TEMPORAL ARTERITIS ORTHODOX TREATMENT
As with all the auto-immune illnesses, high doses of steroid usually sort out the problem very quickly indeed; the pain goes, the ESR drops, the headaches disappear and the risk of blindness vanishes. The good news is that the response is speedy: the bad news is that you may need to take steroids for a long time -months and years, possibly even for life, but the choice is stark – take the steroids or risk losing your sight.
One way to monitor the progress of the disease is by repeatedly measuring the ESR. The initial dose of steroids will be high, maybe as much as sixty mg in twenty four hours. As soon as steroids are given the high ESR quickly reduces, and the doctor will adjust the dose of steroid according to whether the ESR has gone back to normal or not. The dose needed varies from patient to patient.
Once the dose has been adjusted your doctor will want to monitor the progress of (he disease regularly. Good control of temporal arteritis is achieved through a combination of monitoring the ESR and making sure that your symptoms don’t return. At the same time your doctor will want to make sure that you are on the minimum dose of steroids that is compatible with achieving both these objectives.
Treatment is often long term, possibly even for life, though sometimes it is possible to tail off the steroids entirely after some years. Please note: after long term use of steroids, stopping or reducing the dose should always be done very slowly, and only ewer done with the express permission of your doctor.
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