Hi, I’ve had very strange symptoms lately, so I went to doctor. I had C-reactive protein test and blood tests including erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It turned out that I have temporal arteritis. What is this condition?
Temporal arteritis is a condition that affects blood vessels that supply the eyes, head and optic nerves. It is also called a giant cell arteritis, and it usually affects people over 60. It appears in women much more often than in men. Vision loss is one of the problems that appear with temporal arteritis, because inflamed arteries block blood flow to the eye nerves. Symptoms of this disorder include headache, tenderness of scalp, loss of appetite, fever, fatigue and double vision. I guess that your doctor prescribed you oral steroid medication for reducing of the inflammatory process. It is the most common treatment of temporal arteritis, and results can be noticed within several days. It is so important to start this treatment on time, that patients sometimes receive steroids before they get the biopsy results.