroids used to treat PMR cause blurred vision?

It was my Opthamologist who made me get off of Prednisone. It was literally blinding me. She saved my sight by doing all the tests (field of vision testing) that proved her right. Prednisone can cause glaucoma, which is very insidious as there often are no symptoms before your eyes get harmed. What she and no one else in that State (Alaska) had for me were the new laser surgeries available to treat the kind of glaucoma I got from the Prednisone. I had to literally move down to WA State (where I had relatives) and it was only by accident I found out about the laser surgeries. The kind of glaucoma that high doses of Prednisone gave me is called Open Angle Glaucoma. The laser surgeries can also be repeated. Which was very good news, because I've now had 3 of them. 2 on the eye most affected, and 1 on the other. I now have 2-4 check ups with a glaucoma opthalmologist, yearly. The PMR went into remission, and my raynaulds disappeared too, when I left the cold behind. Though one apt I rented turned out to be on a cement floor so I had to get rugs to cover the linoleum, especially in the bathroom where we all tend to have bare feet at bathtime. There are medication drops for glaucoma too, but I couldn't use those, which is why I learned of the laser surgeries early. They're seriously medically approved procedures, only trained opthamologists do. Good luck.

Steroids. All steroids can wreck havoc on your body. The most common one for PMR is Prednisone and it's risky. Some people coast through it with barely a problem. I got brittle bones. Three broken ribs on both sides and both of my feet broke. That's was because of falls. The falls were because of rapid and profound weight gain, it put my center of gravity off. I got glaucoma and now have an extra blind spot in my left eye, chronic dry eye, and must have my eye pressures checked 2-4 times a year. To keep my eyes from becoming more damaged, even though I quit the Prednisone back in 2015, I've had 3 laser eye surgeries to reopen the drain in my eyes, so the pressure can naturally reduce. It's nothing to fool around with. I've had surgeries on both feet. One would not heal by itself. Both of them now have metal in them as reinforcement. It's not just the Prednisone for PMR. I also have had steroid injections into various joints. Most of all, into my spine. Sometimes, just so I could walk upright again. All of those steroids pretty much run the same risks. Get your eye pressure checked often and always ask them afterwards what the numbers are. Educate yourself on those numbers. However, there's also something called thick corneas. I have them. So, high numbers need to be evaluated, thicker corneas can withstand a bit higher pressures but it's gotta be determined by an Opthamologist. Good luck.