Are these signs of GCA?
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi all.A brief summary of my situation: Diagnosed with PMR about a year ago. Been reducing pred slowly, was at 5 mg for about a month, then last Friday, thought I'd try 4.5 mg., but only once, then back to 5. Two days ago, I started getting a sore throat, and a headache, that imitrex wasn't helping much, (I usually take a small amount daily for prevention of migraines). Then I started to get a neck ache. The headache and the neck ache were only on my right side. Last night it seemed worse, so I took 6 mg of pred, thinking, oh no, I hope this isn't GCA coming on, and that I would ask my friends on the forum what they thought. This morning it is still here, all of it, headache, neck ache, sore throat.
I'll appreciate any feed back. Thank you so much.
0 likes, 12 replies
EileenH patricia43291
Posted
Even a cold can be enough to upset the immune system enough for PMR symptoms to be more apparent.
Difficult to say with just such vague symptoms. If it gets worse or you get any visual symptoms hi-tail it to the doc.
patricia43291 EileenH
Posted
Eileen, Do you think it would be a good idea to go up on my pred dose for a few days, to see if this passes? I really hate going up, but I think I hate taking my tail, to the doc even more.
EileenH patricia43291
Posted
If it were to be GCA then you will need a LOT more, not just a few mg. And that is something none of us should suggest. You could try a bit more to see if it helps - but pred is really not a cure for a cold. I think you should be patient - and keep an eye on the symptoms. Doctors aren't usually ogres!!!
patricia43291 EileenH
Posted
Thank you. I'm going to take your advice, and stay at 5 and hope it goes away. I took 600 mg of ibuprofen, and am feeling quite a bit better.
EileenH patricia43291
Posted
Which suggests it is more likely to be the cold than the PMR I think.
patricia43291 EileenH
Posted
I'm still getting a throbbing neck pain that will subside with ibuprofen, but yesterday it turned into a migraine. Sore throat is gone, and no other signs of a cold. I'm just hoping that this neck thing is nothing too serious. I don't like the sound of a biopsy. Are there any other tests they can do?
EileenH patricia43291
Posted
In some places they are able to do an ultrasound but it is not widely available. The biopsy would only be suggested if you had symptoms that were really suggestive of GCA. Pain that subsides with ordinary painkillers is not very likely to be due to GCA.
patricia43291 EileenH
Posted
An update on my pain and suffering.......I developed a few small rashes on the nape of my neck, and one small one on my jaw. Still having throbbing neck pain, and head aches. Talked to my son today, who is a ER doctor, and sent him a picture of my neck. He diagnosed it as shingles. So now am taking Valtrex. Any thoughts on PMR and shingles? And what about ibuprofen and pred, I think I remember reading someone here having negative views on it.
Thanks again.
EileenH patricia43291
Posted
It happens - but it also happens in people without PMR and not on pred.
Ibuprofen and pred aren't a good mix in that both can cause gastric irritation and even bleeding and both together is, obviously, worse. You should maybe take either ranitidine or omeprazole while on both even if you don't take one for pred.
Ardern patricia43291
Posted
Hi I had GCA twice since 2015. I had experienced a full version of it twice. I know that everyone will experience it differently but a I believe that a sore throat is not one of the symptoms . Both times when I had flare ups I would had swelling of the arteritis on the both sides of my fore head. I would see a doctor and check in with him. If possible have a biopsy done on the superfluous temple arteritis. I was told this the gold standard for diagnosis GCA
Good Luck
EileenH Ardern
Posted
Symptoms similar to a chest infection CAN be part of the symptoms of GCA if the chest arteries are involved, usually called Large Vessel Vasculitis. That includes sore throat and a dry cough.
This is a fairly extreme example:
https://journals.lww.com/jneuro-ophthalmology/Fulltext/2012/12000/Throat_Pain_as_a_Presenting_Symptom_of_Giant_Cell.20.aspx
EileenH
Posted
PS - they quote 9% of GCA patients having respiratory tract symptoms.