1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA

PMR and Glycoma?

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hughie
Hughie

Hi, had Pmr June 2009 didn't know what hit me, had been a road runner since 1984 running 4/5 times a week 5/8 miles each run then nothing. Now just been told have Glycoma so starting eye drops, has anyone had glycoma from taking Prednisolone this length of time? I am on 5mg and will drop to 2.5mg next week, my doctor keeps telling me to get to the lowest dose i can handle. Thats all for now.

Hughie. :roll:

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Mrs_G
    Mrs_G

    Posted

    Hello Hughie

    Sorry to hear you have Glaucoma I have been check for it since I was 40 as my mother had it I am fine and am now 63

    I took prednisolone for 2 years for PMR from 2002 to 2004 and from Oct 2008 for PMR again so another 2.5 years now on 2.5 mg I have just been checked again last month

    Im not sure what the incidence is of Prednisolone causing Glaucoma and my Optician hasnt been extra concerned about my eyes because of the streroids He was the person who found my mothers after her Optitcan had missed it and she was near to losing sight in one eye if it hadnt been for him so he is very careful

    I will post agin a bit later about developments in research into sight loss Sorry got to cook husbands tea !!

    Best wishes

    Mrs G

  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey

    Posted

    Hello Hughie and welcome!

    I was diagnosed with both PMR and GCA over 4 years ago and my daily starting dose of Pred was 40mgs now down to 1mg. :D

    Although my GP's records state that I am suffering from glaucoma, I have been told by my ophthalmologist that I do not in fact have glaucoma but have high optic pressure. He explained that many medics will diagnose glaucoma just because someone is suffering from high eye pressure but, in fact, this doesn't necessarily mean that glaucoma is present. He checks the optic nerve at the back of the eye every 6 months or so to ensure that it isn't being affected by the pressure and I am treated with the same eye drops as for glaucoma. At the last test the pressure was a little more under control than previously so I guess that could be because I am now on such a low dose of Pred. My next appointment is due on Wednesday so I'm hoping that things are under control!

    It must have been such a blow to you going down with PMR especially when you'd obviously been keeping yourself so fit with all your road running but there are very many PMR sufferers on this forum who were following similar exercise regimes before succumbing to the pain that is PMR! sad

    It would be advisable for you to take a much slower drop than going from 5 to 2.5 next week as once you get below 5mgs it is very common to have a flare in symptoms unless you take it very slowly. At this dose the advice is to drop by only 1mg every 2-3 months to avoid a flare. Have a look at the PMRGCA North East Support site where you can read the guidelines and other people's stories together with the regimes they have followed to reduce successfully when on 5mgs and below.

    Good luck with the eye drops and hopefully as you reduce the dose the glaucoma will also improve and you may be able to discontinue the drops unless, of course, it is an inherited condition.

    All the best,

    MrsO

  • Mrs_G
    Mrs_G

    Posted

    Sorry

    I am back again now All I can say is from my experience and the fact that it is heredity if anyone should get it it would be me and so far with 4.5 years of steroids I havent had a problem

    My mother had the drops which were quite new then and they were very effective as before them people would go blind The drops just need to be treated seriously and not missed

    I actually went to a fund raising coffee morning last week for and organisation called \" gift of sight \" who are doing research at Southampton (my local hospital ) into restoring sight to people who have things like Glaucoma , dibetetic eye related problems , age related macular degeneration and other sight loss conditions and it was very interesting I have always been careful with my eyes as I have worn contact lens for over 40 years and did some of the tests for lens you could sleep in and developed a scratch on my cornea

    I hope all goes well for you and I am sure someone on here will have experiences to relate

    Best wishes

    Mrs G

  • RickF
    RickF

    Posted

    Hi Hughie,

    Welcome to this 'not so exclusive club'. Sorry to hear about you having PMR and now Glaucoma. I've been on Prednisone for PMR now for 1 year [i:c74eeab731](still on 10/11 mg per day as I had a flare up)[/i:c74eeab731]. Before I was dx with PMR, I started eye drops (Xalatan) due to hyper-ocular pressure. My mother had it for years and I was always cautioned that I was a candidate for getting glaucoma. The Dr. (Ophthalmologist) said I don't have glaucoma yet as my optic nerve looked good, my field test was better than normal, and my corneas were not thinning. As MrsO states, eye pressure alone does not indicate whether or not you have glaucoma, but one of the 4 (or maybe 5) things they consider when diagnosing.

    Yes, I'm concerned with being on Pred for a long time as there are many side effects (83 at last count I think). Hope you drops keep the pressure down. Good luck.

  • Nefret
    Nefret

    Posted

    I am considered high risk for Glaucoma as my grandmother had it. It wasn't treatable in those days and in fact she lost her sight.

    I've been on steroids in varying doses for more than 9 years now and I am also diabetic, but to date I have no sign of Glaucoma. I am also on other medications which can affect the vision and I have GCA, so I'm very lucky!

    I'm tested every 6 months and also have a diabetic retinopathy once a year.

    Nefret

  • Hughie
    Hughie

    Posted

    Hi to a lovely bunch of people who have or had Pmr, just to say thank you for your helpful comments ie doses going from 5mg to 2.5mg also will be ringing the hospital to check if i have glycoma or just high pressure in my eyes, will let you know soon. Anyway thank you for your replies.

    Yours Hughie :roll:

  • BettyE
    BettyE

    Posted

    I have been on steroids for a total of 6+ years with a long remission of 5 years.

    My father had glaucoma and so my sight has been monitored regularly for the last 20 years. So far no sign of any problem.Also, the cataract that first began some eight or so years ago has shown little sign of \"progress\". I am 79 and my last eye exam was about three months ago.

    I hate steroids and they are causing me more problems than I like but not in the eye department. Hope that is good news for others.BettyE

  • EileenH
    EileenH

    Posted

    Hughie - above all, the fact that it should be monitored is a plus point. Most people who end up with serious problems with glaucoma do so because they don't go to their optician for a two-yearly check as recommended for everyone - every year if you have a close family relative with it. The treatment nowadays is much better than it was and the outlook is good.

    You may still be able to see with those specs you've had for 6 years but that doesn't mean you don't have other things. Glaucoma, diabetes, GCA - a whole range of other things can be picked up by your optician just as cancers can be found by your dentist. £15 for either check-up can be money very well spent if it saves your life or sight. If they do find a nasty - the rest of the treatment is free at point of care in the UK. So we shouldn't resent the optician or dentist fee - you don't have to buy megabucks specs or have dental implants - but you might just own them something that money can't buy.

    Eileen

    • mctop
      mctop EileenH

      Posted

      you are so right Eileen because i am one of those people who went far a while and then i stopped just ended up having trab surgery for my left eye after loosing about 75% of my vision. using latavoprost in right eye which is not as bad . Surgery didn!t go to well ended up having scarring so right now i am back on combigan anybody familar with scarring.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.