prednisone

[chantal]

hi ! :lol: ive been on prednisone up and down but always on for almost 6 years now ... is this right ?.. has anyone else been on it this long ?? its causing so many problems for me like osteoporosis and I recently tore my quad muscle from slipping on ice because its making my muscles so weak! And then I just re tore it a few days ago !! .. not to mention every other bad thing it does for you my teeth acne, weight gain .. and the list goes on ..
did i say im only 20 years old :blink:
thanks :hehe:
from
tilly

[AnM]

Tilly,

hey. Nowadays, I've go on n off pred. , But used to be on it for a while, afew yrs. myself. But, these days it doesn't seem to help like it used to. :wacko:

I understand those side effects, I hated them. Especially, being in middle school n dealing w/ em. But, the Pred. did save my life. :rolleyes:

Ayways, so i was wondering, are u on any other meds.??

& have u discussed the pred. w/ your rheumy.?

There are others on here that have been on pred. for awhile, are on, used to be, all that. ;) So, you're not alone.

but, I'm just curious if your on anything else? has your rheumy tried tapering u down/off?
Oh, n what dose are u on now?

I'm full of questions tonight. :lol: It's late, n i can't sleep. :P

Take care,
Alicia :coffee:

[Mrs H]

Hi there,

I have been on various doses of Pred for 8 years or so now - ranging from 1000mg 5 days in a row (was like a balloon) to 2mg. Average has been 40mg.

I am now down to 7mg (lowest for 5 years) due to new drug Rituximab (all others failed). Trying hard to get weight off now. Even harder as I dislocated my knee 2 months ago - due to weak joints, muscles etc. getting better slowly.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel!!! as i said - reducing steroids and knee improving. All still niggles now and again - but feeling pretty positive today at least!!

chin up - other meds improving all the time. My Dr recently came back from a conference on Rituximab and it seems its best use is to treat Lupus - horray.

[alobreto]

I haven't been on the pred daily for as long as you, but I can relate with the problems it can cause. Even so, it can be a lifesaver as well as make life tolerable. I don't like those bad effects either!

Since you're having such serious problems I think you should talk to the rheumy and see if there is another drug that would combine with the pred to allow you to taper down or even taper off entirely. As was said, there are new drugs on the horizon and also new drugs already available. Might be worth a try!
Regards,
Angela :flowers:

[chantal]

Hi Alicia I am on other meds such as one for osteoporosis, and naproxin ~ that was my miracle drug .. also plaquanal, losec .. and azathioprine .. they are all generic and the last one I cant remember the non-generic name to .. but it was spota help me get off prednisone its like a steroid saver but it makes my white blood count go way too low so im only on a small dose of it right now. As for the pred im on 40 mg right now ? and she never lets me go down in all these years .. but I take myself down .. and right now ive been seeing my family doctor and hes tapering me down because of my tear in my quad muscle.. hes says it will never heal on that dose. I was on really high doses for about alil more than a year up to well at least 1000 I think but that was iv not oral. Orally this is the highest ive ever been on. Thankyou everyone for ur very helpful and supportive answers and thanks ms h for the suggestion of Rituximab I will have to ask about that :wiggle:

[Maxx]

Chantal,
I have been on prednisone for three years. It sucks.
I hate all of the side effects. I hate the weight gain! It masks infections all the time!
The only words of comfort I have are... If it is helping you feel better it is worth it. That is how I have to look at it.

Good Luck

Deb :)

[AnM]

hey Tilly,

I used to take Azathioprine (Imuran :) ) & yes, they do use it to help get people off Pred. It's an immuno-suppressant.

Actually, that's the med. that helped me finally get off Pred. from being on it so long.
I hope u do ok w/ it, and your WBC's stop playing up. ;)

I'm glad the Pred. does help u though; although, it is tried not to be on for so long, but sometimes people do have a hard time w/o.

Nowadays, the Pred. doesn't do anything for me- No help whatsoever. I don't like being on it, but it is a fast avting, strong drug, and so is very frustrating that it won't seem to help me anymore.

So, a bunch of other things I've been doing.
Take care, n hope your doing as best as can be,
Alicia :coffee: :flowers:

[twas78]

Hi Chantal I too have been on the prednisone roller coaster. Not fun. Finally on 5mg for the last 6 months and on azathioprine and fosamax therapy for the same. I've read, and there are people even on this site who have been on prednisone for many, many years. I've been since early 2001 when I became pregnant. OOh!!! and I grew up in Taber and Lethbridge, Alberta. I now reside in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Nice chatting and take care :) Twas

[lovebabyaustin]

i've been on prednisone since day one of my diagnosis.... that was 15 years ago! i'm still on it because every time my drs. try to taper me off i have a huge flare up. also, i guess there were other things i could take to replace prednisone but they didn't want to give it to me because i was still so young and not had children yet.